Luke's Italian Beef ~ Chicago, Illinois

First visit: Nov 2022

One thing that was very apparent to me on this trip to Chicago: The pandemic appears to have just now ended. What a dictatorship they had going here. Many places are closed permanently because they could not survive a 2 year lockdown. The downtown streets are still somewhat empty, with workers just starting to filter back in. All these beautiful glass and steel (or stone and mortar) towers of commerce remain empty. It's really sad to see. Denver is back to full glory as an apples to apples comparison. Many of the businesses that did survive are stating "welcome back" similar to what we saw in the summer of 2021! And masks are still fairly prevalent, and mandatory on buses and trains. I guess the disease is worse in Chicago than elsewhere huh? Pfft! I had been to Eastern Europe during Soviet dominated Communism, and know exactly what it looks like. Like what I'm seeing here in Chicago. Apparently that's what these leaders want. My goodness we must fight back!

Why bring that up here? Well, Luke's survived. It was almost empty when I arrived at Noon, so I suppose there are fringe benefits to destroying your buying populace - not to mention the mass inflation these clowns brought with them. Take advantage why you can - if you can afford it. I wasn't sure I was going to get in lunch, but yes, just before the heavy work began I seized the opportunity.

When I go to Chicago - I want Chicago Food! It's a real thing, and unique to this once wonderful city. It's the immigrant influence of the early 1900s. Italian, Greek, Polish, German, and beyond. Beef. I've seen restaurants in Chicagoland called just that: Beef. And Luke's is perfect. What a vibe. They still have the old menus above the counter and you can get Italian specialties including pizza. Or you could just get a beef sandwich. Which is - OF COURSE - what I ordered (and for one of my likeminded co-workers). Mrs. RJG would hate Chicago Food, at least this variety. The bread is wet and a tad mushy. I added sweet peppers, which really weren't that sweet. I usually would go for hot - but ya know being with 10 other co-workers that can create other issues lol. In any case, if I worked in the buildings (there were 2 on this trip) that I spent 3 days in, Luke's would be a weekly visit. I just hope that most of these places around town survived.

11/4/22 (new entry)