I have tried dozens of Italian beef sandwiches in my two decades writing about Chicago food.
By far, one of the best I’ve sampled is found in a butcher shop in suburban Northfield that doesn’t even usually sell them.
While journalists typically don’t insert themselves into the story, I’ve got something to do with this sandwich.
The place is Hofherr Meat Co., located just off the Willow Road exit on the Edens Expressway. A few years ago, it was the height of “The Bear” mania, and I was producing a food podcast about Italian beef.
I was never satisfied with the sandwich — I’ve never had a beef better than a B+ — and so I sought out a butcher shop that could help construct the Italian beef of my dreams.
I’ve known the team at Hofherr Meat Co. for years. It’s where I purchased my Christmas prime beef roast, where I pick up sausages for my summer cookouts. Sean and Arielle Hofherr, along with their crackerjack team, are versed in all things meat.
It turns out the Hofherrs themselves were Italian beef obsessives, and gladly took on my challenge to engineer what we called — with tongues firmly in cheek — the world’s greatest Italian beef.
Over three weeks in late 2022, we tested recipes. Rather than using ultra-lean bottom round, we opted for chuck roll, a much fattier and flavorful cut from the beef shoulder. We decided to cook the beef not until it’s well-done, but to a pinkish medium. When the order comes in, the cooks would slosh the beef in warm jus to bring the meat to medium-well. After all, there’s nothing worse than a stringy, dried-out Italian beef.
When it came time for the all-important giardiniera, the Hofherr team lucked out. It turns out there was a multigenerational giardiniera maker in its midst. His name is Mikey Soler, a Chicago Fire Department firefighter by day. On off days, he works at Hofherr’s. He learned the fine art of making giardiniera from his grandmother, who passed on the recipe to Soler’s father, Steve.
Making giardiniera from Melrose peppers was something Soler and his father bonded over. The secret was time: Soler’s recipe calls for the giardiniera to naturally age for three years, which helps develop an appealing funk and depth of flavor. When Steve Soler died several years ago, Mikey Soler continued the giardiniera-making tradition to a fourth generation. Along the glassed cabinets at Hofherr’s, the Soler family giardiniera sits in rows, gracefully aging as it awaits Italian beef sandwiches to land on.
The Hofherr Italian beef would be sold on one day only: Dec. 3, 2022. The goal was to sell 100 sandwiches. By 2:30 p.m., it had sold out, and people were raving about it on social media.
Fast-forward to 2025. “Poochie & Pang’s” second season focuses on sandwiches. How could we do a season on Chicago sandwiches and not mention Italian beef?
And so in our premiere episode, Poochie and I head to Hofherr Meat Co. to learn more about their sandwich. Spoiler alert: It’s still great. Maybe even worthy of the moniker “The World’s Best Italian Beef.” But that’s just one man’s biased opinion.
The good news: Hofherr is bringing their Italian beef sandwich back. The bad news: It won’t be available all the time.
The only way to find out is to monitor patiently their Instagram and Facebook channels. When they announce it, it’s time to head to Northfield.
Dining and Cooking