By Claire O’Malley
Our neighborhood isn’t known for having fancy restaurants with white tablecloths and waiters in tuxedos, but you can certainly find a lot of great sandwiches here. Which sandwiches are the best? Because of how many sandwiches there are I knew I would have to narrow down the field. Since I don’t have much culinary experience, I asked three people known for their great taste who live in Beverly/Morgan Park what they consider to be the best sandwich around. I only had two rules: that the sandwich had to be an actual sandwich and it had to be something I can currently order on the restaurant’s menu.
My first interview was with Alvin Green, who was born in Mississippi but grew up in Rochester, New York. Alvin is a self-trained chef with a degree in economics who learned to cook from his family. Alvin’s favorite Beverly/Morgan Park sandwich is the Fat Chef from Horse Thief Hollow, 10426 S Western. I went to try the sandwich on a Sunday afternoon, and got to spend some time with the owner of Horse Thief Hollow, Neil Byers.
The Fat Chef was created when the kitchen staff would throw a sandwich together with the leftovers from that day and it was so good, Neil decided to put it on the menu. The sandwich consists of pulled pork, smoked hot links and buttermilk coleslaw on a brioche bun. I’ve been to Horse Thief hundreds of times and I have never tried this sandwich before, but I will definitely get it again. It was delicious!
My next interview was with Brendan Daley who was born and raised in Beverly/Morgan Park and still lives here today. Brendan is a manager at the Chicago Park district who bakes amazing pies and grills outside no matter the weather. His favorite sandwich is Da Steve from Ain’t She Sweet Cafe, 9920 S Western. Da Steve is a sandwich that has turkey, turkey ham and turkey bacon with melted cheese on a croissant. It also comes with giardiniera, but I had that on the side. This was the first time I’ve eaten at Ain’t She Sweet, and everyone was so nice! I will be going to eat there a lot more.
My last interview was with Allie Bowles, who grew up in Beverly/Morgan Park and came back a few years ago. Allie works in admissions and marketing at Morgan Park Academy, and she also teaches barre classes and does healthy meal planning for Barre It All Fitness.
Allie started working in catering when she was in junior high and was hooked! She went to college to study hospitality management and culinary arts with a minor in marketing. Her favorite sandwich is the buffalo chicken wrap from Manzo’s, 2353 W 111th St. The wrap is delicious, but is super spicy! It has fresh vegetables and crispy chicken, served with a ranch dressing that is made in house by owner Umberto Manzo. Even though it was spicy, I loved this wrap so much and I would highly recommend it.
Overall, I would say that these three sandwiches are some of the best sandwiches I have ever had. They are all very different, so it is hard to pick one favorite. Readers: What sandwich do you think I should have tried? What do you think is the best sandwich in Beverly/Morgan Park?
Email your answers to villagereditor@bapa.org with “sandwich” in the subject line.
(The Villager’s teen correspondent, Claire O’Malley is an 8th grader in the Academic Center at Lindblom Math and Science Academy. Her interests include art and theatre, and she has been a student at Second City for several years.)
