How to Make Chicago-Style Italian Beef at Home Chicago's iconic Italian beef is one of the most unwieldy sandwiches ever created by man. At first glance it looks like the less dignified cousin of the French dip, but instead of coming with a nice little side of jus for you to wet the sandwich's ends with, this bad boy is saturated from the start. Ask for it "dipped" and the whole sandwich is dunked in meaty juices, soaking the bread to the core. There's no respectable way to eat one of these, but it's well worth the mess. If you don't live in the Chicagoland area, here's how to make one at home.