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'Chicago's Best' Visits Beverly's Janson's Drive-In For Retro Episode

By Howard Ludwig | April 26, 2016 2:07pm
 Janson's Drive-In will be featured on
Janson's Drive-In will be featured on "Chicago's Best" May 22. The show features five "retro restaurants." Host Elliot Bambrough was at Janson's Tuesday to try the Italian beef and banana shake.
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DNAinfo/Howard A. Ludwig

BEVERLY — The television review show "Chicago's Best" visited Janson's Drive-In on Tuesday for an upcoming episode dedicated to "retro restaurants."

Host Elliott Bambrough said the Italian beef sandwich and signature banana shake will be showcased on the program dedicated to Chicago-area restaurants.

The episode featuring the Beverly drive-in at 9900 S. Western Ave. is slated to air at 10 p.m. May 22 on WGN-TV. It will also replays at various times during the week on CLTV, said Bambrough with an accent reflecting his North London upbringing.

Five other restaurants that fit the bill will also be featured on the episode. Bambrough said "Chicago's Best" predominantly features mom-and-pop restaurants — shying away from tourist traps and chains to focus on favorites as recommended by Chicago residents.

 An italian beef from Janson's Drive-In.
An italian beef from Janson's Drive-In.
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Janson's

Janson's Drive-In "is like a quintessential 'Chicago's Best'-type restaurant," Bambrough said Tuesday.

Indeed, the orange-and-white restaurant first opened its doors in 1960. With its unmistakable neon sign, the drive-in on the Far Southwest Side fed many families in the neighborhood and beyond.

However, Janson's Drive-In was closed for two years while a rehab project dragged on. It reopened on April 7, 2014, under new ownership and quickly settled back into its niche on Western Avenue.

As for Bambrough, he was in the kitchen throughout the late morning but had not yet bit into an Italian beef sandwich. The smell of the sandwich topped with sweet peppers filled the tiny area near the cash register as crews shot footage.

"This is how painful my job is," he said. "I haven't even tried it yet."

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