Italian Beef Sandwich in Chicago

49 restaurants in Chicago list italian beef sandwich on their menus, and the 40 cheapest are listed above. The cheapest is Congress Pizzeria at $5.20. The typical price across town is $10.99, and the dearest of the 40 listed is $12.99 at Rosati's Pizza of Chicago, so the two ends of the list are $7.79 apart, which is 150% more for the same dish. Of the 40 kitchens listed, 21 charge more than a dollar under the typical price, 12 sit within a dollar of it and 7 charge more than a dollar over.

We track italian beef sandwich in 10 other areas and compare them all on italian beef sandwich across United States. The typical price there runs $11.59 at the median, so Chicago is cheaper than most of them, with a lower typical price than 6 of the 10. The lowest best price anywhere we cover is $7.15 at Dozeli Pizzeria - Joe Orr Rd in Chicago Heights, IL, and the highest best price is $11.00 in Rockford, IL. The nearest area with it is Elmhurst, about 12 mi away, where the best price is $8.50.

Where is the cheapest italian beef sandwich in Chicago? Congress Pizzeria, at $5.20 on 5925 W Diversey Ave. The same dish reaches $12.99 elsewhere in town, so where you order it changes the bill by $7.79.

What should italian beef sandwich cost here? About $10.99 is the typical price across the 49 kitchens in Chicago that list it. Of the ones listed above, 21 are more than a dollar below that and 7 are more than a dollar above, so the typical price is a middle rather than a floor.

Is it cheaper nearby? The nearest area we track it in is Elmhurst, about 12 mi away, where the best price is $8.50. That is $3.30 more than the best price here.

Why do the prices differ so much? We compare what each menu calls the same dish, and menus are not identical: portion, cut, sides and the kind of room you are sitting in all ride on the price, and none of that shows up in a number. Part portions and half sizes are kept out of this comparison, and a chain charging the same at several addresses is counted once, so the spread above is between genuinely different kitchens rather than the same one repeated.