People all of the country want Italian Beef because of FX's 'The Bear' TV Show

Two Italian Beef sandwiches on Portillo’s menu on March 8, 2021, in Sterling Heights. It was the location’s first day being open to the public. Portillo’s is most well-known for its Chicago-style hot dogs but offers a wide assortment of food. Portillos 03072021 At 206

FX‘s The Bear is a very unique and engaging show that takes place in Chicago. The new show’s entire first season is available now on Hulu. It’s about a Michelin Chef who leaves the five-star restaurant he was working at to take over the Chicago Italian Beef Sandwich restaurant his recently-deceased brother left him. There’s a big focus on food in this show…

If you’ve seen the 2014 film, Chef, you know how easy it is to crave a sandwich after seeing it beautifully prepared by a talented chef on screen (in this case it was Cubanos). The Bear is having the same effect on viewers all over the country. Suddenly, people outside of Illinois REALLY want Italian Beef Sandwiches.

While the sandwich had been expanding out of the state in recent years, it’s still primarily found in and close to Illinois. So a lot of The Bears’ audience is SOL when it comes to getting their hands on a very tasty Italian Beef. Maybe with the show’s success, we will see Portillo’s, Buona Beefs, and Al’s Beef restaurants pop up all over the United States!

Source: The New York Times