Earlier this year, the Chicago Tribune ran a story where they named the top corned beef sandwiches in the Chicagoland region. Many of the places they listed I had been to, but there was one place that I had passed a few times in the past out in Oak Park that they had listed - The Onion Roll. It turned out that not long after the article came out, I was in the Oak Park area and had a chance to stop in for a late lunch to The Onion Roll.
The Onion Roll is a Jewish deli that has been around for nearly 60 years, but five years ago the original owners were looking to retire. Two chiropractors whose original practice was just down the block from The Onion Roll - Dr. Igor Russo and Dr. Ryan Rosenthal - didn't want the place to close up. They ended up buying the deli in 2014 and set about freshening up the restaurant.
Like any place that is owned by someone for over 50 years - home, building, business - there's always some things that get worn or neglected as time goes on. The two chiropractors renovated the deli and kitchen area, as well as the dining room, giving everything a fresh new look without making it look "too new". They reopened the revamped deli about four months after they took over.
The Onion Roll is located on North Ave. in Oak Park, just east of Harlem Ave. (see map) I pulled up to the brick facade building with a green awning in front around 1:30 that day. Going inside the deli, there is a long deli counter just as you walk in. Different types of meats, cheeses, salads and sides were on display in the refrigerated glass counter. Not knowing the drill, I asked one of the guys behind the counter if I ordered at the counter or sat down to order. He asked if I was getting it to go - I wasn't. "To go orders up here," he explained. "If you're eating here, grab a seat and we'll get you taken care of."
The main dining room was a long and narrow space with a counter that sat 7 or 8 patrons with a number of tables along the wall and up front. I took a table next to the wall and picked up a menu that was on the table. I was kind of surprised to see that they had a full breakfast menu available featuring omelets, pancakes, breakfast sandwiches, and - of course - fresh smoked lox on a bagel. The lunch portion of the menu featured a number of deli sandwiches, as well as burgers and a chicken sandwich. Jewish specialties such as Nova Latkes, chopped liver and a smoked lox sandwich were also available. The signature item on the menu appeared to be a variety of corned beef or pastrami sandwiches that are served on fresh onion rolls - naturally. They came in two sizes - Earthling and Spaceman.
I know they were cited for having one of the top corned beef sandwiches in the city, but I ended up getting The Onion Roll's hot pastrami with Swiss cheese on rye. The pastrami was piled high with the Swiss cheese sort of balancing on top. A large kosher dill pickle came on the side with a small tub of ground horseradish that I eagerly put on the sandwich along with some yellow mustard. The waitress also brought out a small sample of their cole slaw for me to try after she tried to get me to order it as a side.
The pastrami was cut thin and was very lean. It had that wonderful pastrami taste and the horseradish gave it a zippy taste quality. The rye bread was dry, but still very edible. This was a quality sandwich.
And I have to say that I messed up on not getting the cole slaw. The sample that I tried had that wonderful sweet, sour and spicy taste sensation that I love in good cole slaw. I was sorry when the couple three bites of the sample she brought out were gone. But that was fine - the sandwich was more than enough for me for lunch that day.
I always love finding good little Jewish delicatessens and The Onion Roll more than lived up to my expectations once I read about the place in the Chicago Tribune. The hot pastrami with Swiss on rye was a classic deli sandwich. Having fresh horseradish to put on top of the pastrami helped give it a little zip in taste. And the cole slaw sample I had made me wish I had ordered it in the first place. Jewish delis are a dying breed, I'm sorry to say. But with new owners, The Onion Roll will be serving up great sandwiches, breakfasts and Jewish specialties for years to come.
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