Juicy beef press
NY Times - Demand for Italian Beef Is Booming. Thank ‘The Bear.’ - 08.08.22
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/09/dining/hulu-the-bear-italian-beef-sandwich.html
“According to Chicagoans, a true Italian beef relies on a consistent, harmonious formula of roast beef and hot giardiniera, all atop — this is important — a Turano Baking Company French roll. Roasted peppers, for a touch of sweetness, are optional. The sandwich is then “dipped, dunked or baptized” in beef juices according to jus preference, said Henry Tibensky, a native Chicagoan and the founder and chef of Hank’s Juicy Beef, a roving Chicago hot dog and sandwich pop-up in New York City.”
NY Times - Yes, Italian Beef Has Life Outside of Chicago[!!] - 12.27.21
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/27/dining/italian-beef-restaurants.html
“[A] growing number of brave souls — often displaced Chicagoans — have taken up the challenge of making the city’s least-understood local delicacy a national thing… In New York City, Hank’s Juicy Beef, which before the Covid pandemic had a space on Chambers Street, will re-emerge in January as an extended pop-up at the restaurant Sixth Ward, on Smith Street in Brooklyn.”
Food Network Magazine - September 2021
Jeff Mauro says Hank’s is the “Best Italian beef on the East Coast” !! Hank’s is honored to be included with such awesome restaurants n sandwiches!!
Jeff Mauro (“The Sandwich King”) - Come on Over Podcast - 7.2.20
https://come-on-over-a-jeff-mauro-podcast.simplecast.com/episodes/sangwiches?t=35m30s
Roland’s Food Court - Podcast - 10.4.19
Barstool Gets Its Juicy Beef On at Hank’s - 9.13.19
https://twitter.com/barstoolsports/status/1172706536025542657
Chicago’s Best Sandwich Brings the Juice to New York - OZY - 12.4.18
https://www.ozy.com/good-sht/chicagos-best-sandwich-brings-the-juice-to-new-york/89880
WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
Because there’s only one Chicago Italian beef in the Big Apple.
A Chicago Italian beef is not a cheesesteak. It’s not a French dip, a chopped cheese, po’boy or sub. And while similarly constructed, the Chicago Italian beef is far superior to Philadelphia’s overly greasy roast pork impersonator. If mouth experiences were a ballgame, the “beef” hits for the cycle. And, now, one rogue Chicagoan is bringing his Italian beef sandwich … to New York.
In Chicago, the beef is more ritual than just a meal. “Growing up, beef was life and life was beef,” says Hank Tibensky, an Oak Park, Illinois, native who opened Hank’s Juicy Beef in Manhattan’s Tribeca neighborhood in 2015 after 15 beef-less years living in New York. “I finally had to jump ship from my corporate job and bring the family recipe out here.”
For fans of Chicago Italian beef, that’s what it’s all about. Absorbing the beef, holding it and never letting go.
https://www.theringer.com/2018/8/28/17789014/giardiniera-chicago-condiment
“The unfamiliar topping has turned into a selling point. “We don’t give them an option. We’re just like, ‘Do you want the hot giardiniera or the mild giardiniera?’” Tibensky said. “Now, we have repeat customers coming in, asking if they can buy a pint of it.” (They do, indeed, now sell it in pints.) “We’re going through 10 gallons a week now,” Tibensky said.”
What Is OctFest? Music and Hops Festival Rolls Around Right in Time For National Beer Lover's Day - 9.17.18
https://www.newsweek.com/octfest-national-beer-lovers-day-1111197
QSR Magazine - May 2018 - Standout Store - Hank's Juicy Beef - www.qsrmagazine.com
Blackboard Eats - More Than a Sandwich, It's a Roast Beef Revelation - 2.7.18
https://www.blackboardeats.com/sp/hanks-juicy-beef-tribeca-new-york
"Where's the (Italian) Beef?" - Cover story - Wednesday Journal Newspaper & Oakpark.com - 11/14/2017
http://www.oakpark.com/News/Articles/11-14-2017/Where%27s-the-%28Italian%29-beef%3F-/
Hank's Juicy Beef on First We Feast
Here’s why Chicago’s Italian beef sandwiches are a cut above the rest. pic.twitter.com/71ubJI2VAZ
— First We Feast (@firstwefeast) October 11, 2017
First We Feast - Here's Why Italian Beef Sandwiches are a Cut Above the Rest - Hank's Juicy Beef
https://www.facebook.com/FirstWeFeast/videos/1298133293628730/
Hank Tibensky - Owner of Hank's Juicy Beef - Palate Connect - October 2017
http://www.palateconnect.com/stories/businesses/hank-tibensky-hanks-juicy-beef/
Low Proof Spirits Offer Operators New Options - Nation's Restaurant News - October 2017
http://www.nrn.com/menu/low-proof-spirits-offer-operators-new-options
Hank's Juicy Beef at the New York City Wine and Food Festival "Street Eats"- October 15, 2017
The Food Joy - Hank's Juicy Beef Tribeca - 5.12.17
http://www.thefoodjoy.com/eating-out/hanks-juicy-beef-tribeca
Why Chefs Can't Resist Reviving the French Dip - NY Mag / Grubstreet - Jan 2017
http://www.grubstreet.com/2017/01/why-chefs-cant-resist-reviving-the-french-dip.html
Where to Find the Best Chicago-style Eats in NYC - TimeOutNY - 10.24.16
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/blog/where-to-find-the-best-chicago-style-eats-in-nyc-102416
yale.NYC - “I'm Hank. I sell a mighty delicious juicy beef sandwich.” - 9.21.16
https://www.yale.nyc/post/2016/09/21/henry-hank-tibensky-yc-03-has-got-beef
Village Voice - Best of NYC - 2016
Time Out NY - The 100 Best Dishes and Drinks 2016
https://www.timeout.com/newyork/restaurants/best-dishes-and-drinks-in-nyc-2016
Read Spotlight - Tribeca Neighborhood Guide
http://readspotlight.com/tribeca-neighborhood-guide/
"Hank — nickname of Henry Tibensky — is your new go-to guy for Italian beef here on the East Coast. The Chicago-native brought his family’s old-school recipe to New York City, now with a modern twist. Hank’s Juicy Beef — slow roasted, grass-fed, pasture-raised, and hormone and antibiotic-free — is sliced paper thin with Italian seasoning, giardiniera (pickled vegetables), doused in Hank’s special au jus, and served on a classic Italian-style roll."
Zagat: Chicago's Famed Italian-Style Beef Sandwich Comes to NYC - NY1 News - 8.22.16
An Italian Beef Spot Has Arrived At Long Last - "A Little Slice of Chicago in Tribeca" - Urban Daddy - 7.6.16
“Time’s up, Philly cheesesteak.
Because in rolls Hank’s Juicy Beef, the Italian-beef-sandwich-dedicated spot we’ve waited too long for, now open in Tribeca.
Hank’s not totally new to the game. He’s had a stand at the Long Island City Flea for a while, which brings up an important point. Italian beef has never been able to stand still in New York. Ever elusive. A stand at Smorgasburg here. A menu special there. It’s the chupacabra of sandwiches. Now, it’s got a real-life home dedicated to it, with a door and walls and everything, and this is it.
For the uninitiated, Italian beef is a product of Chicago. The process goes as such: spice and slow-roast some beef, slice it thin enough to pile a lot into an imported-from-Chicago flaky French roll, dip it in au jus, pile it into that roll, top it with sweet peppers or giardiniera (a spicy pepper blend)—and provolone, if you want. Then, either eat (the dry version) or dip the entire thing back into the au jus and eat (the wet one).
For the most part, you’ll be taking this out and eating it elsewhere, eyes rolling to the back of your head in pleasure during the first bite. But if you happen to pull up a chair, know that you can also have one of Hank’s very own Bronx Brewery brews there, too.”
Tribeca Citizen - New Kid on the Block - Hank's Juicy Beef - 7.13.16
https://tribecacitizen.com/2016/07/13/new-kid-on-the-block-hanks-juicy-beef/
Henry “Hank” Tibensky took a circuitous route to opening Hank’s Juicy Beef. After growing up in Chicago, he went to college in Connecticut, then moved to New York City, where he modeled and waited tables at Trattoria Dell’Arte for a year. Then he moved to China, where he taught English. Back in the city, he considered opening a Shanghai-style restaurant, but took the safer route toward law school. Working as a paralegal for three years disabused him of that notion; he embarked instead on a three-year tour of duty in finance. “But I was sitting in my office on Park Avenue thinking about this sandwich that I couldn’t get anywhere in the city,” he says. “I realized that my dream is to bring the beef sandwich to New York. Does that sound cheesy?”
One taste of the sandwich, a Chicago specialty, and you can see why he was obsessed. Here’s the HJB website’s description: “Slow roasted beef, marinated in savory Italian herbs and spices, topped with a spicy (or mild) giardiniera, and loaded onto a soft Italian-style roll.” I ordered mine (pictured above) “sweet and cheesy,” i.e., with green peppers and provolone.
Tibensky was able to lean on his family’s expertise. “All my mom’s siblings married into Italian families in Chicago, and my aunt’s family owned a restaurant called Vito’s. One Easter, I asked them for advice, and off we went to the kitchen.” He perfected his recipe while selling the sandwich at the Long Island City Flea.
Tibensky is proud of the effort that goes into his food. “We do all our own cooking in house,” he says. “We slice the beef fresh every morning—it’s grass-fed, pasture-raised, antibiotic-free, and hormone-free. And we make the giardiniera and lemon Italian ice ourselves.” The short menu also includes eggplant parm and Italian sausage sandwiches (with “old-school Italian sausage made in Chicago”), along with a beef-sausage combo. In the next few weeks, Tibensky plans on adding “Chicago’s number one Vienna Beef hot dog,” with the appropriate toppings.
The space, most recently an outpost of Quiznos, has been opened up and spruced up, with seating for 20, a Michael Jordan poster, and a zesty neon sign over tropical wallpaper. Tibensky hopes the restaurant will appeal to folks looking to wind down after work with a beer from Sixpoint or Bronx Brewery or a glass of Macari Vineyard rosé. (Look for a happy hour special soon.) He chose the location because the law firm he worked at was on Centre Street, and he recalled fondly the diverse group of people and, less fondly, how few places there were to eat in the east Tribeca/Civic Center area.
As we talk, a patron stops by to say how much he enjoyed the sandwich. “He was a first-time beefer,” says Tibensky after the patron leaves. “To see that smile after the first bite—it makes a long day worthwhile.”
Three Commas (Mark Cuban's Blog) - Reservations About Opening a Restaurant in NY? - 8.22.16
https://threecommas.com/blogs/news/reservations-about-opening-a-restaurant-in-new-york
Gothamist - Hank's Juicy Beef Slinging Chicago-style Italian Beef in Tribeca - 7.8.16
http://gothamist.com/2016/07/08/hanks_juicy_beef.php#photo-1
NY Mag Grub Street - New York Now Has a Shop Specializing in Italian Beef Sandwiches - 7.6.16
http://www.grubstreet.com/2016/07/hanks-juicy-beef-opening.html
Hank's Juicy Beef Wins the Foodi Challenge at NYC Wine and Food Festival - 11.12.15
Tribeca Citizen - Good News for Chicagoans - 09.15.15
https://tribecacitizen.com/2015/09/09/good-news-for-chicagoans/
“Remember how we heard that a sandwich shop was opening in the former Quiznos space at 84 Chambers? It’s going to be Hank’s Juicy Beef‘s first brick-and-mortar restaurant. HJB specializes in “authentic Chicago-style Italian Beef sandwiches.”
Yale SOM - Q4 Foodtober: Entrepreneurship: Turning Ideas Into Businesses - 10.28.14
https://som.yale.edu/event/2014/10/q4-foodtober-entrepreneurship-turning-ideas-into-businesses
Ever dreamed of starting your own food business? Or just enjoy eating? Please join YAANY and the Yale School of Management Alumni Association (SOMAA) at Mansion Catering's Manhattan Penthouse for a candid conversation with entrepreneurs who have successfully "cracked" the food industry. Nothing is off the table: we'll discuss sustainability, sourcing, business planning, capital raising, and marketing, with time for Q&A at the end.