Beef Villa

The broasted chicken is to die for!!!!! The service staff are pretty nice too.  Definitely will be our go to for catering.

Best hot dogs in town. And in the area. Good menu variety, moderate pricing and friendly atmosphere.

Everyone,

I have decided to start writing reviews on Yelp because, while I use the site frequently to read others reviews, I have found some times that the reviews are not reflective of my experience.  

My own imposed rules for any review:

1. Must visit at least three times.  Two of which must be distinctly different formats; i.e. one weekday night and one weekend night.
2. Must order something unique each visit.
3. If they have any "signature" items on the menu, you must order a "signature" item at least once.
4. Ratings are based on a 10 point scale with 5 being average, which does not mean bad.  What a score of 5 means is that the category meets expectations for that establishments format.

Thanks.

Beef Villa

Location/Layout - 6/10:  While there are 3 locations now; East Side, West Side, and South Elgin.  Growing up and presently I favor the West Side location.  Located directly across the street from Larkin High School on Larkin Avenue, the restaurant is easy to locate with the locally famous smiling dog road sign.  Parking is ample and they offer quick drive through service.  The dining area is your typical fast food joint using a glaring red, orange, and yellow color scheme with everything being either lacquer or hard plastic.  There have been times where I wished they had wiped the tables and/or swept but the eating area is usually pretty tidy.  

Menu - 6.5/10: Beef Villa specializes in your usual Chicago "beef stand" fare.  The difference is they differentiate themselves by offering broasted chicken in addition to the standard dog, beef, polish, gyro options.  They also try specialty sandwiches and salads at times along with certain seasonal items.

Service - 7/10: the service is usually friendly and accommodating.  The thing that sets them apart is the speed in which the orders are processed and the language used to communicate the orders from the counter to the kitchen.  Even though orders are never written down there is rarely an error with the orders, which in a fast food environment is impressive.

Food - 7/10: While the beefs are above average and generous when compared to other beef joints throughout the 'burbs, they never get the beef wet enough for my liking and charge for a side of juice.   The dogs are Red Hot Chicago, which I prefer, and have all the toppings you have come to expect on a Chicago dog.  The only complaint with the dogs is that there are times when the buns are either hard or over steamed.  The sides are average although they have combinations that are unique such as "more cheese".  The exception to the run of the mill sides that you get everywhere is the cheese fries.  Served in movie theatre sized popcorn cups and absolutely loaded with liquid gold, they are served with forks which quickly become a necessity to truly enjoy this cheesy achievement.  Another menu item that is unique to Beef Villa, which differentiates them from other dog and beef stands, is their broasted chicken.  The Beef Villa broasted chicken has been a staple with our family/friends for parties and gatherings for years.  Even more impressive is they offer a three piece meal for a bargain price on Tuesday nights.  Prices vary, some items are reasonable, others in line with market, while others are very high but they do offer nightly specials.    

Drinks - 4/10:  They offer the standard fountain drinks and machine shakes but little other options.

Overall Experience - 7/10:  This is the dog joint that I grew up on and will always be my basis for comparison of any future beefs and dogs.  They offer solid items across the board and always try to experiment with seasonal items.  I just wish that they would begin offering value meals and not have all items be ala carte.