What I find is that, while the spicy giardiniera peppers are tough to find, but findable, it's impossible to get the bread right.
Ultimately I think what I miss isn't so much the sandwich itself, which I can reasonably reproduce, but being able to get one within three blocks of anywhere I'm standing.
When I was growing up in Chicago, there was a little hole-in-the-wall type of take out place...it was called Blondees...and they served just two things...Italian Beef Sandwiches and the most delicious fries...that was all that they served...this little gem of a place was three blocks from where we lived...they were only open from late March, thru Halloween...then Mr, and Mrs. Blondee, as everyone called them, RVed down to Florida for the winter, to be with their grown children and grandchildren...
'Blondees', was known by everyone in the area as having the best beef sandwiches and fries...what was especially great about them, as being that they served only these two items, they always had hot food ready to go...just two employees, Mr. and Mrs. Blondee...she took the orders, and rang up the order on the cash register, he cooked the food and together they made up the orders...you could order in one of two ways...either from the little slider window, on the outside, that Mr. Blondee manned, or walk inside to the tiny little room, that had all of one table, a few chairs, and a long lunch counter(most folks took their orders back home, or back to work)...
When it got time for Mr. and Mrs. Blondee to make the trip down to Florida, they would post a cardboard sign in the slider window, announcing their last day they would be serving the yummy food, an announcing the date of their return, a few months later...when the time came, they locked up the little place, and took off to spend the winter in Florida...we always knew ahead of time, when they were leaving, and my mom and dad allowed us to have more than our usual dinner fare of the Blondee goodies, as we were be without it for several months...
Usually it took several weeks, or a couple of months for 'Blondee', withdrawal to set in...you would have a craving for the great eats at Blondees, and no matter how you tried to duplicate their stuff at home, or buy it from another place, it was never the same...as spring returned to Chicago, we got anxious, as we knew, Mr. and Mrs. Blondee would be returning...
That cardboard sign in the slider window, indicating the return of Mr. and Mrs. Blondees, indicating the exact date of their first day on the job, for the new season, was now fading, but it had done its job...we knew exactly when the first day of Blondees treats were again up for sale...
I ran up there on the first day of Blondees return...mom always gave me the money, told me what to buy, and everyone at home, was eagerly waiting my return...I had to leave early, because, there was always a long line of hungry folks, waiting for that slider window to open, for the door to be unlocked...sometimes the line went clear around the block, and down the street...but we did not care, how long the line was...because we knew....Blondee was back, soon, very soon, we would have the best food ever...
They were a great success..they worked only the time from late March, until just after Halloween...they made enough money to carry them through the winter in Florida without having to work...I think a lot of things made them so successful...first off, their food was just so delicious...and secondly, they sold only two things, Italian Beef Sandiwiches, and fries...so they were quick...no one milling around, taking extra time deciding what they wanted to eat...all you had to decide on, was how many Italian Beefs and orders of fries you wanted...and lastly their 'customer service', was tops...Mr. and Mrs. Blondee knew your name, they knew your family, they inquired about your life, they were like old friends...
After many years, they decided to retire permanently to Florida...they were getting elderly, and wanted to spend their remaining golden years with their children and grandchildren...of course, we all understood this, yet we mourned when they left Chicago for good...those last few months before they left, my family got Blondees once or twice a week...mom figured we should get the good stuff, while we still could and get as much as she could afford to pay for...
Mr. and Mrs. Blondee, I am sure, have long ago, passed on to the Lords good care...but to so many of us, who loved their food, and appreciated their care and kindness, we were blessed to have known them and tasted their food, cooked with care and love..