Nino's Italian Beef and Hotdogs — Restaurant in Palos Township

Went here tonight for some food to bring to a local brewery to celebrate my dad's (who passed away 3 years ago) birthday. Had gone here many times before and the food and service was great. Looked online ahead of time and looked like it was the same. Pulled up to the drive through and realized everything had changed. Menu was full of mexican food (which I like) but I was confused since online they had the old menu. So I ordered from the old menu even though I didn't see it on the drive thru menu. 2 hot dog meal and an Italian beef wet with sweet peppers. They took down my order so figured they still had the old stuff. Pulled up to the 1st window and girl admitted it was her 2nd day (warning sign). Before paying made sure the hot dogs were part of a meal because we weren't asked what drink. She said yes and what drink would we like. We asked what do they have and she had to go look. We asked for fruit punch. Paid and on to the next window. After a few minute wait guy gave us a bag and said "here u go boss" so quickly we couldn't ask for ketchup (warning sign two). Drove around the building and asked for ketchup packets. Got to the brewery and realized we didn't get the fruit punch! Oh well out a drink not that bad. It gets worse. Get into the brewery and gave my daughter and wife the hot dogs and put the "Italian beef" in front of me. Opened it up and it was a steak burrito. Well that's not right but like I said I like Mexican and decided let's give it a try. It was one of the worst burritos I have ever tasted. Steak was overdone and chewy and the rest was just tasteless and fell apart in my hand. If it wasn't for the special occasion I would have drove back but didn't want to leave other family that we had met there to celebrate. What's worse is I looked at the receipt when finally home for the night and they charged me for an Italian beef meal. So that means we didn't get two drinks, were missing one fry, and that I got the worst steak burrito of my life instead of an Italian beef i ordered. Yeah one star...

TLDR: the food is not worth the wait. Skip it.

This was a favorite spot of my partners for quite a while. The one time I went with him (pre-owner change), the service was intensely slow, but it was also obvious they were short staffed and everyone was doing the best they could. I have worked in food service and retail food for a long time and I can forgive anything if folks are trying.

Cut to: last Wednesday. We pull up, and he’s a bit surprised by the menu change but I ask if they have the meal he normally gets, answer is yes: two hot dog meal is still available. We order that and a taco. That’s it. Two hot dogs, one steak taco, fry, Diet Coke. We pay, aren’t given the drink, but pull forward expecting to be given everything there.

Twenty minutes later: still nothing. The problem with having a drive through window that shows you such a large portion of the inside is that I not only could count how many people were working (six), but also gives me the time to see them all standing around talking.

Like I said, I can forgive almost anything. Crazy stuff happens in a kitchen, but what I can’t forgive is watching folks do nothing while I’m waiting. Two hot dogs, a taco, fries, and a Diet Coke should take five minutes max if you’re a well prepped kitchen, which you should be with six folks on staff for a small business. Ten minutes if folks are new. Twenty minutes while watching folks stand there isn’t ok.

Embarrassingly, my partner honks (sorry, friends!) and a guy walks up to the window and says “what’s going on?” I informed him we’d been waiting for twenty minutes and were trying to figure out what the status was. He tells us to hold on and a minute later the girl who took our order initially brings the bag that had obviously been ready and forgotten about. She forgot the...

Nino's is quite a surprise. Poor old Willow Springs needed a quick food vendor with reasonable prices. Drive-in & take your time reading the convenient outdoor drive-through menu board. (That was a mouthful to explain. But wait, you're about to place your order for mouthfuls of ) Remember, Nino's is not your father's Micky-D's. Whatever suits your fancy will be fried, grilled, baked, or flipped to perfection & the satisfaction of the expert kitchen staff. My wife & I have visited there three times. Between us, we've taken home deliciously huge burgers (AH), a Chicago style all-beef hotdog (my-o-my goodness) &' since I still fondly remember that wild & tasty experience at the place where I first ate this menu item: the (original taste of) a Maxwell Street Polish. (Nostalgic Ruch, Mmmmm) My wife even had an Oreo Flurry, as good as any other. Last, a short time after Nino's opened, they added a dine-in option. It might not be the absolutely best quick food place on the planet but it is very good & it is in my home town. So, do yourself a good tasting, quickly prepared, served with a smile favor & stop for lunch, supper, or whenever your tummy is demanding food. Oops, I just thought of this: if you're heading down Archer Ave on the way to the Forest Preserves, grab yourself a sack of deliciousness for...