Janson's Drive-In Located in Chicago's Beverly Neighborhood: A Review

This fast-food eatery is a throwback to the 60's, complete with kitschy sign out front that proudly proclaims
hamburger's, shakes and red hots. However that's not all Janson's offers....quite the contrary! They have a whole assortment of sides and meal deals to round out the menu. Or, should I say menus. More about that later!

Now back to the sign. You can see this sign a mile away, approximately 15 ft. in diameter. It almost compels you to stop and look at it because it's where 99th crosses with Western, the main North South street on the South Side. It''s either an attention grabber or an eye sore depending on how you look at it!

The main reason YOU should go there. is for their pizza puffs and banana shakes, $3 each respectively. And for those of you who aren't familiar with what a pizza puff is, it's a miniaturized version of a pizza, whereby the dough is folded over in a rectangular pattern and is deep fried. The result, crispy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside. If you go there order it WELL-DONE. If not the middle will be cold because it comes straight out of the freezer before they put it into the fryer. On the other hand, a banana shake needs no explanation. At Janson's they serve this thick creamy concoction with just the right amount of banana's and milk. No skimping on the ice cream either! The best part is they use real bananas and not banana flavoring. This is reason enough to go there!

What separates Janson's from all the other fast-food eateries in the area is that they don't have any indoor seating but they do have plenty of outdoor seating, complete with umbrellas in the summer months. However, all that goes away in the winter.

What time does the movie start?

One thing I've never understood about Janson's is why it's called Janson's Drive-In? I'd ask the Mr. Janson but he passed years ago. Originally, a drive-in was an outdoor movie theater. But Janson's never was. It was and still is a fast food eatery. They don't even have a drive up ! Although I have to admit calling it a drive-in does have a nice ring to it even if they don't show movies.

Would you like celery salt on that?

Janson's has always been on the corner of 99th Street. About the only thing that's changed is where they use to sell their hot dogs, which was oddly enough across the street. It was a small white shack on the NW corner and opened up every summer. They called it Snyder's. As I recall, it was the first time I had a hot dog with celery salt . That's how they served them, along with mustard, onions, relish and sport peppers. Not just here but all over Chicagoland. The celery salt adds just the right amount of oomph to an otherwise plain old hot dog.
Personally I like mine wit...not without!

Are you ready yet?

Getting back to the rather extensive menu, their offerings (at least 30+ and counting) are posted on six separate wall boards and have literally expanded with each new owner. The new Greek owner offers gyros and a host of meal deals. Pity the poor order-taker who has to wait for someone to make up their mind!

The Menu of all Menus....

The first one is comprised of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, Italian beef sandwiches, Italian sausage, BBQ beef, patty melt, combo beef and sausage, fish sandwich, chicken sandwich and.... surprise! surprise! a gyros sandwich. Prices range from $2.50 up to $3.50

The next menu includes, mozzarella cheese sticks, taco, shrimp basket, jalapeno poppers, chili bowl, hot tamale, chili tamale, soup bowl, hot wings, small and large fries, chicken strips, small cheese fries, large cheese fries and small onion rings and large onion rings. Prices range from $1.50 to $3.00

The third menu is divided up into shakes, malts & sundaes, flavors include chocolate, strawberry, banana, pineapple, hot fudge, hot caramel and malts. Then there's the latest offering, frozen yogurt, added by the last owner. Prices range from $3.00 on up.

And of course no menu would be complete without the drinks, Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Cherry Coke, Fanta Orange,Lemonade, Grape, Root Beer, Sprite and Pink Lemonade, Pibb and Fruit Punch. What no Dr. Pepper? Prices range from $2.00 on up and naturally come in small, medium or large.

I won't even get into the meal deals, at last count there were at least six!

Like I said in the beginning I go there for either a pizza puff or banana shake. Easy. I always stick with what I know. I just don't have that many life years left to try each and everything on the... menu of all menus!

Janson's Drive-In is definitely a blast from the past!