In the first episode of The Bear<\/em>, the award-winning<\/a> FX series that captures the chaos of a fictional Chicago restaurant, one thing is made clear: Crumbly bread does not belong on an Italian beef sandwich. Not only is this bread assertion true\u2014it might be the most useful tip for recreating the show\u2019s signature sandwich at home.<\/p>\n An Italian beef is a classic Chicago sandwich<\/a> of thinly sliced roast beef piled onto a French roll with either sweet peppers or spicy giardiniera. Typically served hot and wet (i.e. alongside a bowl of au jus for dipping or fully submerged into a pot of its own juices) this nourishing, warming sandwich sits alongside the hot dog and deep-dish pizza as one of Chicago\u2019s iconic foods.<\/p>\n In The Bear<\/em>, Italian beef plays as central a role as some of its principal actors. According to Emmett Burke, a Chicago native and the owner of Emmett\u2019s<\/a>\u2014a Manhattan restaurant specializing in Chicago\u2019s specialties\u2014the sandwich\u2019s prominence within the show matches its real life importance. \u201cIn Chicago, the beef stands are kind of everywhere,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s only one Italian beef, there\u2019s no California-style Italian beef. It\u2019s a quintessential Chicago sandwich.\u201d While the restaurant\u2019s culinary identity progresses into something more complex as the season goes on, an expertly prepared Italian beef sandwich appears numerous times throughout every episode.<\/p>\n