India Jenkins makes a signature sandwich at The Corned Beef Hideout packed with meat, heat and history. The chef, owner and solo operator of the sandwich shop calls her creation That Jerk. The hot spice mix infuses not only the meat, but a house-made jerk sauce too.
My memory still burns from that first taste, despite dozens of sandwiches over the years on the corned beef beat. Its intensity will surprise you, given the dramatic draping of layers made with the care of a couturier. Bold yet elegant, it is a statement piece in sandwich form.
When you go in search of that sandwich, prepare for a bit of a quest, which will take you about 35 miles southwest of Chicago to the village of Romeoville, through the winding roads of a residential complex, to a community center, and finally a stand hidden within, where you’ll find the shop.
So what goes into this destination sandwich, piled high with tender sliced corned beef, gilded with radiant sauce, all barely contained by fragrant rye bread?
“Love,” said Jenkins laughing. “Just different herbs and spices to give it that kick.”
The chef declined to share her recipe, understandably, but did reveal a few details
“You got cayenne pepper,” she said. “And I put some paprika in it.”
But no scotch bonnet, which I’d guessed, given the impressive yet fruited heat. The chile pepper is a traditional jerk spice mix ingredient. That fiery flavor is tempered by soft yet sturdy slices of seedless rye bread.
“I use a local bakery here in Joliet called Milano’s,” Jenkins said.
The DeBenedetti family founded Milano Bakery in 1915, now run by its fourth generation.
The Corned Beef Hideout opened in 2023, but can trace its lineage back to an iconic sandwich shop on the West Side of Chicago that opened in 1933.
“I grew up on Moon’s,” said Jenkins, who was born and raised in the North Lawndale neighborhood. “And Jimmy is the person who was my master class teacher.”
James Radek has owned Moon’s Sandwich Shop for 47 years. He originally partnered with the sons of the late Anthony Gambino, who founded the restaurant 92 years ago.
“I went to him,” said Jenkins about Radek. “And I said, ‘Jimmy, I’m interested in opening up a corned beef place out in Romeoville. Do you mind if I come in and you teach me?’ He said, ‘Absolutely, come in.’”
He allowed her to come in and learn to cook and cut the meat, she said.
“I just talked to him a couple of weeks ago, because my mom was visiting him,” Jenkins said. “And she said, ‘Jimmy’s here.’ I thought Jimmy retired, but he got on the phone, and I told him again, thank you so much. Because sometimes business owners don’t have the time or want to do that. And he allowed me the opportunity to come in and ask questions, recommended vendors, gave me suggestions and allowed me to learn. And I’m so forever in his debt for that.”
While many places use bottom flat corned beef, Jenkins said she uses top round. “With the top round corned beef, it stays a little juicier,” she said.
She seasons the corned beef with her jerk spice mix, then simmers it for three to four hours, before slicing it thin, but not too thin.
“Each sandwich comes with almost a pound of meat on it,” said the chef. “Where pretty much one sandwich can feed two people, that’s what all the customers tell me.”
Jenkins just celebrated the two-year anniversary of The Corned Beef Hideout.
“It wasn’t because it’s the month of St. Patrick’s Day,” she said. “My anticipated grand opening day was supposed to be Jan. 1.”
But her father was sick.
“I wanted to be with my dad,” Jenkins said.
Leon Stephany died at 82 on Jan. 23, 2023. Jenkins grieved his loss and wanted to be there for her mother.
“I decided to just open up March 1,” she said. “So my mom was settled, and I was kind of in the right headspace, and could be there 100% for my customers.”
Two years later, she’s developed a devoted following.
And the menu is focused.
“I wanted to make sure it was tight,” she added, with fewer ingredients to purchase due to the economy, and where customers can just order from seven items.
There are a few cozy tables inside the airy space, and outside when weather permits.
How did she find the unusual setting?
“So it’s a beautiful story,” said Jenkins. “I live in this community, and my son attended the Montessori school that’s right here in this building.”
There was a cafe, she said, but it was underutilized.
She originally opened a Surf’s Up seafood franchise in the space, her debut as a Black woman business owner.
“I had never worked in the restaurant industry in my life. I just knew I liked to eat,” said Jenkins, laughing.
She previously worked as a recruiter for more than 20 years, after earning her degree in marketing from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale.
“I stepped out on faith,” she said. “A lot of hard work and a lot of prayer went into stepping out on my own business and just allowing the man above to lead and guide me.”
“My customers and the community have definitely shown their love,” Jenkins said. “And they continue to bring me through.”
The other fan-favorite sandwiches include the Two Faced, with corned beef and pastrami, and the Classic, with just corned beef.
Both can be made Reuben style too, with Swiss cheese, sauerkraut and Thousand Island dressing, on grilled bread.
But not That Jerk.
“I do have quite a few customers request it,” said the chef. “Sometimes you get a customer who says, ‘Well, can’t we have it our way?’ I’m like, this is not Burger King.”
But she is planning to make a jerk Thousand Island sauce.
“That way I can give them that Reuben experience,” Jenkins said. “But for now, I won’t mess that sandwich up.”
