Italian beef sandwiches find Georgetown home
Bill Nychay has capitalized on Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches at WiseGuys, A Chicago Eatery in Round Rock. From the team behind the eatery comes the following announcement.
“Welcome to our newest creation, The Red Door Kitchen. Everything you love about Wiseguys and more. Full service sit down menu with all your favorite sandwiches and casual comfort Italian favorites at night all set in old world charm.”
Bill and I left Chicago 40 plus years ago, but we still miss some of our favorite Chi-town favorite foods. We were familiar with WiseGuys and anxious to try the new Georgetown restaurant at 4106 Williams Drive that serves the same sandwiches as well as Italian specialties.
Mr. Nychay told us how pleased he was with the soft opening of his business.
“Great turnout,” he said. “We started with half of our lunch menu. Then we went to 75 percent and now the full lunch menu.”
The restaurant seats 67 patrons.
“We’re controlling the flow so I can staff correctly and know what foods are going out,” Mr. Nychay said. “We’ve been doing reservations to control the flow. If the kitchen is okay, I’ll accommodate walk-ins.”
We were seated in the “Boom, Boom Room.”
“We wanted a Goodfellas, Casino, Godfather vibe, “Mr. Nychay explained. ”I wanted to go for that 1970s swanky Las Vegas, speakeasy, old time Chicago look. I think the red and black just oozes old time.”
A full wall mural gives depth to the room as if looking down a back alley in the Windy City.
“Everybody takes pictures of it,” Mr. Nychay said with pride.
We shared an order of fried pickles for an appetizer, then shared two entrees: a smash burger and an Italian beef sandwich. We chose spicy “wicked slaw” for the side. The food was very good and the portions generous.
“My chef, Evan Simmons, is a local Georgetown guy…a young guy with some experience who is ready for the next step,” Mr. Nychay said.
The bread for the Italian beef sandwiches is shipped from Chicago. Bread for cheese steak, Italian sausage and meatball sandwiches is shipped in from Philly.
“For the hot dogs, poppy seed buns are shipped from Chicago and obviously we are using all Vienna hot dogs,” Mr. Nychay assured me.
Pizza and pasta plates are in restaurant’s the future.
“They are going to be the game changers,” Mr. Nychay promised. “So, as long as we’re convenient and we're good, I think we can get a lot of people over there.”
Mr. Nychay and his wife, Dandy, are hands-on owners. Dandy is taking on an administrative role. Both husband and wife are overseeing the front of the house.
“It’s right down the street from our house,” he said. “So we’ll be here all the time. This is kind of the new baby.”
The Red Door Kitchen is located at 4106 Williams Drive. It is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. seven days a week. It’s a BYOB restaurant. Reservations for lunch or dinner are recommended. I recommend bringing home an order of cannolis!