Chowdown Showdown Countdown: Which Town Leads the Way in the Battle of the Tastebuds?

Each week, Chowdown Showdown takes three local restaurants—one in Tinley Park, one in Orland Park and one in Oak Forest—and pits their dishes against each other to find the best around.

This week we're giving our waistlines a rest, recapping the battles thus far and asking you where we should go next.

The Battle: Who brings the best sundae to the table? We're talking whipped cream, nuts, hot fudge—the works. We asked each spot serve us their best stuff. We even let them pick the sundae they wanted to show off. AND we let Palos Patch in on the fun.

The Contenders: Oak Forest's served up their turtle sundae, Tinley's boasted a specialty "Sam's Sundae," Oberweis in Orland went with a Hot Fudge Brownie Sundae, and Plush Horse in Palos let us have it any way we wanted it.

Who Swept the Sweets?

The week's Silver Spoon went to Sam & Jake's, who clipped Plush Horse by a nose.

The Battle: In this round, we wanted to see how Italian beef sandwiches from two local spots in Oak Forest and Tinley Park would stack up against each other. Our critic's standards were quite specific, as he specified that a quality beef sandwich should have good bread (not too soggy) and tender beef. He also prefers his with hot peppers.

The Contenders: We went with Markella's in Oak Forestand Pop's Italian Beef in Tinley Park for our taste test.

And the Best Beef Goes To....

Once a winner, always a winner. And Markella's of Oak Forest, who previously won the burger battle, donned the crown once again for its solid combination of good bread and well-seasoned beef, plus great taste and good peppers.

The Battle: In our most recent round of the 'down, we grabbed our chopsticks and soy sauce for six rolls of sushi—one spicy tuna from each spot, with a specialty roll from each.

The Contenders: We stopped into Hamada of Japan in Tinley Park, Ichiro of Orland Park, and Sakebob of Oak Forest. It was a giant, delicious task for Oak Forest Patch Editor Lauren Traut, but she took one for the team.

Who Has the Hottest Uncooked Fish Around?

Traut picked Hamada as tops, hands down. The size of the rolls, the flavor, the color and presentation—all beat out the competitor's offerings.

Tinley takes top prize for June, running away with two of the three wins of the month. Want to get your town back into the top spot? Tell us which food you want to see next. Should we be looking for the choicest chicken? The most salivatory salad?

Got a feud with a friend over who has the best fries, chow mein or whatnot? Tell us what to eat, and where. It's up to you, folks. What's next on our plates?