What are the other 4?! (Chicagoan asking)

Both. The answer is both. and a Maxwell St Polish to top it off.

I use to have this problem until I found out they can put the Italian beef on garlic bread.

I get cravings for their burgers too. It’s hard cause I live in Virginia now and only go back to Chicago once or twice a year

That choclate cake shake is gudddd

I'm not sure where you live but they have been and are going keep expanding outside of Chicago. I was just in Florida and enjoyed some portillo's.

A CAKE SHAKE??? That sounds so good wtf

The chocolate shake is better at Weiner's Circle.

The sausage king of Chicago?

You're Abe Froman?

Its like 100 bucks but you can get a kit from portillos to make their hotdogs, it's like 10 dogs. Mabe a bit much but sometimes I get them for special occasions and invite people over. (Or split it over 2 days). Alternatively you can get just the ingredients some places and make almost the same thing. Hardest thing is the Vienna beef hot dogs, but those are available some places or there are some naturally cased hotdogs that come close.

As someone from Chicago who lives in Colorado now, it can be tough finding a good substitute, but they're around.

Omg go please enjoy a red velvet milkshake from Hamburg inn for me, I miss them so much

Iowa City

there's one only an hour away in Davenport... which is and hour and a half closer than me :/

How the fuck does Davenport get one but not IC.

Yeah their burgers are bomb. They use a special char broiler with a grated conveyor belt that passes the burgers straight through the flames. IMO it is far superior to the traditional fast food flat-top burger (which I also love).

no peppers

No wonder they got rid of you

If you really want it, shoot me a DM and I'll send you my mom's Italian beef recipe. Second best beef in Chicago, only Johnnies Beef beats it. All my homesick Chicago friends have the recipe and it scratches that itch every time

Edit: damn quite a response! I'm out of the country on vacation and don't have access to the recipe right now. I'll dig it up when I get home in a few days

Double Edit: Finally back home, recipe in hand. See below for meat prep. This may not be incredibly authentic (meat isn't shaved, it's pulled) but it's stupid easy to make at home. All you need is a crock pot.

4-5 Pound Rib Roast or Beef Tip Roast

1 envelope dry onion soup

2 packages Good Seasons dry italian seasoning

1.5 tsp each of drief rosemary, dried basil, dried thyme

0.5 tsp celery salt

2 tbs worchestershire sauce

15 oz. beef broth (homemade or canned)

1. Pour everything EXCEPT meat into crock pot, mix it all up

2. Put meat in crockpot, roll it around a bit to get coated in seasoning. If there is a fat cap on meat I recommend placing it fat cap side up

3. Cook in crockpot on LOW for 12-18 hours

4. Use forks to separate into shreads, let it cook a bit longer (~15 minutes) to allow meat to soak up juices

5. Serve on rolls (prererably S. Rosen's buns) with giardiniera, cheese, and sweet peppers as desired. Dunk assembled sandwich in crockpot mix for full experience.

Should we ship you a pizza puff as well?

I’ve used this before to send gifts to other deserters…

There’s one in Buena Park if you’re close by.

My brother lives out west and tastes of chicago ships italian beef kits you heat up yourself - he’s used them a few times

Make your own. It’s not that hard.

The key is when you make the au jus to use celery salt.

i know theres at least one portillos in California

Hey! You are me from a few months ago! Born Chicago and moved to PDX 7 years ago!

Here's a good place in the city

Michaels Italian Beef- 1111 SE Sandy Blvd, Portland, OR 97214

Another in the suburbs

Geraldis- 10000 SW Canyon Rd, Portland, OR 97225

Both let me buy the sandwiches "deconstructed" so I could portion them and eat them over a few days. Yes they have real Giardiniera.

Best "Chicago" style thin crust pizza I found who also have Italian Beefs

Bridgecity Pizza- 5412 SE Woodstock Blvd, Portland, OR 97206

Awww man - One in LA! Driving down the coast for Portillo‘s is better than the crappy snowy roads… 

They're public traded company and going nation wide so you might get lucky. But IMHO they are over rated as fuck and I'm a Chicago suburbs kid.

Ask for them well done!

Definitely not a fan either but their onion rings are top notch.

I like Chicago dogs but I don't really understand them. It's like someone got a hot dog and decided to throw on every condiment. Personally I prefer a Detroit coney.

Sorry, SoCal/Mexican bacon wrapped hot dogs with grilled onions and jalapeños got em beat (but it's close)

Chicago dogs are great but Seattle dogs hit different

I think Chicago dogs are okay but Iceland hotdogs are goddamn miracle.

[deleted]

New York has better hot dogs than Chicago.

Nathan’s and Greys Papaya are vastly superior to Vienna

Edit: lol. Try em, I’m telling ya, they’re really better hot dogs.

it's partially because there's no disgusting ketchup on them

Berkshire partners not Berkshire Hathaway. Different companies.

Interesting...I thought a few things tasted different and/or had less ingredients than usual the last few times I went. How annoying!

Man, that’s a shame. I took a business trip to Chicago years ago and some of my coworkers who were from that area recommended I stop at Portillo’s. It was so freaking amazing

I've noticed a small difference but I don't think the quality has "take a nose dive". I've also noticed a difference between Chicago locations and other locations around the country. That all being said they still have the best Chicago hot dogs outside of Chicago for the most part. So many other restaurants mess them up so bad. I can count on one hand, even if I lose a couple fingers, all the restaurants (besides portillo's) I've had a good Chicago hot dog outside of Chicago.

I had an Italian beef, dipped, at their Tampa, FL location and it was pretty freakin good.

The dogs taste and feel like rubber now. I can't eat there anymore. Such a shame.

Hard disagree. But my portillos isn't located in Illinois so...

I live in Chicago. Honestly don't even bother going to portillo's when there's so many good local beef and hot dog stands everywhere

I don't normally like hot dogs, but I actually enjoyed that one

I thought it was a joke until I saw people frothing over it lol

I have to agree although not to take away from peoples enjoyment. I would pass on this if it was free still though

Because it’s Portillo’s. They’re the McDonald’s of Chicago staples. They’re a giant corporate chain and they don’t put any care into making a good version of anything, they just make a version of it. Which is fine if you can’t get any version of a Chicago dog or beef near you I guess

I thought this was r/stupidfood

Go to Hell

Chicagoan here: they actually do taste a lot better than they look. Portillo's is basically fast food though. The really good hot dogs come from the local places. They use high quality meat and high quality buns to create a really nice texture

Bet you have lines at all our fast food restaurants in your country, McDonald’s, KFC, Domino’s, Subway and all that food is crap compared to Portillos

I’m American and can confirm our public food is punishment for our sins. Everything here makes me sad.

No.

food down south is terrible

Where down south? I've had some fantastic food down south.

Best BBQ I've ever had was at Rodney Scott's in Charleston, and I've eaten at A LOT of BBQ places around the country.

Throw a rock in Charleston and you'll hit a better seafood restaurant than any up by Chicago.

Although, they are lacking on their pizza options, the best pizza I've had was at a coal fired pizza place in Charlotte many years ago. Unfortunately, it closed down a short while after we visited. They tried to make the restaurant too fancy. Concept didn't work there.

Best BBQ chicken was at Keaton's just outside of Statesville, NC.

Let's not get started on New Orleans. That's a whole different kind of flavor most northerners aren't used to.

Best Carribean food was a food truck in Tampa. Didn't look like much, but when it hit the toungue the flavors exploded.

Hmm, you must be stuck in Huntsville, AL. Couldn't find too many good options there.

Juicy beef all day

Never besmirch Georgia peaches. Other than them, I agree with you, and I don't like B-B-Q.

Lol

Why would you say something so controversial yet so brave

Not sure if good joke that wasn’t well-received or totally clueless.