https://www.portillos.com/order/ So, Portillos opened a new restaurant in the Willowbrook area, where Fuddruckers used to be, next to the Olive Garden. I went to one in Chicago a few years ago and it was really good so I thought I would give this new location a shot. It's not nearly as big as the one I went to in Chicago and the menu was really paired down from what I remember, when I went a few years ago I had an Italian beef that they dunked in their au jus sauce, and it was messy and really good. I didn't see that on this menu so went with the Hot Dog combo which consisted of 2 Chicago dogs, fries and a soda for about $13.00 bucks for the small. The Hot Dogs were pretty good, the fries were Luke warm. The CS was awesome, and they seemed to have a lot of staff, maybe due to the initial opening. The overall theme was pretty cool................didn't blow my socks off but was worth the visit, on my next trip I will try either the coney dog or the Italian beef, they have a chocolate cake shake that I will try to.
The Chicago "drag through the garden" Dog is possibly the worst hotdog on the planet, or even universe A proper beef sammich is awesome. ...and no, I've never been to a Portillos
A Portillo's that doesn't serve italian beef sounds sacrilegious. That's like a Chick-Fil-A not serving chicken sandwiches. Glad you enjoyed it though. Portillo's quality (particularly the beef) and perception around Chicago has dipped a bit since they were bought out and expanded, but I still enjoy the hot dog and maxwell street polish. Also helps that the Bulls do a free hot dog promo when an opponent goes 0/2 at the line. Actually have not had the chocolate shake. A lot of people love it though. As far as regional fast food chains go, I prefer Whataburger and In-N-Out, but Portillo's is decent.
There are about 10 of these things in the DFW area and when one opened up not far from me, the usual "omg, I used to eat these in Chicago and they're the greatest evah!" crowd packed the lines. I don't think it was quite as bad as In N Out's lines. I haven't tried them, but the people I know that aren't from Chicago that tried it over the past year or so here were more like "eh, it's a hot dog - not a religious experience". Some people thought their milkshake where they basically shove a chocolate cake into the blender was pretty good, though. Chick-fil-A dun screwed up now that they changed how they make their fries.
That looks good, the polish dog right?......yea, I miss Fuddruckers, Covid did them in. The concept that I could top my own burger was magnificent, but then after Covid the dam combo was almost 20 bucks, no bueno for me. The chocolate shakes were FANTASTIC
I have so many people tell me they love their waffle fries, I hate them, I don't know why but they just suck IMHO. Hell, I stopped doing the combo and just get the sandwich and a strawberry shake Man, if I could find a place where they had a Mcdonalds, Chick Fila and a Wendy`s all next door, I would do a spicy chicken from Chick, fries from Mickey D`s and a chocolate frosty from Wendys
If the CFA isn't too busy you can ask for your fries "well done", and it makes a huge difference in the crispyness and texture realm. Half the time it's not an option though.
LOL......the sad part is, when I was in HS it had just opened, and it was awesome. I grew up in the Champion Forest area and the entire 1960 area is just a mess, but man, back in the late 80`s it was great
Actually know a guy who owns a Chick-fil-A franchise. He says they were getting a lot of complaints that the fries were cold and soggy, so HQ added a pea starch coating to make them crispier and retain heat. Haven't had the new fries myself, so can't comment on the taste. I think more and more people are getting their Chick-fil-A delivered/to-go, so no duh they're not going to be crispy after steaming in the bag for 10-30 minutes. But I assume changing the packaging is more expensive than a pea starch coating.
Never had an itialian beef. My Chicago-raised coworkers rave about them and Portillos had them as they get them there? At least the location they hit
I've read a lot of complaints online about how the people who used to love them now hate them. I haven't eaten Chick-Fil-A for a long time so I would not know. I am curious, though. I may have to check out this waffle fry controversy for myself. "Yes, I'd like to try the new recipe waffle fries with the pea starch in a medium. Also, this was supposed to be a chicken sandwich but this is beef! I thought you only had chicken here."
Even eating them "fresh", they taste stale to me. It's more like they're stale rather than crispy. Have you tried the Chick-fil-A fries in the past month or two? They're naaasssstyyyy. lol.
