Portillo’s Hot Dogs – 
Portillo’s is arguably the “flagship” chain for THE Chicago Hot Dog and THE Italian Beef Sandwich.
There are hundreds and hundreds of non-franchised hot dog joints in Chicago that are like Portillo’s. As a result, tike any other “chain” I’ve heard of Portillo’s being criticized because they are one. This doesn’t bother me at all.
The Hot Dogs and Italian Beefs are legendary. The burgers are pretty good too (think char-broiled), but it’s almost a waste to go to Portillo’s and get anything but hot dogs / Italian beef. This may be due to the fact that I no longer live closely to Chicagoland and when I return, I must use my limited number of dining experiences at Portillo’s wisely.
With your hot dogs / Italian beef, you can get fries, but I HIGHLY recommend the onion rings. They are very good here.
If you can fit it, the German Chocolate Cake is pretty good for desert.
One more thing–If you go here and elect to get a hot dog, don’t order ketchup on your hot dog. If you are interested in the quintessential Chicago hot dog experience, order “a hot dog with everything”.
Hey! Whattsa matta wich chew! No ITALIAN categorie? SHAMEFUL!
There’s an Italian category, though you haven’t seen it yet because Alicia and I went to Buca the night before I started blogging. I’d put “Portillo’s” in the category (and I thought about it), but I didn’t want to place it in all the other “Italian” foods that will show up here (like Maggiano’s, Carrabba’s, etc…)
Currently, there’s 27 categories total, and I’ve come up with a couple that I didn’t anticipate initially (like, diner.) There will probably be more.
…and now I remember why I didn’t categorize it Italian.
If you use the search blank, I tagged this post with “Italian Beef.” So, if you search for Italian, you’ll find it.
Ideally, at the end of the year, I’ll be able to click back and see every meal I’ve eaten in a restaurant in each cuisine, and award “meal of the year” for each category (and, overall.)