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Portillo’s – October 22, 2005

On a daily basis I am constantly reminded by my co-worker/friend, Jamie, how great all things Chicago is. About two weeks ago she sent me an e-mail message that her favorite hot dog stand in Chicago is coming to California. So this weekend, I decided to head out to visit the one and only Portillo’s in Buena Park. After a quick 30 minute drive down to Buena Park (would’ve taken me 20 minutes if it wasn’t for the Knotts Scary Farm crowd), I arrive at a bustling parking lot and equally bustling restaurant. The drive-thru lane was filled with idle vehicles waiting to put in their orders. There were lines everywhere. Lines to order, lines to pick up your food, and lines to the desserts. The restaurant resembles an indoor hot dog stand or a fancy cafeteria. You don’t have a host to take you to an open seat. Instead you just go line up, order your food, pick up your food, find an open table and eat. Want dessert? Go line up for a dedicated line for dessert. There’s also seating outside in a patio area for those looking for fresh air. The restaurant is littered with numerous items relating to Chicago, I presume.

As for the food… Well, they’re hot dogs. Only thing special about them are the numerous items they top these things with. I ordered a regular hot dog and the Char-Grilled Maxwell Street Style Polish, 2 regular drinks, and a regular french fries for $13. The regular hot dog came with a slice of pickle, tomatoes, relish, onions, and chili peppers. The polish dog came with grilled onions and mustard. The bread was a bit moist because of the wrapper. The hot dog was too sour for my taste, but the polish dog was delicious. Even had to order another one to satisfy my hunger. Because of the atmosphere of people looking and waiting for seats, we felt rushed eating our meal. So for a total of $20, my girlfriend and I walked out of the chaotic scene with filled bellies.

The food is delicious but I wouldn’t say it was worth the price I paid for it. Perhaps the bustling crowd was just an anomaly considering that it just opened last Tuesday. For what its worth, I would definitely come back here instead of driving to the famous Pink’s Hot Dogs in Hollywood and wait in a much longer line to pay for overpriced hot dogs. Why drive so far to spend so much on hot dogs?

Click on the image above to view more pictures of Portillo’s.

This entry was posted on Saturday, October 22nd, 2005 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.