| rev:text
| - Even the channel 3 news guy loves Portillo's, as I found out while enjoying my meal on a warm AZ morning a few weeks back.
It was Saturday morning, which in my house screams errands, yard work, etc. I headed out the door to get the tires on the Landy Balanced & Rotated at the Goodyear service center on McClintock & Rio Salado. Upon my arrival at the service center I was faced with two options, nether of which sounded fantastical. Sit in the waiting room or walk across the street to tempe marketplace that had not yet opened, and browse the closed stores through the windows. I opted to get my walk on, and as I headed across the street I noticed that there were people at portillo's lining up, and it only being 10am (a few being the channel 3 news guys parked in the news truck) it was then that I decided to give this place a try,after hearing a ton of good & bad about the establishment that was Chicago favorites.
When you walk in you are greeted by many friendly faces, hellos, and a really cool looking interior that reminded me of a 50's diner in some way, yet mixed with some modern touches.
Now to the food:
I had the Italian beef sandwich, that consisted of warm fresh italian bread with slow cooked italian beef piled on high with a ladle of Au Jus over the top. I added hot peppers and mozzarella cheese to my sammy. For my side I chose french fries and ordered a side of the nacho cheese to dip them in. The fries were fresh, hot and ready for some cheese, which came in a small cup that was more than I could ever imagine to finish, but that did not stop me from trying.
Bottom line: The food was awesome, and the hot peppers had just enough bite as to not take away from the bread, meat, and cheese that had been piled on. The fries complimented the sandwich perfectly, and had I not ordered them I may have still been a little hungry, as the sandwich I ordered was on the small size. Given the fact the entire meal was around $8.00, I cannot complain.
I will certainly be back to try more of the Chicago favorites Portillo's is serving up.
|