Portillo's

The second half of our quintessential Chicago eats was going to Portillo's so Gabe could try his first ever Italian beef sandwich. For those who don't know, this is something unique to only Chicago. To my knowledge, you can't find an Italian beef sandwich anywhere outside of Chicago. It's a sandwich served on Italian bread. The beef comes from the sirloin butt, and it's roasted in a broth with garlic, oregano, and other spices until medium/medium rare. It is then thinly sliced and lightly soaked in the broth it was cooked in. Finally, the sandwich is topped with Chicago-style giardiniera peppers.

The easiest way to describe a Chicago Italian beef sandwich is simply to say that it's a Philly cheesesteak without the cheese, however based on the way it's cooked, you can already tell that the beef is a bit different, as it is tastier from the spices it is cooked in.

Even though Portillo's might not have the best Italian beef sandwich, it is a pretty reliable chain serving Chicago hot dogs, sandwiches, and foods of that nature. But people do say that their Italian beef sandwich is pretty good and not a bad place to pick one up for the first time. Portillo's is a place I grew up on, but I actually never had the famed Italian beef sandwich. The Italian sausage was more of my thing.

Gabe said that the Italian beef sandwich was very tasty and not dripping wet. From what I saw, they put a ton of Italian beef too. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture of this, but I'm sure you can imagine how it looks.


I ordered the Italian sausage sandwich served with sweet peppers. The sausage is spicy, but to the level I like best. For a really good Italian beef sandwich or sausage, go to Portillo's!

Portillo's
Locations all across the Chicagoland area