This Popular Portillo's Menu Item Is The Hands-Down Best

If you're looking for a fairly accurate collection of food that you'd oftentimes find at a Chicago hot dog stand, you can't go wrong with Portillo's. The once-local chain now has a national presence, and on its menu you'll find faithful versions of Chicago classics like hot dogs "dragged through the garden" (one way to describe "with the works"), Maxwell Street Polishes, and (of course) Italian beef. One of our Chicago-based taste testers once ranked 12 of Portillo's menu items and found that one rose to the top — and it wasn't the hot dog (though this was partially due to the execution that day).

Our writer picked Portillo's solid (yet messy) Italian beef sandwich as the best thing on Portillo's menu, and this should come as no surprise as it's one of Portillo's flagship items. Slow-roasted beef is shaved into paper thin shreds for this sandwich, but part of the fun of an Italian beef is in how you order it. "There are many ways to order an Italian beef in Chicago and at Portillo's, and the process is deeply personal," our taster noted. "I like mine sweet and hot, dipped. This means that the beef comes with those huge pieces of soft, sweet peppers and hot giardiniera. Then, the whole thing gets dipped in gravy. It's perfect, soft, and juicy, and there's no better way (in my opinion) to enjoy one."

Ordering an Italian beef in Chicago (and at Portillo's) is about knowing your own preferences, which is why you'll find many of us request them differently. I wrote a guide on how to order an Italian beef once, but one of the key parts of the ordering process is how wet you want it. You can order an Italian beef dry, but that's just it: They're as dry as a bone. Ask for it wet or even fully dipped into the jus and you've unlocked a whole new layer of flavor. I know some people ask for jus on the side, but to me that's blasphemy. 

You can gild the lily by adding bright giardiniera for some kick or add a vegetal, lightly bitter element in the form of sweet peppers (aka slow-cooked, soft bell peppers). You can even request a "combo," which has a grilled Italian sausage added to it. Cheese is an option, but purists tend to skip it because that's not really what Italian beef is about. If all of this feels daunting to you, no need to worry. Portillo's has had kiosk ordering for quite some time now so you don't have to feel overwhelmed in front of a cashier; you can make all of these requests with the press of a button. At this point, entire TV shows like "The Bear" have been built around the image of an Italian beef because it captures Chicago's version of street food so well. Portillo's may just be a chain, but its Italian beef is still the best thing on offer.