Hot dog lovers, rejoice! One of Chicago’s longest running and best-loved restaurants is coming to Madison. According to the Wisconsin State Journal, Portillo’s is planning to open its first location in the city next fall.
Construction is scheduled to begin this spring on a new 9,000-square-foot, 200-seat Portillo’s near East Towne Mall that will also feature 26 seats on an outdoor patio as well as a drive-thru window for those of you who like your dogs on the run.
Opened in 1963 by Dick Portillo as a cart called “The Dog House,” Portillo’s has since expanded to 50 locations nationwide. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based fast casual dining chain is probably best known for hot dogs, but the menu is pretty diverse. A different Chicago staple — the Italian beef sandwich — is another specialty, as well as salads (but if you’re getting a salad at Portillo’s, you’re doing it wrong). And while the East Towne location will be Madison’s first, it isn’t the first in the state. A Portillo’s opened in Brookfield in the summer of 2016.
Side note: If I see any of you putting ketchup on a Chicago-style hot dog, I’m coming to your house and writing “DO BETTER” on your driveway in assorted condiments. Pulling a stunt like that would get you laughed out of any Chicagoland location.
Hopefully more Chicago favorites join Portillo’s in making the trip up I-90. I’ve got my fingers crossed for Al’s Beef.
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