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Home / Businesses / Portillo's

Portillo's

FoodRiver North · Chicago Classic Community-sourced, unverified
📍 100 W Ontario St, Chicago, IL 60610

Dick Portillo started this with $1,100 and a 6-by-12-foot trailer with no running water, parked on North Avenue in Villa Park in 1963.

Tourist Friendly
Dish Gem$$
The chocolate cake is a Chicago fast-food staple in its own right — simple, reliable, exactly what you want after an Italian beef.
📈 Scores in the top 100% of Dish Gems on ChicagoSpecials.com

He named it The Dog House, didn't actually know how to cook a hot dog properly yet, and reportedly snuck into the back room of Gene & Jude's to figure out how a real Chicago dog stand ran its steamer. It worked: by 1967 the trailer had a real building and the Portillo's name, and the chain that grew out of it is now the reason a proper Chicago dog — Vienna Beef frank, mustard, relish, onion, tomato, pickle spear, sport peppers, poppy seed bun, never ketchup — is something people can find reliably almost anywhere in the city.

The chocolate cake and the chocolate cake shake are the reason people who came for the hot dog leave talking about dessert instead, and the Italian beef holds its own against dedicated beef stands three times its size. Every location keeps the same double drive-thru built for volume, but it's still worth going inside at least once for the full menu board.

📸 See more of Portillo's
📅 Reservations not available🥡 Takeout unconfirmed 📞 (312) 587-8910 📋 View Menu / Website 📷 @portillos 📍 Directions
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said "still running" today
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Specials at Portillo's

(1)

Portillo's

Food
Chicago Dog + Italian Beef Combo · $12.99
River North10:30AM–10PMCommunity
DirectionsWebsite

Good to Know

💡 Worth Knowing

  • Manually added - must-try for tourists

Hours

Mon-Sun10AM-1AM

Amenities & accessibility

🚶Walk-in only, no reservations
❔Takeout: unverified
❔Wheelchair access: unverified
🙂Kid-friendly
🅿️Parking garage

Location

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