Portillo's is great and horrible

by Tom
(Ft.Myers, FL USA)

Portillo's has several faster food restaurants in the Chicago, Illinois area. It is very popular because of the variety and quality of everything they sell.

It's not unusual to see long lines of cars waiting to get served in the drive thru line. To expedite the drive thru customers, Portillo's has 3 or 4 employees taking orders, taking payment and delivering the orders up and down the line. Very well organized.

However it is a horrible place to eat if you're trying to lose weight. First of all, the portions are extremely generous. The cheeseburger is just one item on the menu to die for. The meat patty has to be 1/4+ pound and the way they prepare it is mouthwatering. The bun it comes on is very large too and very fresh. They sell so many of these that it has to be easy to keep the bread fresh. The tomato, lettuce and condiments are added in just the right portions...wish I had one now.

They also make a terrific Italian beef sandwich that you can get melted cheddar cheese on if you prefer. Very tasty. Add hot or sweet peppers if you like. This sandwich is so good, it's hard to eat just one.

The side you need to get with any meal is their famous cheddar fries...french fries with a dipping cup of melted cheddar cheese. Those you can apply directly to your hips.

And to finish off any meal at Portillo's, have a slice of chocolate cake. It is the moistest cake I've ever had. I hear they add mayonnaise to make it so moist, but I don't really care...it's too good to put down.

One trip to Portillo's is worth 2000 calories so it's a great place for the food but horrible for a diet.