Portillo's & Barnelli's Chicago
Fast food restaurant · River North ·
Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, and chocolate cake shakes
![Portillo's & Barnelli's Chicago by Portillo’s [Official Photo]](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/62593449/portillos.161.png "Portillo's & Barnelli's Chicago by Portillo’s [Official Photo]")
Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef, and chocolate cake shakes
"What To Get: Char dog, cheese fries, chocolate cake shake. What To Know: The original stand opened in 1963, the River North location opened in 1994, and now Portillo's is a national chain. It's a tourist-filled restaurant with indoor seating and a drive-thru, but it’s a classic." - adrian kane, john ringor, nick allen, veda kilaru
"I compared Portillo’s at 100 W. Ontario Street to Al’s and ordered a double-dipped Italian beef with hot peppers and cheese sauce for $8.20; someone initially forgot the hot peppers so my first bite earned a 3/10, but once the peppers were added the sandwich improved to a 5/10. There’s some confusion in the video about calling this the “OG location” even though the clip shows the large River North outpost rather than the original suburban founding site." - Naomi Waxman
"Portillo’s can do no wrong. This is our go-to spot in River North for hot dogs, Italian beef, and cheese fries. Don’t skip the chocolate cake shake." - adrian kane, john ringor, veda kilaru
"Technically Portillo’s is a chain that exists in six other states. But it started here in Chicago, and there’s a good chance your cousin (and hopefully future on-call babysitter) doesn’t have access to this delicious Italian beef where they live, not to mention the Portillo’s chocolate cake. Take them to the one in River North with a drive-thru and use the wait time to demonstrate how to secure the car seat." - adrian kane, veda kilaru
"Portillo’s can be a daunting place, especially the flagship River North location. Don’t be distracted by the 87 different lines, multiple menus, pictures, paraphernalia on the wall, and people screaming across the massive space. Instead, find the Portillo’s Hot Dogs line (not Barnelli’s) and order what Portillo’s is known for: Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef. Both are solid , though the Italian beef comes with thicker-than-average slices of meat that’s kind of bland and dry, even when ordered wet. And not ordering a piece of Portillo’s chocolate cake would be a mistake. photo credit: Azuree Wiitala photo credit: Azuree Wiitala photo credit: Azuree Wiitala photo credit: Azuree Wiitala photo credit: Azuree Wiitala Pause Unmute" - Veda Kilaru