Chicagoans living in Southern California are in heaven now that they’ve got their own Portillo’s restaurant, a bastion of hot dogs, Italian beef, burgers and salads.
The restaurant opened late last fall with more hype than our opulent million dollar superstars such as Mastro’s Ocean Club (also opened about the same time) and Mastro’s Steakhouse (opening this week).
Chicago natives are proud of their heritage. It certainly was the hot city during the 1920s and 1930s.
Those of us who aren’t from Chicago have something buried in our psyche about the gangsters and heavy-duty personalities that defined the era and the speakeasy genre throughout America, where everything social, good and bad, seemed to come together.
Portillo’s has cashed in on this era, creating a speakeasy feel for its decor.
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Portillo’s: plenty of photos of Capone, buddies |
There are a slew of Portillo’s restaurants in and around Chicago. The Buena Park restaurant is its first foray far from that area.
For the Orange County location, Portillo’s has built a substantial free-standing building of brick and wood with speakeasy reminiscences galore.
It was not built for cushy comfort or trendy gourmet food. Instead, in keeping with the ultracasual food theme, seating is in wooden booths and on wood chairs, which are perked up slightly with padding on the seats. Tables are covered in checkered plastic cloths.
Trestle-like beams and support systems crisscross the exposed industrial-looking ceilings and join faux brick walls where almost every ounce of space is covered in kitschy signs and photographs.
If your old-time mob education is remiss, there are plenty of pictures of Capone and his buddies to jog your memory.
In vast wooden overhangs jutting out from the walls, there are enough barrels, crocks, tubs, distillery tanks and yesteryear memorabilia to fill a small warehouse. Jazzy music drifts in the background.
The line for food forms toward the back of the big room. It takes you past a salad station and then up to the cashiers where you put in your order.
What to drink with the dogs, burgers, soups or salads? There’s a small wine list and some beers joining soft drinks, bottled juices and teas.
There are essentially just five dogs on the menu. They are joined by 13 sandwiches, a couple of which are actually served on croissants that work outside the borders of what I consider a Chicago sandwich in this particular atmosphere. Did they have croissants back in the day?
Roy and Barbara Freeman are food-loving friends of ours from Newport Beach. They are so good at keeping me apprised of what’s happening here and elsewhere. In this case, the couple tried Portillo’s before I did.
They tuned in to the hot dogs that “popped in your mouth,” a phrase that has since been invoked by others. They also loved the atmosphere.
I can add more smiles from the Business Journal’s executive editor, Rick Reiff. Having come from Chicago, Rick treated his visiting mom and dad recently to this Portillo’s outpost. They all felt the full force of homestyle Chicago casual dining here.
Salads mostly give a little nod to the trendy. There’s one with chicken and pecans, an Asian take for another, spinach with strawberries in yet one more. There also is a pasta salad, chopped salad, gourmet salad with lots of goodies and a signature Garbage Salad.
The latter is billed as having “a bunch of junk in it.” Translate that to salami, provolone and parmesan cheeses, radishes, onions, cherry tomatoes, olives, celery, roasted red peppers and parsley that they top with “a trashy sweet vinaigrette dressing.” Hey, they gave us the descriptive phrases, I just ate the salad.
While all beef hot dogs come with several choices of accompaniments, my choice on a recent visit was the Polish sausage sandwich with mustard and grilled onions.
I suppose the most popular sandwich beyond the dogs for anyone hailing from Chicago is the Italian beef sandwich of thinly shaved beef that they dip or drizzle with as much gravy as you like.
Portillo’s sells accompaniments as side orders and I’d suggest you order your beef sandwich with some Italian sweet peppers and mozzarella cheese, which ups the price by just 79 cents.
On my “to do” list for another time is the chargrilled Italian sausage sandwich. For those who prefer seafood, a filet of cod is deep-fried in vegetable oil and put on a bun with homemade tartar sauce.
Nowadays, every restaurant seems compelled to have a vegetarian sandwich: Portillo’s version has grilled mixed vegetables, portabello mushroom and fresh mozzarella on focaccia bread.
In another tip to modern thinking, one side order is for a tamale (straight or with chili, cheese and onions). Chicken strips also are offered.
Every casual side order befitting a mostly salad and sandwich menu is offered: fries, onion rings, home cooked hot or sweet peppers, shakes, malts and such.
Desserts are chocolate cake, strawberry shortcake and Malibu rum cake (another non-Chicago entry).
While I can’t send you on a trek by touting this as a destination restaurant, if you want to eat Chicago-style food without pretense, then when you are near Beach Boulevard and La Palma Avenue, this would be the place.
AT A GLANCE –
PORTILLO’S
(at Buena Park Mall between Magnolia Avenue and Beach Boulevard)
Address: 8390 La Palma Ave.,
Buena Park
Phone: (714) 220-6400
Prices: soups, salads $2.59 to $7.25; hot dogs, sandwiches and burgers $2.79 to $5.48; desserts $2.49 to $3.29
