#8 Villa Park Portillo's

Last Friday night was the first Portillo’s we hit at night and it was a special one at that.  The Portillo’s on North Avenue in Villa Park is either at, or near, the location of “The Dog House.” Back in 1963, coincidentally the year I was born, Dick Portillo opened his first hot dog stand.  With nearly 47 years of practice it’s no wonder Portillo’s has the best hot dogs.  For those of us who eat out often, we pride ourselves in finding the best location for each type of cuisine.  What’s really depressing to me is that whenever I find these places they seem to go out of business.  I don’t think Portillo’s has anything to fear, but it really is impressive when someone has not only the entrepreneurial drive, but comes up with the right combination of food, location, etc., to make it work.  I often watch the food network, foolishly right before bedtime, and what strikes me about the locations that Guy Fieri of “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” visits is that none of them are located anywhere close to me!  Just kidding, the point I wanted to make is that at the heart of any successful restaurant is great food.

All of that was a buildup to something you can only get at Portillo’s during Lent; the famous pepper and egg sandwich.  It just dawned on me that it should really be called the ‘egg and pepper’ sandwich, since it’s mostly eggs.  Even for those of us who can enjoy all the extra meat we can handle on Fridays, we do appreciate the non-meat options.  Joy and I both agreed that last Friday’s was exceptionally good.  Joy commented that it was, “fresh and fluffy”.  It’s something we both look forward to annually.  Even though we live close to this location, this was the first time we’ve been inside.  Joy liked the cow patterned tables and the fact that it wasn’t crowded.  She also made a great suggestion, to which I agreed, because I always agree with her – ha, that Portillo’s should work on a good chocolate chip cookie.  It’s something to consider … oh, and if Portillo’s needs some taste testers, we’re available.

Jeff
Pepper & Egg (added hot peppers and salt, superb)
Joy
Pepper & Egg (fresh and fluffy)
Josh
Cheese Burger
Onion Rings (he shared)