#10 Rolling Meadows Portillo's

My father–in-law used to tell me that there were three types of people in the world.  There are people who talk about things, people who talk about people, and people who talk about ideas.  Last Friday I had the opportunity to relive something that I truly miss, lunch with my friend Tim.  Since Tim and I no longer work for the same company, we don’t see each other that often.  I don’t mean to get sentimental, but it’s important to have good friends, and Tim is a great friend.  Those of you that know me already know that I have more ideas than a dog with fleas.  What’s really great about Tim is that he not only listens to my ideas, he never shoots them down, and he often improves upon them.  He’s one of my most creative friends.  The major difference between us though is that Tim will occasionally act his ideas.  I’m solely an idea person.  I like to joke that some people need to be coaxed to think “outside of the box,” but I have the opposite problem; I can’t think inside the box.

My tenth Portillo’s was the one in Rolling Meadows.  It’s about 20 minutes from where I work.  That’s including the 5 minutes it takes to get out of the very poorly designed parking garage at work.  Seriously, who puts speed bumps in the middle of down ramps?  What are the odds that I’m going to run someone over in the middle?  Zero!  I’m much more likely to mow them over when I round the corners and those daredevils are walking to the inside … Walk to the outside people!!  I’m way off subject here, but I’d like to point out that on the way to this Portillo’s is one of my favorite stores, Mitsuwa.  This is a Japanese grocery store.  Since it is highly unlikely that I’ll ever make it to Japan, I’m happy to live in a city where I can find products and people from around the globe.
Tim wanted me to make a special note about ordering the Maxwell Street Polish at Portillo’s.  Make sure to ask for it on a hot dog bun.  Tim is an encased meat connoisseur, so I’d take his word for it.

Jeff
Hot Dog (yes – everything on it – this is Chicago)
Fries
Tim
Maxwell Street Polish (on a hot dog bun - grilled onions and mustard)
Fries