Whoa... Portillo's...

I was in Chicago for the day to visit a potential client (very famous cup maker) and had to have lunch. J is very familiar with Chicago, so he wanted to take me to an institution - Portillo's. This place is beyond busy during lunch. I mean seriously. There is a drive-thru and that had a long ass line. And inside, there are multiple sections (sandwich line, pasta line, salad line) and all the lines were long. But they know how to run a tight ship.
There's tons of space to eat in. The decorations are wacky. That's a giant bra hanging on a clothesline. Random. When you order in the sandwich line, long before the registers, a guy takes your order and writes it in shorthand on a takeout bag. So at the register, you only pay. Then you get a number and then wait to pick it up on the pick up side. You really don't have to wait that long, which is impressive considering how many people there are. It's like a machine!
So what did we get? The combo sandwich - with a giant heap of italian beef with gravy, grilled sausage, mozzarella, and sweet peppers. You can pick your choice of cheese and whether you want peppers or not. So um... this sandwich is big. And it has tons of the italian beef. And I ate the whole thing. And I certainly shouldn't have, but I couldn't help myself, it was so freakin good. Like seriously good. Like I could eat this all the time, if it weren't for the fact that it can't possibly be good for you. But you know I would. If you're ever in Chicago and want an iconic sandwich, stop in Portillo's and stuff your gourd. You will leave happy!