Friday, May 1, 2009

Portillo's Italian Beef Sandwiches

I just had Portillo's Italian beef sandwiches for dinner.

Am I in Chicago? No. Did I go to Buena Park or Moreno Valley? No. I went to Portillo's website, and ordered a sandwich pack.

You get 8 sandwich loaves of bread, 2 1-lb packs of Italian beef (slow-roasted, seasoned, bottom round, extremely thin cut), a bag of roasted green peppers, 2 tubs of jus, and a bottle of Marconi giardiniera (the best available, except for maybe Il Primo). All sent priority in a styrofoam box with ice packs.

Toast the bread, heat the just, soak the meat, assemble sandwich. I like mine "hot and wet", which means copious amounts of giardiniera, and lots of jus.

Amazing. Hubby finally agrees that Portillo's is better than Philippe's in LA. And at $68 for the fixings for 8 sandwiches, not a bad deal, considering local prices for inferior product. Definitely not local, not slow food. But worth it every now and then. (You can also get 20 sandwiches for $150, and 40 sandwiches for $265. They also have ribs and Chicago-style hot dogs, which are good, but I can't say no to the Italian beef.)

By the way, this is a completely unpaid, unsponsored, uncompensated post. I grew up with Portillo's, and miss it frequently.

10 comments:

Bob said...

Heh, that's awesome. I don't think I've ever had a sandwich like that (let alone mail order) but it sounds wicked good.

Vicki said...

Hey Bob - Did some research, and it looks like you're either gonna have to order online, or make a 1K mile road trip. Both have their strong points :)

Kitt said...

Sounds yummy! That's not a bad price at all for a good sandwich that satisfies a homesick craving.

Vicki said...

Hey Kitt - Delicious. And I've paid more for local sandwiches that weren't as good.

Melissa said...

Seriously, $8.50 per sandwich WITH two-day shipping? That's more than reasonable.

But I'm still jealous because I can't spare the dough right now. Dang it!

Vicki said...

Hey Melissa - These are worth saving for. I'd happily eat instant ramen for a week, if the week ended with Portillo's.

Jude said...

I thought for a second that you moved here to Chicago or something. I've always wondered how that delivery system worked. Nice to know that you were quite happy with the service.

Vicki said...

Hi Jude - Their shipping service is great - but given the size of the 8-sandwich box, I'd be scared to see the 40-pack!

Anonymous said...

Uh, are you all working for Portillo's? These blog comments are amazing ... "Seriously, $8.50 for a sandwich ... that's more than reasonable"

Well, Portillo's is good, and I am going to eat there, but come on Portillo's, quit the self gratification.

Vicki said...

Hi Anonymous (if that's your real name).

If you had bothered to read any of the rest of my blog, you'd know I don't work for Portillo's, and neither do any of the other commenters.

Also, from your statement, it appears that you failed to realize that half the comments came from me, responding to other comments.

What these comments show is that, as a former Chicagoan, I have Portillo's cravings, that can't be satisfied anywhere else in the country.

And my husband says he'd gladly walk on glass naked through the snow, and then pay $12 for a Portillo's Italian beef.

So much for your "self-gratification".