scottsol wrote:Why is here on the Portillo’s thread?

b/c Dr. Dawg is selling out

scottsol wrote:
Why is this here on the Portillo’s thread?

It's here to give you something to whine about.

Portillo's in Deerfield is celebrating 500 days of business with promotions, including slices of cake for $1. On Wednesday, July 25, Portillo's at 700 Lake-Cook Road will offer guests $1 slices of chocolate cake with the purchase of any sandwich (including hot dogs), entree salad or ribs. Throughout the day, customers who visit the Deerfield location will enjoy giveaways of Portillo's swag.

http://www.dailyherald.com/business/201 ... -wednesday

Portillo's names P.F. Chang's exec as its new CEO
https://trib.in/2OjWGNZ

Funny (and not surprising) to hear Dick Portillo stopping in at restaurants to clean windows.

I had indirect dealings with him as CEO when I was servicing them a few years back, and he was absolutely maniacal re: cleanliness and QC. It was probably a blessing during that mondo growth period, and I know for a fact a curse to everyone around him at that time too. I've heard from more than one source that he still owns & leases all the real estate for all the stores. Wow.

That must be a helluva deal he cut when he originally sold out. There must be a 'Dick will do what Dick wants whenever the hell Dick wants to do it' clause!

I stopped in at Harwood Heights for a Polish last night. I ordered a Polish with hot peppers. The clerk asked if I meant 'only hot?' I appreciated the question so as to make sure the order was correct. I then specified the usual mustard, grilled onion as well as the hot.

When I unwrapped it, I was disappointed to find that they put giardiniera instead of sport peppers. Now, I love giardiniera but was really expecting sports. For a place that seems to run well almost all the time, I think this was a misstep. On the other hand, the grilled onions were exceptional, very dark, nearly caramelized and deeply flavorful. There was a delightful bit of char on the ends of the sausage, nice. Overall, I give it a B with the peppers costing it the letter grade.

BrendanR wrote:I stopped in at Harwood Heights for a Polish last night. I ordered a Polish with hot peppers. The clerk asked if I meant 'only hot?' I appreciated the question so as to make sure the order was correct. I then specified the usual mustard, grilled onion as well as the hot.

When I unwrapped it, I was disappointed to find that they put giardiniera instead of sport peppers. Now, I love giardiniera but was really expecting sports. For a place that seems to run well almost all the time, I think this was a misstep. On the other hand, the grilled onions were exceptional, very dark, nearly caramelized and deeply flavorful. There was a delightful bit of char on the ends of the sausage, nice. Overall, I give it a B with the peppers costing it the letter grade.

I'm not sure I agree that it's a misstep. A Maxwell polish with giardiniera is my regular order when I'm at a Portillo's (but I do always ask for giardiniera by name, so I'm not sure what their default normally is). At least you know to specify next time.

Yes, I think you ordered wrong.

Sweet and hot are (normally) bells peppers and giardinera at Portillos (and a number of other places).

For "hot" to be sport peppers, I always specifiy "beef with sports" when ordering, or combo with sports more than likely.

Not a fan of either Portillos sweets or giardinera.

Buona Beef hot giardinera is another thing. We get jars of it to keep in the fridge

Willkat98 wrote:Yes, I think you ordered wrong.

Sweet and hot are (normally) bells peppers and giardinera at Portillos (and a number of other places).

I disagree. 'Hot' on a hot dog or Polish should be sports. Default 'hot' on a beef is giardiniera. Wouldn't it be weird to order a hot dog with 'everything, hot' and have it come with giardiniera?

I recently requested "hot peppers" at The Works with my gyro plate and they gave me a mountain of sport peppers. If I had wanted giardinera I'd of asked for giardinera.

To me hot peppers on a beef means giardinera, hot dog, sport pepper. Polish is middle ground and could go either way. Confusing.

I'd suggest following Steve Z's lead, if you prefer a specific item be specific.

stevez wrote:I'm not sure I agree that it's a misstep. A Maxwell polish with giardiniera is my regular order when I'm at a Portillo's (but I do always ask for giardiniera by name, so I'm not sure what their default normally is). At least you know to specify next time.

Either way BrendanR's description of Portillo's polish has me thinking of a visit in the very near future.

BrendanR wrote:On the other hand, the grilled onions were exceptional, very dark, nearly caramelized and deeply flavorful. There was a delightful bit of char on the ends of the sausage, nice.

I'll be daring and simply ask for hot pepper on my polish sausage just to see which way the pepper arrow points.

Willkat98 wrote:Not a fan of either Portillos sweets or giardinera.

Buona Beef hot giardinera is another thing. We get jars of it to keep in the fridge

Portillo's does not make their own giardiniera. They serve Marconi brand.

In my experience...

Hotdogs = Nowadays “Everything” includes sport peppers. If you must mention it you have to say “Peppers”.

A long time ago everything did not include sport peppers and you would have to say “Everything and Peppers”.

Similar to how it used to be ordering coffee to go at a diner in Chicago, if you ordered just “Coffee” it would come naturally with cream. To omit the cream you would have to specify “Black”. My order used to be “Black with Sugar”.

Italian Beef = Hot and/or sweet refers to giardiniera or cooked sliced green peppers (rarely canned and lightly picked) respectively.

Peppers = Sport peppers
Hot = Giardiniera
Sweet = Cooked sliced green peppers

This might not be the way you think it should be but this is how it is.

Here's one you never heard of , "SQUEEZE MY PEPPER!" When someone cannot eat a sport pepper because it's too hot, the end of the pepper is snipped off, and the juice (without any seeds) is bled onto the hot dog. Now you get the full flavor of the pepper minus the heat.

CSD

chicagostyledog wrote:Here's one you never heard of , "SQUEEZE MY PEPPER!" When someone cannot eat a sport pepper because it's too hot, the end of the pepper is snipped off, and the juice (without any seeds) is bled onto the hot dog. Now you get the full flavor of the pepper minus the heat.

CSD

I’ve done this from time to time.

Also you can request just the oil from the giardiniera (at least at Johnnie’s Beef) for the same reason.

Panther in the Den wrote:

chicagostyledog wrote:Here's one you never heard of , "SQUEEZE MY PEPPER!" When someone cannot eat a sport pepper because it's too hot, the end of the pepper is snipped off, and the juice (without any seeds) is bled onto the hot dog. Now you get the full flavor of the pepper minus the heat.

CSD

I’ve done this from time to time.

Also you can request just the oil from the giardiniera (at least at Johnnie’s Beef) for the same reason.

I've gotten hot oil at just about every beef place and rarely do the people taking my order question it. I will tell you that the oil at places like Johnnie's or Pete's in Oak Park can still be really hot (at least to me). I have never heard of "squeeze my pepper" for hot dogs but I'm curious to see what the reaction is when ordered. Maybe it's done a lot more than I realize.

Ram4 wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:

chicagostyledog wrote:Here's one you never heard of , "SQUEEZE MY PEPPER!" When someone cannot eat a sport pepper because it's too hot, the end of the pepper is snipped off, and the juice (without any seeds) is bled onto the hot dog. Now you get the full flavor of the pepper minus the heat.

CSD

I’ve done this from time to time.

Also you can request just the oil from the giardiniera (at least at Johnnie’s Beef) for the same reason.

I've gotten hot oil at just about every beef place and rarely do the people taking my order question it. I will tell you that the oil at places like Johnnie's or Pete's in Oak Park can still be really hot (at least to me). I have never heard of "squeeze my pepper" for hot dogs but I'm curious to see what the reaction is when ordered. Maybe it's done a lot more than I realize.

I think “squeeze my pepper” is best done in the privacy of your spot on the counter but please do ask them!

I would be interested in their reaction.

Interesting Talmudic style dissection of Chicago pepper lingo. To the question posed in the thread title, I'd say Portillo's sold out whenever they started offering beef with nacho cheese on a croissant. Still one of my Italian beef mainstays if I'm not on Taylor Street or near Johnnie's though!

Panther in the Den wrote:Also you can request just the oil from the giardiniera (at least at Johnnie’s Beef) for the same reason.

If I ask for hot oil, will they put the oil on the beef themselves, or do I have to specify "hot oil on the side"?

I always drizzle the oil, then pick out the carrot bits, but if I can leave the peppers for someone who'll appreciate them and just get the hot oil that I really want, I will.

Bok Choy Jr wrote:Interesting Talmudic style dissection of Chicago pepper lingo. To the question posed in the thread title, I'd say Portillo's sold out whenever they started offering beef with nacho cheese on a croissant. Still one of my Italian beef mainstays if I'm not on Taylor Street or near Johnnie's though!

When did they start using nacho cheese and not the cheese fry cheese?

@lodasi: Being cheeky, but I stand corrected. Your question led me to this primer, straight from the source though:

Portillo's.com: Fifty Shades of Gravy

Bok Choy Jr wrote:@lodasi: Being cheeky, but I stand corrected. Your question led me to this primer, straight from the source though:

Portillo's.com: Fifty Shades of Gravy

Something I learned this year is that different beef chains treat the word dipped differently. As an example, Buona Beef considers dipped to mean dipping the ends of each sandwich. Their analogue to the Portillo's dipped is called "baptized."

Buona Beef |How To Order

lodasi wrote:When did they start using nacho cheese and not the cheese fry cheese?

The beef & cheddar croissants have shredded cheese, not sauce at all.

abe_froeman wrote:

Panther in the Den wrote:Also you can request just the oil from the giardiniera (at least at Johnnie’s Beef) for the same reason.

If I ask for hot oil, will they put the oil on the beef themselves, or do I have to specify "hot oil on the side"?

I always drizzle the oil, then pick out the carrot bits, but if I can leave the peppers for someone who'll appreciate them and just get the hot oil that I really want, I will.

If I ask for hot oil, I just ask for a side of it and you literally get a little cup of oil with no peppers or anything in it. You could ask for it on the sandwich but I have seen it where they poured way too much on it and it was overkill. You could also just ask for a side of hot peppers with a lot of oil if you want both. It's up to you.

Bok Choy Jr wrote:{edit - don't pursue this point in this thread}
Something I learned this year is that different beef chains treat the word dipped differently. As an example, Buona Beef considers dipped to mean dipping the ends of each sandwich. Their analogue to the Portillo's dipped is called "baptized."
Buona Beef | How To Order

If Buona is going to be pedantic about what vocabulary needs to be spoken for its cuisine; I will be pedantic about it needing to learn the difference between "its" and "it's".
The World-Wide Web page above uses the incorrect version of "its" for its definition of "The Buona Way".
What is the penalty for it? How about a squeezed pepper on the face of a manager?

I just tell them how I want it and they translate.

I also say "Large Coffee" at Starbucks.

Is that so wrong?

Panther in the Den wrote: I just tell them how I want it and they translate.
I also say "Large Coffee" at Starbucks.
Is that so wrong?

Yes.
You're ordering from Starbucks, instead of a local operation.
Shame on you. {OK, not really ~ but you understand.}

If you want a dipped beef has to be said as baptized? Kish mir tuchas! I'm not baptizing anything in this life.

Portillo’s plans to open a third Chicago restaurant this year on the city’s Northwest side as the purveyor of hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake shakes continues its expansion. The restaurant will be constructed at Addison and Kimball streets, on the border between Avondale and Irving Park, on the site of what is currently a taxi repair facility and office.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

Dave148 wrote:

Portillo’s plans to open a third Chicago restaurant this year on the city’s Northwest side as the purveyor of hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches and chocolate cake shakes continues its expansion. The restaurant will be constructed at Addison and Kimball streets, on the border between Avondale and Irving Park, on the site of what is currently a taxi repair facility and office.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/business ... story.html

figures, I've been at Addison and Elston since 2008 and am getting ready to put my place on the market in the next few months. Goes along with my life story of every thing good coming in right after I leave an area.

Panther in the Den wrote:I just tell them how I want it and they translate.

I also say "Large Coffee" at Starbucks.

Is that so wrong?

"I'll have a vanilla…one of those vanilla bullshit things. You know, whatever you want, some vanilla bullshit latte cappa thing. Whatever you got."

-Larry David