Portillo's Has Two New Salads: A Chicagolander Does the Fact Check

Dick Portillo opened a little hot dog stand out of a trailer in 1963 in the Chicago suburb Villa Park. He called it The Dog House. More than 60 years later Portillo’s has almost 90 locations in 10 states and aims to have over 800 within the next 20 years. That’s a lot of dogs. And Italian beef. And chocolate cake milkshakes.

But I know what you’re thinking: what about those of us who are health-conscious, who are looking for lighter fare? Why must the heart-healthy folk be shut out from the Portillo’s experience?

First of all: how dare you. The Chicago-style hot dog served by Portillo’s is a veritable salad on a bun! Oh sure, they throw a hot dog in there, too, but it’s all beef, damn it! And have you forgotten about the giardiniera on the Italian beef sandwich? It’s chock-full of vegetables such as carrots, cauliflower, celery and peppers! But, evidently, that’s not good enough for you.

Fear not, dear reader, Portillo’s has got you covered with a couple of new additions to the salad line-up. Yes, you read that right. Portillo’s has had salad offerings for a few years now, but many of us were too busy trying to suck down the chocolate cake shakes with a too-narrow straw to notice.
Chopped, Caesar and Greek salads are available for $8–$11. And it should be noted that these salads range from 570 to 800 calories. A small garden side is $5.29 and is intended as a side. (In place of the fries? Sigh.)
Now here’s the big news: Portillo’s has added two new salads to keep up with what one assumes must be a high salad demand at this hot dog place. The spicy chicken chopped salad and the chicken pecan with bacon salad are yours for $11.69 each.

The former is the regular chopped salad with the addition of breaded spicy chicken and hot giardiniera peppers (740 calories); the latter contains a spring mix, grilled chicken, bacon, tomato, mozzarella and cheddar cheese, cabbage and pecans with honey peppercorn dressing (620 calories). Both are large servings with a lot going on.

All this is welcome news, don’t get us wrong. The more healthy menu options, the better. And there's more to healthy eating than calorie counting. These salads offer fiber, antioxidants and vitamins that the dogs and sandwiches don’t. But hear us out — this is really why we go to Portillo’s:
The dog is 340 calories, the beef 690. We leave the math comparisons as an exercise for the reader.

Locations in The Colony, Allen, Denton, Arlington, Fort Worth and Mansfield. Sunday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.