First Look: We Finally Wait Out the Lines at Portillo’s in The Colony. It Paid Off.

After a couple of visits to the Beef Bus last year before the official opening this January in The Colony, we finally made it out to Portillo's. Now, we love hot dogs and Italian beef, but we’re not waiting in line for hours, especially when there are several other options in North Texas that produce a decent Chicago dog or Italian beef sandwich. We drove by the other night and the crowd seemed manageable (the drive-thru line was not snaking around the building and out into the street), so we decided to make the plunge.

The guy in front of us, who hailed from the Chicago area, asked if the place had just opened, because the line was so long. We suggested that perhaps he should seek out barbecue or Tex-Mex instead of Chicago fast food on such visits, and he laughed and stopped talking to us. We tried.

We ordered an Italian beef/sausage combo sandwich, a beef-n-cheddar croissant sandwich, a hot dog and a chocolate cake shake.

The sausage and beef hit the spot, dipped in gravy with hot peppers. The sausage pieces were perhaps a bit too big, but that’s just quibbling. The beef-n-cheddar consists of Italian beef served on an elongated croissant-style bun with peppers and shredded cheddar cheese … supposedly. The version we were served was extremely scanty in the cheese department, and even more difficult to eat than a traditional beef even though it wasn’t dipped. The hot dog was dragged through the garden, but was a bit of a disappointment in that it arrived in a crushed bun with toppings that were sliced a bit too large. The Vienna beef was on point, however.
The chocolate cake shake was the real reason we went that night; along with the dogs and beef, it's one of the items that made Portillo’s famous. An entire slice of chocolate cake is blended into each shake, according to Portillo's, and considering how thick it was we take them at their word. Perhaps a wider straw is in order, however. We were a bit disappointed that no visible chunks of cake were apparent as per the marketing photo, but that's more quibbling.
So after being in the area in one form or another for over six months, Portillo’s is officially open with manageable lines now. There are a few other options out there, but at least you know what you’re going to get here, and two more future locations have been announced: Arlington and Allen. Maybe at some point native Texans will even outnumber Chicago expats at this location.

4560 Destination Drive, The Colony. Sunday – Thursday, 10:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Friday – Saturday, 10:30 a.m. – 11 p.m.