Move over Weinerschnitzel, a new dog heavyweight is in town. Portillo's has been rapidly expanding…read morein Texas from Houston and Dallas and now into the Central and South regions. They did not forget about Lubbock, though, with a Portillo's opening just a few months ago in the Canyon West shopping center.
Known for their Chicago style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches, I do not know why they decided Texas was the move, especially with our market being fatigued with so many fast food options, but I am not mad at it.
Inside, they have four different kiosks to order from plus three registers. There is also an extensive amount of seating. It is like they were expecting a lot of hype. It feels a little ambitious, but when I was driving down Marsha Sharp last Saturday, I saw a full parking lot and a wraparound drive through line. Maybe they understood Lubbock's greed more than I did.
I walked in and decided to order at the register and went for their number two combo, which is two Chicago dogs, a drink, and fries. However, the lady taking my order put every item in individually and asked me for sizes, and I think it cost more, which is a little unfair. I should have just ordered at the kiosk.
The order came out not fast food fast but fast casual fast food fast in a to go bag. Two glizzies were both individually wrapped, and they had a good weight to them. They were actually pretty loaded with a quarter pickle, relish, mustard, peppers, tomatoes, and chopped onions. The poppy seed bun was nice too. I enjoyed both of them but was surprised at how much kick those peppers had.
I was asked if I wanted cheese sauce, and I said sure. I thought it was included, but why would it be? I paid for it and really enjoyed it with my fries. It is basically artificial cheese goop, but it was thick and better than most I have had and complemented the salty and crisp crinkle cut fries.
To close, I ordered a small chocolate cake shake because when is the next time I will be close to a Portillo's? Other than it being thicker than a Scottish accent, it was pretty good with actual cake bits in there.
I do not fully know its appeal because I paid $14 for two hot dogs, a drink, and fries when that is less than $10 in my head, but I had a good meal there. Live Laugh Lot Dogs.
RIYL: Glizzies.