Suburban Combo Beef and Char-Grilled Sausage Sandwich at Portillo’s, Addison, IL

Portillo's Addison, IL

As I was sitting in my office, I was talking about my upcoming trip to Itasca, IL (deep suburban Chicago) for work.  Having formerly worked in that area, a co-worker said “Good God, there’s nothing out there.  I’ll find some places for you to go.”  And she guided me to Portillo’s in Addison, a short drive away from Itasca.

Sausage Beef Combo Sandwich

The decor is typical ’50s-style burger joint complete with the kitschy signs and neon lights. The sausage/beef combo sandwich was recommended to me, so that’s what I got.  It came out in good time and I dug in.  It was served a little wet (I was told it came in 3 styles: dunked in the juice, juice ladled on, and dry. I wasn’t given any options).  I got over my texture issue with the semi soggy bun and dug in.  It was quite delicious.  The beef is thinly sliced and nicely seasoned with Italian spices.  The sausage was fairly standard and complemented the beef quite well.  I also got sweet peppers on mine, which was a nice touch being that the peppers weren’t too soggy (mushy peppers are a no-no on my sandwiches).  It was a hefty sandwich, and with the fries made for a nap-inducing afternoon back in the hotel room.  The only other issue I have with the combo is that the sausage is on the bottom, the beef is on top, creating almost two separate sandwiches.  Only those with gargantuan mouths could take an entire bite with sausage, beef, and bread all in one.  Unfortunately, I am not one of those people, so it was like alternating between a sausage sandwich and a steak sandwich. Which isn’t all that bad…

Tags: chicago, italian beef, sausage