The Restaurant Chain That Helped Popularize Chicago's Iconic Hot Dog Style

Within the Windy City and beyond, it seems nearly impossible to talk about the Chicago-style hot dog without mentioning Portillo's. The Chicago-based fast-casual chain made our roundup of 15 top-rated spots for Chicago-style hot dogs in the Windy City, and the joint's Instagram account boasts 146K followers.

If you aren't familiar with it, a proper Chicago dog comprises a red-hued, all-beef hot dog topped with yellow mustard, sweet neon green pickle relish, diced white onion, and chunked fresh tomato, in that order. From there, a whole dill pickle spear is placed in the poppy seed bun beside the dog, and the whole thing gets topped with sport peppers (a pickled Chicago classic) and a shake of celery salt. This fully-loaded regional classic put Portillo's on the map — and, conversely, Portillo's helped popularize the hot dog in return.

Portillo's has been serving Chicago foodies since 1963, when eponymous founder Dick Portillo shelled out for a 6' x 12' trailer out of which to peddle hot dogs in the suburb of Villa Park. That initial $1,100 investment has paid off in a big way: "The Dog House" trailer has expanded to over 70 Portillo's locations in Chicago and beyond. Thanks to the Portillo's legacy, foodies in Arizona, California, Florida, Iowa, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Texas, and Wisconsin can enjoy a taste of this street food pillar.

Portillo's has helped popularize the iconic Chicago dog with its enduring longevity and prominence on the local food scene. As Brad Fithian, Portillo's assistant general manager, shares in an interview with Insider, "The Chicago-style hot dog did not originate from Portillo's. The recipe already existed; we perfected it." Fithian says that the flagship restaurant has a guest demographic evenly mixed between tourists and regulars – a decidedly fitting customer base, considering the Chicago dog itself is a showcase of the city's cultural identity, rooted in a rich, blended history of immigration. 

According to the University of Chicago, "The original Chicago hot dog was first introduced to Chicago by two Jewish immigrants from Austria-Hungary when selling hot dogs on the street at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893." From there, the regional hot dog expanded to encompass an amalgam of Chicago's growing international culinary influences. The all-beef dog came from the German-Jewish kosher tradition, and Polish immigrants brought the poppy seed bun. The tomatoes and onions were contributed by Italian and Greek immigrants, and the pickled sport peppers come from the American South – which is also where Chicago's iconic barbecue tradition originates. While foodies won't find barbecue on the menu at Portillo's, the local stronghold is also well-known for its Italian beef sandwiches, andserves a plant-based version of its classic Chicago-style hotdog so vegetarian foodies can get in on the action.