Well-the atmosphere is very busy, slightly noisy, with lots and lots of delicious options!!! It feels like a typical Chicago (?New York?) crowd!!! Very noisy!! Busy with lots of customers ordering and picking up, but it did seem organized ….at least to a degree!! We were out and about in downtown Chicago near the Miracle Mile, and had just finished a Gangster Bus Tour. We hadn’t had anything to eat yet, so the timing was great for an early supper/late lunch. There were several options to choose from but when I spotted Portillos I knew that’s where I wanted to eat. We went very traditional, ordering a jumbo Portillo Hotdog with relish (don’t press your luck by ordering ketchup in Chicago!!!!) . We got the big beef Italian beef sandwich, (and it was indeed big. Must’ve been nearly a foot-long and absolutely overflowing with beef, shaved beef that had been swimming in gravy (Au jus). You could get it dry, which meant just the liquid that came out of the pan and they made the sandwich, wet, which meant quite a bit of gravy over the whole sandwich or dipped, which means your sandwich takes a quick swim through the gravy pot. We ordered a small order of fries and a small order of onion rings just because we wanted to try them. You never know when you’re going to hit on some great ones. We also ordered a Chocolate Eclair for dessert. We chose a Coke on ice for our beverage. The ordering process was organized with two or three people designated to take orders and payment on one side of the counter, which stretched out into the dining room . It was Sunday afternoon about 3 PM and the place was jampacked. Despite that, it only took a few minutes to get to the counter and place our order. The staff at those registers were very well schooled and very quick to respond to getting the order placed. The other half of the counter area was for pick up, and then there was a side counter designated for beer and wine sales. More about the food……… Our main dishes were stellar! I know you’re probably thinking-seriously, a hot dog …., right???? But a good hotdog -made out of quality ingredients with the snap of natural casing, can be a beauty to behold for someone like my husband who loves hot dogs. He didn’t care for the poppyseeds on the bun but that was minor. The bun was nice and soft and the Chicago style green relish was indeed green. (Check out the photo) I’ve been dying for years to have an Italian Beef Sandwich. I’ve seen them on more restaurant shows than I could count, but wanted to be sure that I was going to get one that was authentic!! Portillo’s was the place. The sweet peppers were perfect with that sandwich!! I was so tempted to try the hot peppers 🌶️ and I think if I had not been overcome by the atmosphere & delicious odor of the food cooking, I might’ve had the sense to order hot peppers on half and sweet peppers on half and I bet they would’ve done that. I believe the fries and onion rings were the type that are frozen and come delivered in a truck . We would not partake of them, should we make it back here. The Chocolate Eclair was completely unexpected. In my minds eye, I was expecting a Choux pastry shell, filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate ganache, well-let me tell you- what Portillo’s serves is a very generous slice of about a six thin layers of cake with whipped cream in between the layers and chocolate icing on top. It was delicious!!!!! it reminded me in some respects of a Napoleon in the way it was crafted. Lastly, I want to mention there was a huge volume of seating available to accommodate their customers. In addition to the downstairs dining area, they also offer an upstairs as well. We definitely recommend Portillo’s for the experience and the food and the great customer service !!