12 January 19-25, 2023 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents without knowing what they were doing. And one could argue that Pecan Lodge set a new bar for Dallas barbecue. The impact has been significant, and the folks here deserve respect. Perhaps most telling of all, however, after coming in second on Texas Monthly’s top 50 barbecue joints list in 2013, PL was snubbed on the most recent list in 2021. Then again, just as people say beauty is in the eye of the beholder, the same holds true for food. So, where does Pecan Lodge still rank around here? That’s up to you to de- cide. Alba Guadalupe wrote on a Dallas Texas TV Facebook post about the issue: “Food can’t be rated by anybody else than ourselves. Our favorite flavors are based on our background and likings. Ev- eryone is different. You compare a meal based on the time you ate it. Our standards are different. Just go eat where you like and enjoy.” ▼ OPENING HOT FOR HOT DOGS TECHNICALLY, PORTILLO’S IN THE COLONY HAS ALREADY OPENED. BUT THEY OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING IS SOON. BY LAUREN DREWES DANIELS C ongratulations to all Chicago trans- plants in North Texas. Your hot dog dream day is just about to arrive. Por- tillo’s set an official grand opening date for its first Texas location, in The Colony with the doors swinging open Jan. 18 at 10:30 a.m. Portillo’s now has 70 stores across several states. Technically the spot has already opened. People have been lining up since Tuesday. But, we’re more grand opening people. We like the jazz hands elements, not the pre- show. Portillo’s started out in Villa Park, Illinois, in 1963. Since then, it has become famous for its Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sand- wiches and chocolate cake shakes. The Ital- ian beef is slow-roasted for four hours, then thinly sliced and served on French bread and dunked in hot gravy. Food writer and Chicago native Hank Vaughn spent a long summer day trying to track down Portillo’s food truck last sum- mer. It was hot. He didn’t have sunblock. Or water. By the time he found the truck, it was just about out of food. However, after a subsequent visit to another Portillo’s food truck event, Vaughn wrote, “This really was perhaps the best beef we’ve had in DFW.” We’re anxious to see how this location does long-term, as hot dog spots have never done well in Dallas. We’re more of a corn dog town, aside from Sonic. Hoffman’s Hots had a brief appearance in Trinity Groves. Luscher’s Red Hots was a local restaurant by chef Brian Luscher that closed in 2016 after a two-year run (although Luscher’s Post Oak Red Hots can still be found on many menus around town). And the Tulsa “legend” Co- ney Island Hot Dogs had a very brief stint in Arlington, near UTA. But Portillo’s is more than just hot dogs. You can get beef and sausage sandwiches, chicken sandwiches, burgers and salads. And cake shakes. Portillo’s menu has the quintessential Chicago dog, “dragged through the garden,” topped with mustard, relish, celery salt, fresh chopped onions, sliced tomatoes, pick- les and sport peppers on a poppy seed bun. There’s also a char-grilled Maxwell Street Polish sausage, named after a street corner where founder Dick Portillo grew up. He loved the smell of those grilled onions and Polish sausages cooking on the street carts. (I get that. I was at a Cubs game once and hadn’t eaten all day — not by choice. I walked by one of those carts on the con- course and refused to walk another step un- til I got whatever it was they were making.) The ones at Portillo’s are made with a grilled Makowski sausage and topped with grilled onions and lots of yellow mustard. Portillo’s is located at 4560 Destination Drive in The Colony, on the south side of Highway 121, just east of Lava Cantina. Hours will be 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., Sunday through Thursday, and 10:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Friday and Saturday. Hank Vaughn Chicago favorite Portillo’s is bringing hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches to Texas. City of Ate from p11 NY delicatessaN RestaURaNt & BaKeRY 5 dFW locatioNs cRitics choice Best deli ReadeRs choice Best BReaKFast RestaURaNt Best comFoRt Food Best saNdWich ciNdisNYdeli.com 12817 Preston Road, Suite 105 • 972-392-0190 indiapalacedallas.com New Year, Same Delicious Indian Food SCAN HERE TO ENTER TO WIN 2 TICKETS
