Chicago

Tasty Tuesday–Portillo’s at Home

Continuing “virtual vacation” week with a special Tasty Tuesday…Portillo’s at home!

It’s not news that I love Portillo’s and a big part of any trip we take to Chicago includes stopping at Portillo’s on the way home. I already shared my special Mother’s Day dinner of the Portillo’s Italian beef and sausage combo, but let’s take a closer look, while I dream about visiting Chicago from the comfort of my home.

Their shipping via UPS was excellent and speedy (and is included in the price, which I think is beyond reasonable!), and when I received my order the ice packs were still frozen solid. The dinner for eight kit includes two containers of beef gravy, two packages of Portillo’s amazing Italian beef, an eight-pack of Italian sausages, a jar of hot giardiniera, a bag of roasted sweet peppers, and eight Turano French bread rolls. There are also detailed reheating instructions, and a PAPER HAT!

The reheating process was pretty easy, and didn’t take long at all, and when it was all said and done, I had a Portillo’s Italian beef (dipped, of course), that tasted almost like being in the restaurant. Sorry there’s no picture of the Italian sausage, or even better, the full combo…I’m really just here for the beef, but I heard from many reputable sources in my house that the sausage was good!

I would definitely do this again, especially if the time before we get to go back to Chicago stretches out too long. There was way more meat than we could put in eight sandwiches, so we were able to stretch the leftovers out for a whole other dinner. The only downside was that we didn’t have enough of the amazing rolls left for everybody to have one the second time around. That’s a minor detail, though, and I think the value of what we received for the price we paid ($99.95 plus tax shipped) was exceptional! I’m glad we could have a little taste of Chicago at home!!!

A Virtual Vacation

This is the week every year where we usually go to Chicago for Combo Breaker. I’ll be starting a day-by-day “virtual getaway” series later this week, but for now, here’s a look at the virtual vacation I’ll be taking on Instagram for seven days…these are some of my favorite photos that I’ve taken in Chicago over the years!

Where would you like to go to on a virtual (or actual) vacation?

Peacefulness

We were supposed to go to Chicago later this week. Since we obviously can’t do that, I’m thinking back to our trip last May, with a picture from the Sears Tower’s Skydeck Ledge, and a quote from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:

“Anything is peaceful from one thousand, three hundred and fifty-three feet.”

Markel Family Winter Weekend Getaway–Day Three

The final day of our weekend getaway was fairly low-key. We started with a trip to the Jewel to (finally) buy an I-Pass to make driving on the Chicagoland tollways a bit easier…and then proceeded not to need it at all on the way home. Oh well…at least it will be ready when we go back up in May!

We had planned to walk around the Chicago Botanic Garden on the way home, but wind chills in the single digits made that a less than appealing prospect. So instead, we stopped by the Chicago Baháʼí Temple to marvel at its architecture:

We also drove through the city, just so we could see the skyscrapers:

Of course we had to stop for a moment so I could walk along Lake Michigan. Have you ever walked on frozen sand before? It’s a weird sensation!

And, as always, we stopped for lunch at Portillo’s, where I had my favorite, the Italian beef (dipped, of course!):

So that ends another road-trip wrap-up. It was a pretty short trip compared to what we’re used to, and we didn’t get to do everything I had planned, but it was still a fun getaway!

Skydeck Ledge

I could talk all day about the amazing views from the 103rd floor of the Sears (Willis?) Tower. Being able to look out over Chicago and Lake Michigan and the suburbs beyond is an unbelievable experience.

But today I especially want to focus on the experience of stepping out on The Ledge, something I hadn’t done before our trip north in May. If you look way, way up, at the very top of the photo, you can see the tiny glass boxes “hanging off” the building:

My brain knows that this experience is safe. But there is something unbelievably disconcerting about stepping out onto a glass floor when you’re 1,353 feet in the air. Looking down and seeing the tops of other tall buildings beneath you is incredible, and a little scary, if you’re afraid of heights, and yet it’s also exhilarating!

This was the number one experience I wanted to share with the Fab Five during our time in Chicago this spring, and I’m so glad we had such a beautiful, clear day to look out over the city!

James M. Nederlander Theatre

The Chicago Theatre sign may be the most iconic in the Windy City, but there are other cool theaters in Chicago with photo-worthy signs, like the James M. Nederlander Theatre. Actually, until recently, this was the famous Oriental Theatre, so while this may not be a true vintage sign, it is an homage to the original!

Chicago Theatre

Is there anything more iconic than the Chicago Theatre sign?!? It’s a little different from the road signs I usually share (at the least, it’s way fancier, and certainly more famous!), but it’s definitely vintage!

Hot Dog

On National Hot Dog Day, it seems appropriate to share some photos of this “K-9s for Cops” dog we say in Chicago in May. He’s not the first of the public art display we’ve run across, but he was our favorite, because he sits outside a Chicago-style hot dog stand and is covered in hot dog art. Please note: There is no ketchup here, as it should be!

Rainbow Cone

One more sign from our drive through Chicago’s Beverly neighborhood, and it’s the only one from a business we’ve actually patronized! The sign on the back of Rainbow Cone is small-ish, but it’s colorful, and as far as I know, fairly vintage. Plus, Rainbow Cone!