Why no Portillos in Indy?

[mobyhead]

I had an Italian Beef just yesterday at King's Gyros on S. East Street. They do a decent job of it. They also sell Pizza Puffs there as well. http://iltaco.com/Home_Page.html The owner is from Chicago. It's comfort food for me since I grew up on Chicago's southside.

[daschmidty]

I would also recommend South of Chicago pizza and Beef in Fletcher Place for a solid Italian beef. It is honestly the first one I've had since moving to Indy that tasted like it is supposed to (spicy gravy and hot peppers on a Gonella bakery bun)..although the one's I have seen at King Gyros looked decent too.

[missik999]

Originally Posted by mobyhead

I had an Italian Beef just yesterday at King's Gyros on S. East Street. They do a decent job of it. They also sell Pizza Puffs there as well. Home Page The owner is from Chicago. It's comfort food for me since I grew up on Chicago's southside.

The pizza puff looks really tasty. I might try that out for lunch today.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by GregHenry

No, we're talking about Portillo's. When you talk about Portillo's, you talk about beef and sausage.



A beef has nothing, whatsoever, to do with a cheesesteak. A cheesesteak is a fried product with very little seasoning; beef is a well-seasoned roast. Completely different cuts. Completely different cooking methods. I really don't know how anyone could see any commonality, at all, between them.

The closest analogue to a beef is a french dip, which, as we all know, has absolutely nothing in common with a cheesesteak.

When you're talking Portillo's, the big movers are still dogs, believe it or not, followed closely by sausage and beefs.

Still, this isn't exotic stuff. The cheesesteak was just another example of regional food (from Philly) that isn't inaccessible to a person living in Indy who has never been to Philly. It's no different than a beef in that respect. If you want to identify the closest thing to it that is commonly served in Indianapolis, I completely agree that would probably be a French Dip. And people can order a French Dip at a lot of chains. McAlister's and places like Houlihan's and Applebees has (or at least had) them. A beef isn't that far outside the standard fare someone in Indy is accustomed to.

The problem with Portillo's in Indy boils down to two things:

1)What they serve isn't that different than what you can find in Indy, and
2)It isn't necessarily good enough to work its way into the market to replace analogous foods that are already there.

There is no nostalgia component in Indy for these things, which is basically what it takes to open up a Portillo's outside of the area. They're in places like southern California and AZ to capture the Chicagoland migrants to these areas. There are former Chicagoans in Indy that probably miss this stuff, but not in the critical #s you find in LA/PHO.

[GregHenry]

Originally Posted by Chicago76

The problem with Portillo's in Indy boils down to two things:

1)What they serve isn't that different than what you can find in Indy,

There's no discussion with someone who just makes stuff up.

[Chicago76]

Originally Posted by GregHenry

There's no discussion with someone who just makes stuff up.

Right, because you can't find a French Dip at chains on every side of Indianapolis, which is the closest thing to a "beef" by your own admission.

[GregHenry]

Originally Posted by Chicago76

Right, because you can't find a French Dip at chains on every side of Indianapolis, which is the closest thing to a "beef" by your own admission.

"Closest" doesn't mean "close," and you can't get a french dip anywhere in Indianapolis.

Further, a french dip doesn't come close to sating the desire for a beef.

Have you ever had a beef? Do you respect a beef as probably the best food ever concoted? I know, you think a combo is the way to go, and you'd be right, but you can't get to a combo without the beef.