I visited Portillo's after several of my co-workers raved about the place. I probably won't bother going back; like its gaudy decor, it's all shine and little substance.\n\nSERVICE: I'm not a huge fan of the cattle-call style of food service. The organization was pretty lax when I first arrived and we got 'cut' in line several times as groups came in. Eventually an employee came out and started sifting people into appropriate lines.\n\nWhen it came time to get food, we were back to 'cattle-call' again. The woman calling out the orders was humorous at first; eventually her rhyming and overly-loud microphone just gave me a headache.\n\nFOOD: I had an Italian beef sandwich. The beef was mostly flavorless and somewhat dry, even though I had ordered extra gravy; the cheese was rubbery, but at least it had some flavor from the grease on it. \n\nI tried a bite of a co-worker's hot dog; it wasn't anything special.\n\nAMBIANCE: Can you hear me now? No? Then you might be at Portillo's. The only thing louder than the mishmash of decor is the actual noise level in the building. Don't bother trying to talk here. Including a pair of noise-canceling headphones with each order would be nice.\n\nOVERALL: If you couldn't tell, I didn't really see any positives to the place. The food was mediocre, the style of service is annoying, and the noise level might just be tinnitus-inducing. From now on if I want an Italian beef I'll go to Guido's, and I'll make the trek down to Ted's Hot Dogs in Tempe when I want a good frank.
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