When Portillo’s opened up here in Peoria back in April of 2018, some people went bat-shit crazy about it. There was coverage in the PJ Star and on CI Proud and people were all excited that Peoria was getting a Portillo’s. I didn’t get it then and I still don’t get it. It’s a chain restaurant that specializes in Italian Beef sandwiches and hot dogs. Whoop-dee-fucking-doo!

Besides, The Spotted Cow has both of those items and according their website they have the best of both food selections, here’s their claim below!

Well, I decided on July 10, 2018 to have a sandwich duel between Spotted Cow and Portillo’s! I’m happy to report that Spotted Cow won and below are a few of the photos of both their famous Italian Beef and a couple of their tasty chili cheese dog.

Below that is a link to the entire original post!

Here’s the Spotted Cow which has been serving Peoria sweet treats and savory sandwiches for over 30 years now. There’s the in-house menu and there’s the menu from their website highlighting today’s spotlight sandwich: Frank’s Famous Italian Beef.

Portillo’s Italian Beef was good, but it was no match for the Spotted Cow’s Italian Beef!

I got mine with peppers and cheese and as you can see, there’s a generous pile of tender and delicious beef on the sandwich. The beef is shredded, juicy and cooked with a secret seasoning and it’s so tasty!

The sandwich comes with a cup of juice and that added to the flavor and the bun was sturdy but bakery fresh!

I think they’re correct when they boast that this is the best Italian Beef in Peoria and beyond!

I’ve had their chili cheese dog before and I think it’s one of the best I’ve ever had.

The bun is steamed and bakery-fresh and I really like their homemade chili sauce. It’s got a great savory taste with a little bit of zing to it and they use fresh shredded cheese. This is a top-notch chili cheese dog.

The sauce is homemade, the hot dog is beefy, the cheese is grated and melted on top adding a creamy richness to the dog. And the bun is steamed and just like the Italian Sausage bun, it’s bakery fresh!

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