Hot Dog News

Portillo's steams up Chicago-style hot dogs for new location in Allen

Portillo's hot dog, fully loaded.

Portillo's

Chicago-style hot dogs are coming to Allen via Portillo's, the fast-casual restaurant concept known for Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, chocolate cake, and shakes.

A representative doesn't offer a street address or opening date, but their website lists the address as 1955 Central Expressway and says they're "opening soon."

A release says the restaurant will be located just south of Allen Premium Outlets, in a 7,700 square-foot space featuring a retro automotive garage theme, with seating for 170 inside, as well as outdoor patio space, and a pair of double drive-thru lanes.

The Chicago-based brand began its expansion to Texas with its first restaurant in The Colony, which opened in January 2023.

In case you require a refresher: Portillo’s Chicago-style hot dogs feature a beef frank with mustard, relish, chopped onions, tomato, celery salt, kosher pickle, and sport peppers on a steamed poppy seed bun.

Their Italian beef features thinly sliced roast beef served on French bread, with the option to have it dry or dipped in gravy.

Their double-layer chocolate cake is iced with chocolate frosting, ready to order solo, but also an ingredient in their Chocolate Cake Shake combining a shake with a slice of chocolate cake.

And thus you have their menu highlights.

In anticipation of the opening, Portillo’s will park a food truck nearby at the Hampton Inn, 830 W. Stacy Rd. for three weeks, from July 25-August 12.

This is a tradition they do before they open: The bus toured the region in July '22, then came back in September '22 as a preview, ahead of opening their first restaurant in Dallas-Fort Worth in The Colony in the fall.

The Allen food truck installation will be open for service Tuesday-Saturday from 11 am-7 pm, serving Chicago-style hot dogs, a mini version of its Italian Beef Sandwich, Italian or Maxwell Street Polish sausages, and crinkle-cut French Fries.

This will also serve as a help-wanted center. Interviews will be open Monday-Saturday, 10 am-6 pm. Anyone who comes for an interview gets a voucher for a complimentary meal.

openings

Burger News

Buzzy burger joint with Michelin ties to open in Uptown Dallas

Courtesy of NADC Burger

undefined

An ultra-buzzy burger joint is opening in Uptown Dallas: Called NADC Burger, it's a chef-driven cheeseburger concept serving Wagyu burgers that will open at 2908 McKinney Ave., in the former Playground Bar, which closed in 2024.

According to a spokesperson, it'll open in early August.

NADC — which stands for "Not a Damn Chance" — is a partnership between chef Phillip Frankland Lee (co-founder of Sushi by Scratch Restaurants and Pasta Bar) and professional skateboarder and Fort Worth entrepreneur Neen Williams.

United by a love of food and skateboarding, the two set out to create the kind of burger they couldn’t find — one that felt indulgent yet familiar. The result was “the ultimate backyard burger,” featuring two 6-ounce Wagyu patties, American cheese, grilled onions smashed into the beef, secret sauce, pickles, and pickled jalapeños.

They keep the menu simple:

Double patty cheeseburger with Wagyu beef, American cheese, sauce, onion, pickle, and seasoning by Williams' NADC spice company, for $16
Fries double-fried in beef tallow, either plain or in loaded "Beast Mode" with cheese, chopped pickles, jalapeños, sauce, and seasoning

NADC Burger fries Loaded fries at NADC BurgerNADC

There are also brown butter chocolate chip cookies. Every detail — from the seasoning to the burger-to-bun ratio — is meticulously considered.

Lee has previously earned Michelin stars for Pasta | Bar in Encino, California, and Sushi by Scratch in Montecito, California. (There's also a Sushi by Scratch at The Adolphus in downtown Dallas.)

NADC started in Austin in 2022, and has since expanded in Austin, Denver, Chicago, Nashville (inside Jelly Roll's Goodnight Nashville bar), and Fort Worth, which opened in January 2025 (and which promptly won Best Burger at the Fort Worth Food & Wine Festival in April 2025).

Some NADC locations are inside other venues such as comedy clubs, including Fort Worth.

But Uptown Dallas will be a first-of-its-kind model, says Scratch Restaurants Group CEO Gavin Humes.

"This is a standalone NADC Burger restaurant," Humes says. "We’re fully transforming it into our own concept. There will be a full bar onsite to support our new cocktail offerings, but it’s 100 percent a dedicated NADC space."

Uptown will also be their first location to stand two stories tall, and will feature counter service, a full bar serving specialty NADC cocktails, and a casual hangout area with indoor and outdoor seating.

"Uptown felt like the right move — it's a vibrant neighborhood that’s surprisingly underserved when it comes to fast-casual food done at a high level," Humes says. "From the start, Dallas was a priority market. It’s one of the biggest food cities in the country and a natural fit for the energy and flavor of NADC."

burgers openings