I ate at Portillo's, one of the most famous hot-dog chains in the US. I get why Midwesterners love it so much.

Portillo's creates a dine-in experience that takes patrons back to the 1960s, complete with a soundtrack of swinging jazz beats and classic rock tunes.

Each location has unique wall art, memorabilia, and statues of old-school pop-culture icons throughout the dining room.

My local spot has everything from stained-glass windows to Uncle Sam posters.

The hearty salad included chicken, bacon, pasta, and plenty of gorgonzola cheese on top of chopped veggies.

The portion size was large, which makes it a great appetizer for a smaller entrée or a main dish in and of itself.

I also appreciated the nice crunch from the fresh veggies and the generous chicken-to-lettuce ratio.

I probably didn't need to add crinkle-cut cheese fries to my already large order, but they brought me back to my childhood.

The nacho-style cheese sauce is great for dipping or pouring over the fries. It kind of reminded me of eating prepackaged nachos at a baseball game on a chilly night — in the best way.

Like the salad, Portillo's didn't skimp on the portions with its fries.

The classic Chicago-style hot dog is the crown jewel of Portillo's menu.

I ordered mine "all the way," which meant mustard, relish, celery salt, onions, tomatoes, a kosher pickle spear, sport peppers, and a poppy-seed bun.

Even though it's advertised as a handheld, I have a hard time keeping this dog together long enough to eat the whole thing. But that hardly distracts from the great taste.

If you're sensitive to heat, be aware that the sport peppers have a kick to them.

The beef sandwich is another fan-favorite item at Portillo's. The classic dish has been made famous by TV shows like "The Bear," but the chain has been serving the old-school sandwich for years.

If you've never had an Italian-beef sandwich, I recommend trying it "wet," meaning the whole sandwich is dipped in gravy.

The giardiniera topping is a nice edition if you enjoy a bit of spice, but you can also ask for it without. I personally enjoy the tanginess and crunch the Italian relish adds to the beef.

The sandwich is easily big enough to split between two people, but I downed mine easily. This is by far one of Portillo's best menu items.

The chocolate-cake shake is exactly what it sounds like: A slice of Portillo's famous chocolate cake mixed into a milkshake.

The texture is unlike any other shake I've tried. The cake is grainy and makes it extremely thick. It was difficult to drink through a straw, so I ended up attacking the treat with a spoon.

Above all, the popular menu item tastes great — how could cake and ice cream ever be bad?

Portillo's is a nostalgic, quirky chain with tasty Chicago classics and generous portions.

There's a reason Midwesterners flock here. But luckily, for the rest of the US, the chain has expanded to Arizona, California, Florida, Texas, and Wisconsin.