Portillo’s Slides Into Breakfast Territory
We headed up to Niles, Illinois, late last week to check out one of the handful of Chicago-area Portillo’s restaurants testing breakfast. The morning daypart may seem like a departure for a fast-casual focused on Chicago street foods like Italian beef sandwiches and hotdogs. But Portillo’s kept the breakfast menu on brand: There’s a Chocolate Cake Donut, in collaboration with Stan’s Donuts, drizzled with Portillo’s chocolate cake frosting. And there are several breakfast sandwiches, served on the chain’s French bread and topped with its signature Giardiniera sauce. There’s also a coffee collab with Chicago-based Metropolis Coffee for drinks like the Chocolate Cake Iced Coffee. Good news for c-store operators: While the breakfast was hot, fresh and tasty, the fluffy scrambled eggs and super-sticky doughnuts would be a real challenge to eat while driving. My 13-year-old, who tagged along since it was a day off of school, was a big fan, though, saying she’d choose it over McDonald’s breakfast: “Portillos?” she said. “They’re gonna be ‘Rich-tillo’s' with this business plan.”—Heather Lalley
Pickle in a Bag Reaches Icon Status
Pickle in a Bag is one of the 10 most popular Southern gas station snacks, according to Southern Living magazine. “Sure, you could bring a jar from home, but it just wouldn’t have the same appeal (or salty tang) as gnawing on a giant pickle floating in its own neon juice,” Southern Living wrote. “Plus, the handheld delicacy comes in a plastic pouch for peak convenience.” Another item on the list is chips—from two companies: Golden Flake (Southern Living calls out dill pickle and sweet heat barbecue flavors) and Zapp’s (Voodoo and Spicy Cajun Crawtators). The rest of the items are: pork rinds, Buc-ee’s Beaver Nuggets, kolaches, peanut patties and Sizzlin’ Saltines; boiled peanuts; gas station cake, ICEEs, pickled eggs, QuikTrip roller grill fare, including taquitos and egg rolls; and pecan log rolls.—Chuck Ulie
But Wait. More Pickle News
Pickle-flavored foods are taking over the snacking world. Recent snacks include Dill Pickle Pringles Mingles; Flamin’ Hot Dill Pickle Cheetos; Wonderful Pistachios No Shells Dill Pickle; Giant Dill Pickle Slim Jim Meat Sticks; Sour Punch Pickle Roulette Straws; and Bubbies Kosher Dill Pickle Chips. Even some beverages are taking advantage of the pickle craze, including Beatbox Big Papa Pickle Margarita.—Rachel Gignac
Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Japanese C-Store
Teso Mini, a new Japanese-style convenience store, opened Friday on New York's Upper West Side, according to the online website ilovetheupperwestside.com. The new store, a smaller-format concept from Teso Life, Queens, New York, is located at 2764 Broadway and is open daily, the neighborhood news site reported. Items include a variety of Japanese convenience-store items, including a frozen section of ice creams and gyoza dumplings.—Diane Adam
7-Eleven Goes Fishing
7-Eleven has launched a new clothing line with Lateral Vision, a fishing apparel brand that started in Long Beach, California. One of its T-shirt designs features a mashup of 7-Eleven’s iconic stripes and Lateral Vision’s classic wave logo, “creating a look that’s equal parts gas station run and shoreline session,” 7-Eleven said on its website. “It’s a collision of convenience store culture and West Coast fishing vibes, and it hits just right.” Items for sale include a performance fishing shirt, a long sleeve sun shirt, short sleeve T-shirts, a fishing hat, a tackle box and a Reed Convenience Duck Camo Cooler Tote.—Hannah Hammond
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