hot dogs for Houston

Favorite Chicago hot dog shop Portillo's reveals 2 more Houston outposts

Portillo's will open four locations across Greater Houston by the end of 2024.

Courtesy photo

Houstonians may still be waiting for their first taste of Portillo’s, but the restaurant devoted to Chicago-style street food is making sure that it will soon reach as many people as possible.

The company announced that it will open two more locations in Stafford and Katy as well as one in the Dallas suburb of Grapevine. They join Portillo’s previously announced plans to open locations in Richmond and Willowbrook. All five new locations are expected to open by the end of the year.

The Stafford location will open at The Grid, where it joins a number of restaurants including Whiskey Cake and In-N-Out Burger. Described in press materials as one of Portillo’s “Restaurant of the Future” designs, the 6,200-square-foot restaurant will seat 160 and offer a double drive-thru lane for efficient to-go orders.

Part of the Katy Grand development at the corner of the Katy Fwy and the Grand Parkway, the Katy location will utilize Portillo’s traditional, more expansive footprint. In this case, the 7,700-square-foot restaurant will seat 170 inside and 50 more on an outdoor patio. Designed with a retro, automotive garage theme, it will also offer a double drive-thru.

Like Stafford, the Grapevine location will also be a slightly smaller “Restaurant of the Future” with indoor seating for approximately 125, a 40-seat patio, and double drive-thru lanes. Located on Highway 114 near South Main Street, it will have a “rustic Southwest garage theme,” according to press materials.

Known for its Chicago-inspired fare, Portillo’s signature menu items include Chicago-style hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, and chocolate cake. The hot dog is a beef frank topped 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, and the double-layer chocolate cake is iced with chocolate frosting. Burgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides, and shakes are also available.

“With the opening of these three new restaurants in the Lone Star State, Texas will become our largest market outside our home state of Illinois,” CEO Michael Osanloo said. “Since arriving in Texas, we have been greeted with open arms and empty stomachs, so we are thrilled to be able to continue expanding our footprint in Dallas-Fort Worth and officially bring our unrivaled Chicago street food to the Houston area later this year.”

Portillo’s fans can follow along with each location’s progress by visiting Portillos.com/TXExpansion.

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Bienvenido

Michelin-starred Houston fine dining restaurant plots new Dallas concept

Photo courtesy of Masia

Rendering of the bar and entry of Masia.

A Houston hospitality group behind a Michelin-starred restaurant is bringing a new Spanish fine-dining restaurant to Uptown Dallas: Masía, from Houston-based Arrels Hospitality Concepts, will open at 2530 Fairmount St. in winter 2026-2027, according to a release.

The restaurant comes from the team behind Houston's Michelin-starred BCN Taste & Tradition and the Madrid-inspired restaurant MAD. BCN was awarded a Michelin star in the inaugural Texas Guide in 2024.

The name "Masía" refers to a traditional Catalan farmhouse, and the restaurant is intended to reflect that style of home-grown hospitality and dining, the owners say.

Founder Ignacio "Nacho" Torras, who earlier this year debuted on the Forbes billionaires list, says the project is especially meaningful to him, and he looks forward to sharing the company's vision of Spanish food and hospitality with Dallas.

"We want to create a restaurant that feels refined, but also warm and intimate," he says in the release. "A place where guests can enjoy as we do in a countryside home in Spain."

The restaurant will occupy a 3,500-square-foot space with seating for 86 indoors and another 20 on a patio.

The kitchen will be led by Spanish chef Lenin Busquet, whose résumé includes Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain. He served as head chef at Annua, where he helped maintain the restaurant's two Michelin stars, and later led Ment, which earned its first Michelin star six months after opening. In 2022, he joined ABISS in Calpe, Spain, and received the Promising Chef of the Valencian Community award.

Though menu details are not available yet, Busquet says it will combine Spanish techniques with Texas ingredients.

"The culinary concept behind Masia is rooted in Spain's rich traditions while remaining deeply connected to the ingredients and community that surround us here in Texas," he says. "Our philosophy is built on a profound respect for exceptional local products, which we approach through the lens of Spanish culinary heritage.

"By combining the finest regional ingredients with classic recipes and techniques from our homeland, we aim to create a dining experience that reflects who we are, where we come from, and why Spain has one of the world's most celebrated gastronomic cultures."

The restaurant is being designed by Dallas-based Gensler Architects with natural wood, stone, and a neutral color palette inspired by a contemporary Spanish farmhouse. The space will also feature artwork from Torras' private collection.

"Masía will reflect the calm, generous spirit of a Spanish farmhouse through a contemporary lens," the owners say.

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