Bite club: The Portillo's cheesy Italian Beef hack

A new viral TikTok sensation has emerged and for Chicago purists, it's blasphemy.

At Portillo's, folks are ordering their Italian Beef topped with the cheese sauce usually reserved for fries.

• The actual order is a beef, dipped, with sweet and hot peppers with melted yellow cheese sauce.
• Sounds more like a cheesesteak than a Chicago beef doesn't it?

Context: Cheese on an Italian Beef is not new. It's usually a white cheese like mozzarella or provolone. According to Al's Beef, it's a very popular order.

Yes, but: It's not the way the sandwich gods intended. The real Chicago beef omits the cheese.

• When I ordered the sandwich, it took me a second to collect myself and ask for the dairy accessory. Surprisingly, the drive-thru clerk already knew what I was ordering thanks to the viral social media craze.
• She noted that several people have been ordering it daily.

The verdict: It's so goooooood. The cheese is almost mixed in with the beef instead of just lying on top, giving it a much more cheesy, chewy, messy vibe.

Buyer beware: This sandwich is a gut buster.