A progressive dinner

To try and fit in as many traditional Chicago food items into Nick's parent's visit as possible, we went to 2 restaurants for dinner on their last night in town.  Neither of these are considered gourmet, but are tasty none the less.

For our first stop, we went to Superdawg located at 6363 N Milwaukee Ave in Chicago.  It is located at the far northwest edge of Chicago, almost to the suburbs. It is throwback to a different era as it is a drive in where you can order your food from your parked care and it is delivered to you.  The only time we have experienced this kind of service is from A&W Rootbeer locations many years ago. We all ordered Superdawgs, which are Chicago Style hot dogs that come served in a box cushioned on a bed of french fries.  Make sure to call them Superdawgs instead of hot dogs when you order them or else they may get angry.  Also do not ask for ketchup on the dog itself.  Ketchup will come with your meal for the fries but not for a traditional Chicago style hot dog.

We had been to Superdawg a few years ago and don't remember being "super" impressed with it at the time. However this second visit was a much more positive experience.  The hot dog was much more plump and juicy.  Also we were able to get a parking spot to take advantage of the drive in nature of the restaurant.  The first time we went to Superdawg it was a summer evening and it was so crowded that we had to park across the street at a forest preserve and walk up.

Superdawg has been mentioned on numerous TV shows - from PBS, to the Food Network to the Travel Channel.  Now having a second experience, we would go back again.  However it is difficult to get there from where we live so maybe only when visitors are in town again.

Final thoughts on Superdawg:
Food - better than average Chicago style hot dog
Service - fun to experience a drive in setting
Atmosphere - super casual, cash only, don't be afraid to eat in your car, look for the hot dog characters on top of the building








As if hot dogs weren't enough for an evening, the second half of our meal was having Italian beef sandwiches at Buona Beef.  There are several locations of Buona Beef throughout Chicago and the suburbs so found one on the way home from Superdawg.  Although Buona Beef may not be as we recognized nationally as Al's or Portillo's, it has a good quality Italian Beef Sandwich. We ordered our sandwiches with sweet peppers and mozzarella cheese.  Nick's dad thought they were on par with Portillo's and less salty than Als'.  He still likes that Al's dips all of their beef sandwiches in a jus. Nick found that their meat was juicier than Portillo's, but he prefers Portillo's for some of the other things they offer on their menu (i.e chocolate cake shake).

Final thoughts on Buona Beef:
Food - good Italian Beef sandwiches, cannot speak much to the rest of the menu
Service - counter service where you order and they bring your food out to your table
Atmosphere - casual fast food