Jim's Original

Well after eating at a lot of great places over the last month, we weren't really planning on going anywhere big for Valentine's Day.  In fact we had planned on spending the evening at home with a nice homemade meal. We have only ever been out to dinner once for Valentine's Day.  It's just not worth it - all the fuss to get a reservation, then you are crammed in tightly and you just don't get the benefit of the nicest meal possible at that restaurant (same holds for New Years Eve).  Last year we went to MK on February 13 and had a great time.

Double hot dog

We got tickets to the Chicago Auto Show and discovered that the only evening that was going to work for us for Valentine's Day.  We didn't eat anything ahead of time so that we could see everything we wanted before it closed and we brought a granola bar to tide us over. Afterwards we stopped for food at Jim's Original - a hotdog stand located right next to UIC. This place had been mentioned a couple of months ago on the Layover show with Anthony Bourdain. 

It is quite an adventure going there because it is just a walk up place - you order your food outside and they have it out to you instantaneously.  Jim's Original is located on the street that parallels the Dan Ryan Expressway so we have seen it while driving past many times. The show said you had to try the pork chop sandwich so we ordered that and the double hot dog. The pork chop is tender but what is a little strange is that it is a bone-in pork chop in a sandwich.  So you have to eat around the bone - kind of weird in a sandwich. We thought we were ordering 2 hot dogs but it was 2 hot dogs within one bun. Each item comes with fries.  None of this food was super extraordinary but it was quick and cheap. This is another cash only establishment, but luckily nothing is over $5 on its own.

Pork Chop Sandwich (bone in)

Since there is no inside and no specific parking we pulled over to the side of the road to eat our food before driving away.  All in all it was an interesting experience - especially for Valentine's Day.  If you feel bad, this was actually Natalie's suggestion based on location alone.  Nick did not even remember this place - so he wasn't trying to weasel out of a more expensive meal.

Final thoughts on Jim's Original:
Food - nothing to write home about, but convenient for those who are nearby
Service - very quick, remember cash only
Atmosphere - despite the walkup nature of the place, it is suprsingly open all year round 24/7.  It is in an evolving neighborhood but while we were there we didn't see anyone walking around alone so be careful .