Hot Doug's

Hot Doug's is a restaurant in Chicago that has been featured on every local and national food show (and in fact when Nick was picking up the food the National Geographic Channel was filming a show). They are known for hot dogs and gourmet sausages. We have been to this restaurant a couple times before but Hot Doug's will be closing on October 4, 2014 so we wanted to go one last time before that time.

We love the fancy and interesting combinations at Hot Doug's and would have gone more often but they are located a bit far from us and they are only open from 10:30am to 4pm Monday through Saturday.  And to further complicate things they are cash only and always have a long line wrapped around the building.  Nick went on a weekday because a Saturday would have been crazy - and he still waited in line 1 1/2 hours.

Long line to get in

We ordered five sausages knowing that we would split them and we wanted to savor as many as possible this last time. Four of them were from the specials menu and one was from the regular menu.

From the weekly specials menu:
Baked ham sausage with prickly pear mustard, pineapple salsa and smoked Gouda cheese. This had a little more heat than we thought with the salsa. It was very complex, with a lot of tropical flavors but then the Gouda kind of throws it in a completely different direction.

Baked Ham Sausage with Pineapple

Bacon Cheeseburger Sausage with Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce, maple smoked cheddar cheese and smoked onion marmalade - this had a good smoky (from the onions) and sweet flavor (from the bbq sauce). It had more of a bacon flavor than cheeseburger flavor but we still enjoyed it.

BBQ Cheeseburger Sausage

Bison sausage

Game sausage of the week - Smoked bison Sausage with wild rice, Asiago cheese, bacon-garlic mayonnaise and corn relish. This was Nick's favorite of the bunch. He felt the smokiness and snap of the sausage were excellent and with the corn and Asiago it made him feel like he was eating at a five star restaurant.

Celebrity sausage - Basque-style smoked pork sausage with virtue cider mustard and Iberico cheese. This sausage didn't have as much going on with it just the sauce and the cheese but it had some interesting (Spanish) flavors.

Basque style smoked pork sausage

From the regular menu:
The George Mitterwald - Chicken sausage, zesty Santa Fe style - this was probably our least favorite, but it is really hard to compare to the fancier weekly specials which tend to have a bit more pizzazz to them. If we hadn't been eating this sausage in combination with everything else it would have been great.

Cheese fries plus sausages

Cheese Fries - Nick overheard people in line raving about the cheese fries so he ordered them.  They were okay but it is hard for any fries to impress Nick.  Hot Doug's does offer duck fat fries on Fridays and Saturdays and we were sad that we never went there on one of those days to try them because they are supposed to be great.

Final thoughts on Hot Doug's:
Food - we love the intricate and gourmet combinations that they come up with.  Natalie isn't a huge sausage person to begin with but she feels these are amazing. We are sad to see them close but there is another fancy sausage place in Lincoln Park (Frank N Dawgs) that will have to fill the void.

Chicken sausage 

Service - Once Nick got to the front of the line, Doug himself was at the counter like always.  He spends a lot of time with each person making sure they order what is best on each sausage.  Nick felt Doug may have been a little distracted on this day due to Nat Geo film crews filming.  After placing the order it only took a couple of minutes for the sausages to come out.

Doug himself

Atmosphere - it is a casual atmosphere inside with lots of sausage memorabilia and the bright colors of a classic hot dog cart.  It was a little chilly outside but good thing it was not too cold due to the long wait.  It may have been a slightly longer wait than normal for a weekday due to the film crew. But Nick was able to talk with the other patrons in line with him.

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 .

Big Guy's Sausage Stand

We went to lunch at Big Guy's Sausage Stand in Berwyn.  This restaurant has been featured on Chicago's Best and on Three Days to Open on the Food Network with Bobby Flay. They offer traditional Chicago Style hot dogs, sausages and Italian beef.

Crawfish Sausage - crawfish andouille with burlesque sauce.  This was the most unique of the sausages.  It was tasty and different.

Crawfish sausage

Buffalo Chicken Sausage - spicy chicken with buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, carrots and celery matchsticks.  This was a spicy sandwich that was fun with the veggies on top.

Hot dog - with everything on it (no picture). A traditional hot dog.  Nothing super special.

All sandwiches come with fries.  You can also get any sandwich with a hot dog "kicker" so you only get the hot dog itself and not extra fries.

Final thoughts on Big Guy's:

Buffalo Chicken sausage

Food - the Crawfish and Buffalo chicken were really good but the hot dog was just ok.  The crawfish and chicken sausages were the most "different" things on the menu.  Most of the rest of the sandwiches were variations on hot dog or Italian Sausage.  But there are so many traditional hot dog places in the area; we're not sure their traditional items would bring us back.

Service - It took a long time for us to get our food.  Obviously the items are cooked to order, but it sure seemed like a long time considering there were only a couple of people in the place at the time.  We weren't there at a peak lunch time so it is hard to tell how they would be able to handle a more rushed pace.

Interior

Atmosphere - the Bobby Flay show 3 days to open made Big Guy's look a lot bigger than it is. There are really only three stools to eat at and a long counter - even our picture makes it look bigger than it is. In reality it is a large indoor hot dog stand. Much like the hundreds of others in the Chicagoland area. It looks like they have totally given up on the idea of a Drive up window which would have made it unique but their slower ordering and cooking process would make it nearly impossible to operate.

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

Re-creation of Bucktown/Wicker Park Food Tour

We ent on a Near North Food tour with Natalie's parents a few months ago. Natalie's parents tried the Bucktown/Wicker Park food tour back in September and recommended it. Since we were available on a Monday to do this re-creation (and the tour doesn't run on Mondays because one restaurants is closed on Mondays), we decided to re-create the tour ourselves. This way we could save some money and order the food we specifically wanted from the restaurants. The restaurants are all fairly close to the intersection of North Ave, Milwaukee Ave and Damen Ave in Chicago.

George's Hot Dogs

We of course had a Chicago Style hot dog.   It didn't quite have all of the traditional components (i.e. no sport peppers) and actually the french fries were the best part of the experience.  We still prefer Hot Doug's for a Chicago Style Hot Dog or for a totally difference experience with encased meats go to Franks 'n Dawgs.

Hot Chocolate

We didn't actually have the food there on this re-creation day because we have been there 3 times in the past (and because they are not open on Mondays). We highly recommend this restaurant. The dinner food is good but the desserts and hot chocolate are great. This isn't your average hot chocolate - it is super decadent and rich.  So make sure to save room for the desserts/hot chocolate even if you only order an appetizer as a savory dish.  Reservations are recommended as it is a small space.

Goddess & Grocer

We ordered 2 sandwiches - the Portofino Panini and the Caesar the Day wrap (southwest Caesar). The sandwiches were excellent.  They were outstanding because the ingredients were really fresh.  If we hadn't already planned on going to other restaurants that day we would have spent more time and money trying other things on the menu.  In addition to prepared foods to eat immediately (sandwiches, salads, pastries), it is also a high end grocery store.

One of the down sides is that there is not a lot of seating room - there is only one long table that seats 10 people inside.  However, it looks like most people take out their food so this may not always be an issue.  It looks like a busy lunch spot and the locals love to frequent it.  If we lived closer, we would probably visit all the time.  Keep in mind that it takes a little while to get your food, so don't go if you are in a rush.

Piece

Piece is a brewery and pizzeria. The pizza is unique for this area because it is not deep dish or thin crust.  It is considered New Haven style pizza.  We ordered a small pizza with Italian sausage and green peppers.   It tasted good but upon removing slices of pizza many of the toppings seemed to slide off the crust.

The atmosphere was probably the most interesting thing about this place - it is a large space with exposed beams and skylights.  It looks like it would be fun place to hang out for a sporting event with plenty of TV's all around.

Sultan's Market

We didn't actually eat there this time because we had already sampled their falafel sandwich from parent's tour back in September.  It seemed to be standard Middle Eastern fare. We have had enough middle eastern cuisine from living near Dearborn, Michigan that it isn't as unique to us anymore.

iCream

iCream has introduced a super innovative way to make custom ice cream.  We ordered our own unique flavor combinations of cinnamon/white chocolate ice cream with Nutella mixed in and coconut/raspberry ice cream with bananas mixed in.  We arrived right as iCream opened so we didn't have to wait long to get our ice cream. But because the process is fairly labor intensive it looks like on a busy day you would have to wait a while. But we think it is definitely worth the wait. The fun part of the experience is how they instantly create ice cream from jimmy-rigged kitchen aid stand mixers and liquid nitrogen. It is a tasty science experiment.

We enjoyed tasting our unique ice cream.  In fact Nick's choice of cinnamon and white chocolate with Nutella epitomizes Nick's favorite flavors.