Today was my last day in Chicago and on my way to the airport, with my mom and my yiayia (that's grandma in greek), we made a stop at Hot Doug's for the second time since I had come to town on Wednesday. Let me rewind.
On Wednesday I came to Chicago for my sister's engagement party and on the way from the airport my sister asked me if I wanted to go anywhere. I said that I was hungry and to make a long story short she ended up suggesting that we go to this place called Hot Doug's,the current king of all things sausage in Chicago. Quite a title in a city so obsessed with "encased meats".
We got there and at 3pm on Wednesday there was a line out the door and around the corner. We waited for 30 or 40 minutes in total. Inside you get the menu on the wall. You can pick from 11 different kinds of regular dogs (Chicago-style hot dog, fire dog, andouille, italian sausage, polish sausage, bratwurst, chicken sausage, veggie dog, thuringer sausage, corn dog, and veggie corn dog). Those regular dogs you can get (and should get) with everything which means mustard, relish, grilled onion, chopped tomato, dill pickle and celery salt on poppy seed bun made in heaven. And then there's a list of about 12 special dogs. Everything from a spinach and feta loukaniko (greek sausage) with skordalia on it, to a garlic lovers pork and garlic sausage, and a cherry pork sausage, the aformentioned foie gras dog, etc, etc. They all have funny names too.
Oh, and they have hand cut fries which on Fridays and Saturdays they fry in rendered duck fat.
On my first visit on Wednesday my sister and I ordered:
A Keira Knightley which is a Red Hot with everything, a regular dog with everything, and a Van Johnson which was a fennel and Jack Daniels pork sausage with piquillo pepper mustard and cubed spicy nettle cheese on top. Also we got a large order of cheese fries with the cheese on the side.
Holy shit. It was fucking amazing.
So I knew that I would have to bring David when he came to Chicago Saturday morning, since sausage and rendered duck fat are two of his favorite things. When we got there on Saturday from the airport the line was estimated at 2 hours long and unfortunately we couldn't wait since we had errands to run before my sister's party. So I vowed to come back before I left on Monday.
This morning, leaving about two and a half hours till my plane was leaving, we go to Hot Doug's and the line was around the block again but we decided to sweat it out. 50 totally worthwhile minutes later we ordered:
Doug's BLT dog which is a bacon sausage (BACON SAUSAGE!!!!!) with avocado mayonnaise, shredded iceberg and quartered cherry tomatoes. I DIED.
The Keira Knightley again with everything.
My mom got the Pete Shelley which is a veggie dog, with everything. And we got my yiayia the Elvis Presley which is a Polish Sausage, with everything. And a large fry.
When my mom had her first bite of my BLT dog she said, "That's the best thing I've ever eaten." She is the president of E.A. (Exaggerators Anonymous) but she has a point. That dog was epic.
I'm going to stop writing about Hot Doug's now. I would be obese if I lived in Chicago because I would eat at Hot Doug's everyday. It makes me think too much of This is Why You're Fat. I NEED TO GO JOGGING TOMORROW!
You should most definitely go to Hot Doug's if and when you're in Chicago. You'll be obsessed too.
Here are some shots of the inside. Check out the quote on the wall!
This is Andreas' mom. The bacon hot dog at Doug's had a crazy good mayo--and I HATE mayo--i think it was avocado or something. And it was definitely the best hot dog bite i've ever had--even for my hyperbolic-recounting-of-food-book.
ReplyDeleteAnd many of the people coming out of Doug's while we were in line--they, satiated, paper napkins weilding, wiping their mouths--we, in great anticipation of the Doug magic, WERE overweight--in general. I guess it wouldn't be Chicago if they weren't and I bet today--98 degrees F and humid-- people will wait in that line--Chicago as well.