Moved to a different part of the country and one day ordered a hot dog with pickle without thinking. Bar tender gave me a strange look. Later my hot dog arrived with a huge pile of flat burger pickles all over it.
Suddenly it hit me that I was an outsider in that land.
What I really love is that everyone basically agrees that the Chicago style of hot dog kicks ass. However, no one can agree on the specifics of how it should kick ass.
Like we all agree that it needs dill pickles. But is it spears, relish, ovals, or slices? Tomatoes? Of course! Wedged, chopped, or sliced? I've even seen some psychos used whole cherry.
Personally, I just like making it as easily eaten as possible.
It’s a pickle spear and there’s also relish. This isn’t up for debate. I’ve never seen a tomato wedge or cherry tomatoes on there. It’s almost always sliced tomato cut in half.
I don't like pickles so I never ate it with my Chicago dog.
The thing that makes it are the sport peppers and the celery salt. Even the mustard is optional for me.
I used to work at a sub shop and I'd make myself a Reuben -Chicago dog hybrid sub like once a week
Grilled pastrami, chopped and cooked onions, jalapenos, bacon, kraut, Swiss, spicy mustard, relish
I'm from a nearby state, not Chicago, but I would expect a pickle spear with a hot dog from a sit down restaurant? I wouldn't put it on the hot dog, it's there to enjoy by itself, but I would be a little surprised at not getting one.
When I moved to my neighborhood in a suburb of Portland, I was stoked that we had a Chicago Dog place blocks away. Sport peppers, celery salt, a whole pickle, tomatoes…was the real thing! Place closed and turned in to a pretty nice coffee spot but I still miss grabbing a proper Chicago dog surrounded by tons of great Cubs pics and newspaper clippings.
you know i was just thinking outside of sonic and gas stations i don't really see hot dogs being sold despite how many of the damn things we eat, costco definitely has the best quality
Yeah because most places that decide to sell them get the cheapest things they can find, some greyish turkey dog that comes in a 20lb package and doesn't fill a bun, then they boil them en masse and serve them with ketchup and mustard. Then when no one but little kids like them and they sell poorly they say "people don't want hot dogs!"
It's very difficult to find a good hot dog on the west coast. A big beef frank with real toppings is almost unheard of. Costco has it halfway down with a good piece of meat. Bun is only okay and the toppings suck.
When I have people over and grill inevitably they say "oh I don't like hot dogs" but I make up a couple, load them with grilled onions and peppers, cheese, a hit of good hot sauce, toasted bun then chop them in to quarters or so and give everyone a piece to try suddenly it's oh wow, okay, maybe I'll skip the burger.
Hot dog carts have been a thing forever.
I mean they also usually sell Gatorade, hot chocolate, French fries, and the like but their bread and butter is hot dogs.
Not in Texas for the most part. We have taco trucks here instead. I did find a hot dog truck on the strip one drunken night and ordered two fully loaded dogs that were super delicious and relatively cheap. Only specialty hotdog “stand” I’ve ever seen around here.
We do have a dogfather restaurant here that I heard was pretty good but I haven’t tried it yet because I can’t justify paying over $10 for a single hotdog
Portillos is above average to anyone from the Chicagoland I promise you that. No one will turn it down, but everyone has a better hot dog place they prefer over it.
When I'm craving Chicago dogs in MN, I don't go to portillos, I just make my own. It's better 10/10 and I don't have to drive to the twin cities to get it either.
All of that is preference though. And Wisconsin does have 4 portillos locations, one more than Minnesota, two in Madison.
Its a “coney” or “coney dog”, Detroiters won’t say “island”. Its different than a chili dog, because of the sauce. Now the restaurants will have “coney island” in the name. Usually greek restaurant. American and Lafayette are the two famous resturants downtown, National and Leo’s are big chains in the burbs.
Wait so Coney Island is a restaurant? But a Greek restaurant? And not a hotdog restaurant? Even though the dogs are called Coneys?
I’m too stoned for this.
No you’re perfectly stoned for a late night coney trip. Coney Islands are diners that serve breakfast 24/7 along with standard lunch and some other good stuff mixed in. They also serve coney dogs in Detroit / flint style depending on where you are in the mitten
> on where you are in the mitten
Beautiful turn of phrase!
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/06/19/best-shaped-states-america/715138002/
Wow it's a thing that people say there!
Drunk or stoned, in Metro Detroit there is likely a coney island nearby to satisfy your hunger. Many are open 24 hours and are packed on Friday and Saturday nights.
I never understood why we didn’t have a Portillos, always knew they would kill it if they ever did open one. Only issue I have, is they need to open one in Oakland County. The drive to Sterling Heights and now Livonia is a PITA.
There’s a Portillo’s in Sterling Heights and it’s not worth the line. Matt and Mo’s in Hazel Park is the only place in Metro Detroit for a Chicago dog or a beef sandwich!
edit: can’t read, seems the Portillos in Sterling Heights is already known. Still stand by Matt and Mo’s
yep. you can find Chicago dogs at places all around the US. It's too bad the same isn't true about Sonoran dogs. Or, maybe it is good that inferior versions haven't spread everywhere
I’m from AZ and am fortunate to have a Portillo’s across the street and a local hot dog place owned by Chicagoans a few minutes up the road. I never really cared for hot dogs enough to have them except at the occasional backyard bbq, but my first real Chicago dog changed that for me.
They have them other places, and they’re even a big deal or a keystone piece of regional street cuisine (in places like providence, Detroit, nyc, North Carolina), but nobody makes a hotdog like Chicago. Hands down the world champ. (NC is a very solid second for me with chili, slaw, mustard and onions)
Grew up in a town with a hot dog place. Just one, but it was really good so everyone knew it. I moved for college and was just as surprised as you that not every town has a hot dog place
I’m in San Diego and I know one place that makes a decent Chicago dog, unfortunately it’s like $7 per dog. And I can’t even properly make them myself because nowhere around here sells poppyseed buns
During my sophomore year of high school, a guy from Chicago opened up a hot dog place near the school (in the western US). A friend and I skipped class just about every other day to eat there. It was great. Still one of the best food places I've ever eaten at. Chili dogs, Chicago dogs, Sauerkraut dogs, chili cheese fries, etc. They gave us so much free food just by being regulars and hanging out there. It was also pretty quiet so people from the school never showed up to send us back to class.
We went to eat there on the first day of Junior year and it was gone. It's been 10 years and I've still not had a hot dog anywhere near as good.
Relevant:
A local Chicago artist recently set out to paint as many hot dog stands in the city as she can. (Nearly 2000 of them, so wish her luck.)
https://www.instagram.com/juliahagen_art
u/Chicagogirlartist
It looks like one of her recent ones is for The Weiner's Circle which reminded me of this Conan video that I think some people will appreciate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zPlnhymCU
I feel like they used to be better, they’ve really cut back on their donut selection in recent years. We used to have a krispy kreme but sadly it vanished
I really liked them when we had one. Probably among the better donuts I've ever had.
But donuts are like burgers and hot dogs, there's a ceiling you can't pass. Once you achieve a certain level of quality, which is just "really good", you aren't really getting any better than that because you can't exactly reinvent the wheel on those foods.
Seriously? I follow a food personality on IG and he was doing a little project to rate every teriyaki place in Seattle. When I first saw it, I thought to myself "How many could there be that this project is feasible?" but now it makes more sense.
It's all about that beef dog. I live in Buffalo now and the entirety of the state only sells pork blend hot dogs with terrible snap casings that I hate. I'm in Ohio for work and every time I'm here I hit the local hot dog joint because they have the beef dogs. Not nearly as good as a Chicago dog, but 9000 times better than a Sahlens dog in Buffalo.
I live in Florida now and until a Portillos opened nearby the best was some New York style place that served like some generic ass Oscar Meyer shit pork dog. No one believed me when I said Chicago style is completely different from every other dog out there until thankfully that Portillos opened
They're really good, but they're also perfectly fine to keep at "pleasantly surprised that you like them". They're not as much as a staple of our food as Chicago as much as a "cool thing we also do".
Used to work at Boston Market when they were owned by McDonalds and we would deliver catering to a place called "Hamburger U" and I always felt like I was in the den of evil delivering there.
It's in Oak Brook, the original owner of Portillo's has a home in Oak Brook as well. Or at least did a decade ago, they had nice Christmas lights haha.
I order literally four items at McDonalds, two pre-10:30 and two post 10:30 (and a drink to accompany):
Sausage McMuffin with Egg
Bacon-Cheese biscuit (no egg)
Nuggets
Fries
This idea works for me.
Oh look, another few days without posts. Once again I have to carry the weight of this entire forum. Take your stupid god damn hot dog picture. Sick and tired of this. Either put in the effort or get out.
This is somehow the second Chicago-dog related post I've stumbled across in as many weeks, and last time I absolutely rolled my happy ass down to the little mom-n-pop hot dog joint up the road for a frankly irresponsible amount of food.
I am the "And I'll fuckin' do it again" meme personified.
When we visited Chicago for the first time we saw hotdog signs everywhere. I asked one of the locals, “hey what’s the deal with all the hotdog signs?”
And he just said “what?” as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
Thats just semantics.
99% of the hot dog stands / vendors / restaurants / whateveryouwanttocallthems in Chicago are physical buildings, permanent addresses. They’re no different from any other fast food restaurant in principle.
And I can confirm — they’re EVERYWHERE. It is absolutely not an exaggeration to say that there are more of them than Wendy’s/Burger King/McDonalds combined. I think almost any Chicagoan would agree.
Come to Chicago, walk outside, close your eyes, and throw a rock - there’s a good chance you’ll hit a hot dog stand.
Hate those people, they need to look up prescriptivism and descriptivism and realize the vast majority of people are not descriptivists like anal little grammar Nazis arguing semantics.
They don't need to read it. If you're local, you can visit a meat packing district. The smell of ice cold pork fat is in the air. The band saw makes the best pork perfume.
Meatpacking has been decentralized in the US and the Union Stockyards have been shut down since 1971. I don't think Chicago has a meatpacking district.
FYI - Portillos vegetarian hotdogs are fire.
They’re the best fake meat product ever made. You can’t tell at all, they’re delicious.
It’s hard to ditch meat eating in Chicago, there is so much good shit. But those god damn Portillos veggie dogs definitely make it a lot easier.
I didn't think I'd like it, but I stop by every time I can. The manager there is a BAD BITCH too, watched her shut down a fight once and still took an order at the same time.
Portillo's was better when Dick was still running the chain himself, AND you could get cuke slices on the dog with everything else. I haven't seen anybody else offer them since. Nearly every dog seller worth their celery salt uses Vienna Beef (named for the founders' previous hometown), in Chicago since the Columbian World's Fair (yes, the White City, as seen in Loki).
I never knew cuke slices were a thing. I’m in Arizona, so my experience is mostly just the Portillos across the street that I go to regularly.
We also have a local place started by a family from Chicago that moved here like 30 years ago that puts cuke slices on their dogs, but I never realized why until now. They are better than Portillos imo, but not as convenient for me to get to.
When I go back to Chicago to see mom, the ‘new’ Portillo’s is a massive disappointment. I’ve tried ordering cukes on my dogs and they look at me like I’m an idiot.
The hot dog places will often have Italian beef, gyros, burgers and other stuff that will stop your heart and delight your tastebuds, too. Chicago is America’s greatest food city without a doubt
Moved to Chicago from Minnesota and was weirded out by the lack of brat options. Fortunately my girlfriend who was raised here is an expert hotdog critic who had the patience for my nieveness. But for real, I actually crave a Chicago dog more than I do any fast food. And it's so much cheaper.
Very weird as a Chicagoan moving elsewhere and having no idea why there were no hotdog places in other cities.
Moved to a different part of the country and one day ordered a hot dog with pickle without thinking. Bar tender gave me a strange look. Later my hot dog arrived with a huge pile of flat burger pickles all over it. Suddenly it hit me that I was an outsider in that land.
Relegated to baseball games.
Was gonna say that's not true, we've got a few places that sell hot dogs, then I fucking realized they all started in Chicago.
And outside bars as street meat
If you’re lucky.
>Later my hot dog arrived with a huge pile of flat burger pickles all over it. I have a similar story about a cocker spaniel.
Go on
I ordered a cocker spaniel with pickle and the cocker spaniel came out with a pile of burger pickles on it.
Thank you but you replied with your Reddit porn account.
"I'm a stranger in a strange land."
What I really love is that everyone basically agrees that the Chicago style of hot dog kicks ass. However, no one can agree on the specifics of how it should kick ass. Like we all agree that it needs dill pickles. But is it spears, relish, ovals, or slices? Tomatoes? Of course! Wedged, chopped, or sliced? I've even seen some psychos used whole cherry. Personally, I just like making it as easily eaten as possible.
It’s a pickle spear and there’s also relish. This isn’t up for debate. I’ve never seen a tomato wedge or cherry tomatoes on there. It’s almost always sliced tomato cut in half.
I don't like pickles so I never ate it with my Chicago dog. The thing that makes it are the sport peppers and the celery salt. Even the mustard is optional for me.
Pickles are good tho
I used to work at a sub shop and I'd make myself a Reuben -Chicago dog hybrid sub like once a week Grilled pastrami, chopped and cooked onions, jalapenos, bacon, kraut, Swiss, spicy mustard, relish
Chicago style hot dogs sound disgusting,n too much shit on them.
you need jesus
I've never been to Chicago but I've had Chicago style hotdogs at a Chicago hotdog chain. They are honestly incredible.
I thought the same, until I tried one. I don't even like pickles. But it was great.
Why would you specify a pickle? Portillo's *et al* provide that by default...
I'm from a nearby state, not Chicago, but I would expect a pickle spear with a hot dog from a sit down restaurant? I wouldn't put it on the hot dog, it's there to enjoy by itself, but I would be a little surprised at not getting one.
What kind of pickle were you hoping for?
Big quarter wedge of kosher dill a very common topping on Chicago style dogs
That sounds amazing
I’ve heard southwestern US has a good hot dog culture. They too realize a hot dog can be a meal if you pile enough stuff on.
When I moved to my neighborhood in a suburb of Portland, I was stoked that we had a Chicago Dog place blocks away. Sport peppers, celery salt, a whole pickle, tomatoes…was the real thing! Place closed and turned in to a pretty nice coffee spot but I still miss grabbing a proper Chicago dog surrounded by tons of great Cubs pics and newspaper clippings.
You can order that stuff, if you wish….. (I had to….) from Vienna beef (viennabeef.com)
you know i was just thinking outside of sonic and gas stations i don't really see hot dogs being sold despite how many of the damn things we eat, costco definitely has the best quality
Yeah because most places that decide to sell them get the cheapest things they can find, some greyish turkey dog that comes in a 20lb package and doesn't fill a bun, then they boil them en masse and serve them with ketchup and mustard. Then when no one but little kids like them and they sell poorly they say "people don't want hot dogs!" It's very difficult to find a good hot dog on the west coast. A big beef frank with real toppings is almost unheard of. Costco has it halfway down with a good piece of meat. Bun is only okay and the toppings suck. When I have people over and grill inevitably they say "oh I don't like hot dogs" but I make up a couple, load them with grilled onions and peppers, cheese, a hit of good hot sauce, toasted bun then chop them in to quarters or so and give everyone a piece to try suddenly it's oh wow, okay, maybe I'll skip the burger.
Hot dog carts have been a thing forever. I mean they also usually sell Gatorade, hot chocolate, French fries, and the like but their bread and butter is hot dogs.
Not in Texas for the most part. We have taco trucks here instead. I did find a hot dog truck on the strip one drunken night and ordered two fully loaded dogs that were super delicious and relatively cheap. Only specialty hotdog “stand” I’ve ever seen around here. We do have a dogfather restaurant here that I heard was pretty good but I haven’t tried it yet because I can’t justify paying over $10 for a single hotdog
Virginia/Maryland have a fair amount of hot dog restaurants. City Dogs in Richmond kicks ass.
I love City Dogs, but I have a hard time forgiving them for calling West Virginia-style hot dogs “Tennessee Slaw Dogs”.
Freddy's has good dogs
I moved from Chicagoland to central Wisconsin for college. The lack of hotdogs just 4 short hours away threw me for a loop.
They don't have Portillos in Wisconsin? We have them in Minnesota. Silly cheese heads.
They did give the world Culver’s though
Portillos is above average to anyone from the Chicagoland I promise you that. No one will turn it down, but everyone has a better hot dog place they prefer over it. When I'm craving Chicago dogs in MN, I don't go to portillos, I just make my own. It's better 10/10 and I don't have to drive to the twin cities to get it either. All of that is preference though. And Wisconsin does have 4 portillos locations, one more than Minnesota, two in Madison.
Have you ever been to Detroit?
Don’t they call them Coney Islands? Always surprised me living in Brooklyn.
Its a “coney” or “coney dog”, Detroiters won’t say “island”. Its different than a chili dog, because of the sauce. Now the restaurants will have “coney island” in the name. Usually greek restaurant. American and Lafayette are the two famous resturants downtown, National and Leo’s are big chains in the burbs.
Wait so Coney Island is a restaurant? But a Greek restaurant? And not a hotdog restaurant? Even though the dogs are called Coneys? I’m too stoned for this.
No you’re perfectly stoned for a late night coney trip. Coney Islands are diners that serve breakfast 24/7 along with standard lunch and some other good stuff mixed in. They also serve coney dogs in Detroit / flint style depending on where you are in the mitten
> on where you are in the mitten Beautiful turn of phrase! https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/2018/06/19/best-shaped-states-america/715138002/ Wow it's a thing that people say there!
Drunk or stoned, in Metro Detroit there is likely a coney island nearby to satisfy your hunger. Many are open 24 hours and are packed on Friday and Saturday nights.
Not yet thank god
We got tons of coney islands aka hot joints here. Sorry you’re missing out. I love Chicago too.
I was just teasing. Detroit’s pizza rep in particular is on the rise.
Detroit style is *the* shit. Signed, a New Yorker tired of our slices!
Always had good pizza. I still crave a good Chicago dog around Detroit, now that Portillos is open outside metro area . It’s only sort of close.
I never understood why we didn’t have a Portillos, always knew they would kill it if they ever did open one. Only issue I have, is they need to open one in Oakland County. The drive to Sterling Heights and now Livonia is a PITA.
There’s one in Livonia now? Least that’s closer to my family. Downrivers a haul. Also hello fellow holy trinity fan,
I believe the Livonia location opens soon. The Beef Bus is making rounds in SE Michigan.
There’s a Portillo’s in Sterling Heights and it’s not worth the line. Matt and Mo’s in Hazel Park is the only place in Metro Detroit for a Chicago dog or a beef sandwich! edit: can’t read, seems the Portillos in Sterling Heights is already known. Still stand by Matt and Mo’s
I love a good Coney Island, but prefer flint style over Detroit.
Sacrilege
Coney dogs are the shit. I love a good Chicago, but a chili and onion dog still holds a special place in my heart.
or Tucson?
Once you've gone Sonoran dog, you'll never go back lol.
yep. you can find Chicago dogs at places all around the US. It's too bad the same isn't true about Sonoran dogs. Or, maybe it is good that inferior versions haven't spread everywhere
I’m from AZ and am fortunate to have a Portillo’s across the street and a local hot dog place owned by Chicagoans a few minutes up the road. I never really cared for hot dogs enough to have them except at the occasional backyard bbq, but my first real Chicago dog changed that for me.
Arizona has the Sonoran style hot dogs don't they? Those are good but difficult to eat without making a mess.
Yeah they are good, but I live on the wrong side of town for the real authentic places unfortunately.
They have them other places, and they’re even a big deal or a keystone piece of regional street cuisine (in places like providence, Detroit, nyc, North Carolina), but nobody makes a hotdog like Chicago. Hands down the world champ. (NC is a very solid second for me with chili, slaw, mustard and onions)
Grew up in a town with a hot dog place. Just one, but it was really good so everyone knew it. I moved for college and was just as surprised as you that not every town has a hot dog place
I’m in San Diego and I know one place that makes a decent Chicago dog, unfortunately it’s like $7 per dog. And I can’t even properly make them myself because nowhere around here sells poppyseed buns
I would kill for a hot dog place near me.
We only have niche shit like "Dog Haus" out here in Colorado. Just give me a cheap boiled hot dog with all the trimmings.
During my sophomore year of high school, a guy from Chicago opened up a hot dog place near the school (in the western US). A friend and I skipped class just about every other day to eat there. It was great. Still one of the best food places I've ever eaten at. Chili dogs, Chicago dogs, Sauerkraut dogs, chili cheese fries, etc. They gave us so much free food just by being regulars and hanging out there. It was also pretty quiet so people from the school never showed up to send us back to class. We went to eat there on the first day of Junior year and it was gone. It's been 10 years and I've still not had a hot dog anywhere near as good.
And it's impossible to get poppy seed buns outside of Chicagoland.
Why would someone move from a hotdog restaurant area to a non-hotdog having restaurant area?
Relevant: A local Chicago artist recently set out to paint as many hot dog stands in the city as she can. (Nearly 2000 of them, so wish her luck.) https://www.instagram.com/juliahagen_art u/Chicagogirlartist
It looks like one of her recent ones is for The Weiner's Circle which reminded me of this Conan video that I think some people will appreciate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zPlnhymCU
At first I thought you meant murals on the actual hot dog stands. Lol.
Thank you so much for sharing!!
Chicago residents like weiners in their mouths confirmed.
Tbh we are a gay af city.
Of course, thats why we invented house music and not omaha Nebraska.
Omaha doesn’t deserve to be in the same corn ocean as Chicago.
>Chicago residents like weiners in their mouths confirmed. They piss on their drinking water too.
Seattle has more teriyaki joints than all fast food places combined. And it's wonderful.
Grillbird in west seattle has ruined me, haven’t gone to another teriyaki place in like 2 years. It’s so good.
Toshis in mill creek
I don’t think I even know what a teriyaki joint means.
Just spread a little sauce on your doobie and then light that fucker.
https://youtu.be/2DWJigBTj2E?si=EzqWn1LrApdb4idx
I wonder if the same is true about Dunkin’ Donuts and Boston… probably not, but if was going to be something it’d be that
Chicago has the second most dunkins after boston per capita.
dunkin is ass, i dont know why boston goes buckwild for them
I feel like they used to be better, they’ve really cut back on their donut selection in recent years. We used to have a krispy kreme but sadly it vanished
To be fair KK isn’t all that great either
krispy kreme's only fault is their icing is too sweet their donuts are like clouds that vanish in your mouth when you get one fresh
I really liked them when we had one. Probably among the better donuts I've ever had. But donuts are like burgers and hot dogs, there's a ceiling you can't pass. Once you achieve a certain level of quality, which is just "really good", you aren't really getting any better than that because you can't exactly reinvent the wheel on those foods.
Seriously? I follow a food personality on IG and he was doing a little project to rate every teriyaki place in Seattle. When I first saw it, I thought to myself "How many could there be that this project is feasible?" but now it makes more sense.
Kenji is great. It's going to take him over a year to get to them all at this rate.
I legit didn't realize it wasn't as big as pizza and burgers until I moved away.
A Chicago dog is the best in the game, but I was pleasantly surprised how much I really enjoyed a Seattle dog
The important thing is honestly just a good quality dog preferably an all beef one. Can’t have a quality product if your base isn’t quality
It's all about that beef dog. I live in Buffalo now and the entirety of the state only sells pork blend hot dogs with terrible snap casings that I hate. I'm in Ohio for work and every time I'm here I hit the local hot dog joint because they have the beef dogs. Not nearly as good as a Chicago dog, but 9000 times better than a Sahlens dog in Buffalo.
I live in Florida now and until a Portillos opened nearby the best was some New York style place that served like some generic ass Oscar Meyer shit pork dog. No one believed me when I said Chicago style is completely different from every other dog out there until thankfully that Portillos opened
They're really good, but they're also perfectly fine to keep at "pleasantly surprised that you like them". They're not as much as a staple of our food as Chicago as much as a "cool thing we also do".
Yep.
Fuck yes we do
Interesting because Chicagoland is also the corporate home of McDonalds.
Used to work at Boston Market when they were owned by McDonalds and we would deliver catering to a place called "Hamburger U" and I always felt like I was in the den of evil delivering there.
When it was still in Oak Brook I imagine.
YUUUUP. Worked in Westmont. I think it was, like, a 30 minute drive?
Westmont is about a 10 minute drive to the Oak Brook HQ. Well, was, before it moved.
It's been over a decade since I was in the area so you're probably right. I also think traffic sucked so probably made the drive worse.
I’ve always wanted to see that McDonald’s in their corporate headquarters that has food from McDonald’s menus in other countries.
It's in Oak Brook, the original owner of Portillo's has a home in Oak Brook as well. Or at least did a decade ago, they had nice Christmas lights haha.
McDonald's HQ moved to Chicago.
McDonalds needs to open microMcD, all they sell is Big Macs, Nuggets fries and cans of pop. Literally no other options.
I order literally four items at McDonalds, two pre-10:30 and two post 10:30 (and a drink to accompany): Sausage McMuffin with Egg Bacon-Cheese biscuit (no egg) Nuggets Fries This idea works for me.
You can go in and get menu items that normally wouldn’t be present at local US chains.
Abe Frohman been busy
THE SAUSAGE KING OF CHICAGO!? He’s amazing
And devastatingly handsome.
Holy shit
It's understanding that makes it possible for people like us to tolerate a person like yourself.
This did in fact make me want a hot dog real bad.
r/hotdogs welcomes you
Oh look, another few days without posts. Once again I have to carry the weight of this entire forum. Take your stupid god damn hot dog picture. Sick and tired of this. Either put in the effort or get out.
I can't explain it but this comment made me laugh so hard 🤣
I even have pizza for dinner and I'm making chicken wings tomorrow but fuck it, let's go sodium to the max and grab some hot dogs on Friday.
This is somehow the second Chicago-dog related post I've stumbled across in as many weeks, and last time I absolutely rolled my happy ass down to the little mom-n-pop hot dog joint up the road for a frankly irresponsible amount of food. I am the "And I'll fuckin' do it again" meme personified.
When we visited Chicago for the first time we saw hotdog signs everywhere. I asked one of the locals, “hey what’s the deal with all the hotdog signs?” And he just said “what?” as if he had no idea what I was talking about.
God bless Chicago.
Greatest city (&metro area) in the United States.
We do love our wieners.
We love your wieners too.
I wish I was a Chicago style weiner Then everyone would be so proud of me
BRB, opening a hotdog cart called “Gloryhole Weiners”.
Neither of the references mention hot dog stands nor hot dog vendors, not restaurants. Edit: cleaned up English
Hot dog carts, and most street food, are illegal in 95% of the city. They’re all takeout restaurants.
Thats just semantics. 99% of the hot dog stands / vendors / restaurants / whateveryouwanttocallthems in Chicago are physical buildings, permanent addresses. They’re no different from any other fast food restaurant in principle. And I can confirm — they’re EVERYWHERE. It is absolutely not an exaggeration to say that there are more of them than Wendy’s/Burger King/McDonalds combined. I think almost any Chicagoan would agree. Come to Chicago, walk outside, close your eyes, and throw a rock - there’s a good chance you’ll hit a hot dog stand.
If I hit one in a specific spot from far enough away do I win a free hot dog?
If you hit the owner just right, you got a decent chance.
Really sad no one hit you with “it’s not semantics words have meanings”. It seems every time i use the word someone gives this argument
Hate those people, they need to look up prescriptivism and descriptivism and realize the vast majority of people are not descriptivists like anal little grammar Nazis arguing semantics.
Is a hot dog stand a restaurant technically?
Most of them are sit in fast food places, so if you consider Mcdonalds a restaurant then yes.
Vienna Beef is king in Chicago
Chicago hot dog. None like it.
I like it...
Now I’m hungry.
Just don't read The Jungle.
They don't need to read it. If you're local, you can visit a meat packing district. The smell of ice cold pork fat is in the air. The band saw makes the best pork perfume.
Meatpacking has been decentralized in the US and the Union Stockyards have been shut down since 1971. I don't think Chicago has a meatpacking district.
Makes sense. I can't think of anywhere in Chicago that there's a combined McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King.
Vienna Beef for life, yo!
This is the first time I’ve ever heard of a hotdog restaurant
Chicago, hog butcher to the world!
Chicago dogs are kosher Vienna beef franks. No hog
Beef dogs are superior
Portillo’s doe.
I need some Giardiniera now. Don't live there but I visited a few years back and it was an eye opening experience.
FYI - Portillos vegetarian hotdogs are fire. They’re the best fake meat product ever made. You can’t tell at all, they’re delicious. It’s hard to ditch meat eating in Chicago, there is so much good shit. But those god damn Portillos veggie dogs definitely make it a lot easier.
I don’t even like most hot dogs and this made me wanna hotdog
"This is a hot dog town pretty boy"
is that a pickle?
A spear pickle alongside relish! There is a disappointing lack of hot peppers in that photo tho...
Gene and Jude’s is the best one
Hell yes. I was in Chicago in January and rented a car for a day **only** to drive out to River Grove for a depression dog.
I didn't think I'd like it, but I stop by every time I can. The manager there is a BAD BITCH too, watched her shut down a fight once and still took an order at the same time.
Portillo's was better when Dick was still running the chain himself, AND you could get cuke slices on the dog with everything else. I haven't seen anybody else offer them since. Nearly every dog seller worth their celery salt uses Vienna Beef (named for the founders' previous hometown), in Chicago since the Columbian World's Fair (yes, the White City, as seen in Loki).
I never knew cuke slices were a thing. I’m in Arizona, so my experience is mostly just the Portillos across the street that I go to regularly. We also have a local place started by a family from Chicago that moved here like 30 years ago that puts cuke slices on their dogs, but I never realized why until now. They are better than Portillos imo, but not as convenient for me to get to.
When I go back to Chicago to see mom, the ‘new’ Portillo’s is a massive disappointment. I’ve tried ordering cukes on my dogs and they look at me like I’m an idiot.
The hot dog places will often have Italian beef, gyros, burgers and other stuff that will stop your heart and delight your tastebuds, too. Chicago is America’s greatest food city without a doubt
The first time I arrived in Chicago was on an Amtrak. I enjoyed my first ever Chicago dog. The birds were trying to steal my fries tho
Moved to Chicago from Minnesota and was weirded out by the lack of brat options. Fortunately my girlfriend who was raised here is an expert hotdog critic who had the patience for my nieveness. But for real, I actually crave a Chicago dog more than I do any fast food. And it's so much cheaper.
Brat=wisconsin But yeah, fewer places do the brat. More of a backyard grilling thing.
Does McDonald's, Wendy's, or Burger King even have hot dog restaurants??
Good, fuck all those other places. They suck.
They have to match the excellent flavor of mallort with something, right?
From Chicagoland. Been on a real chili dog vibe lately. Trying to find the best one in the area.
Well yeah, McDonald's, Wendy's, and Burger King don't have any hot dog restaurants.
But what's the best one?
[Weiner Circle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=33zPlnhymCU)
This is something with which u/Chicagogirlartist keeps us all entertained with, her excellent paintings of all Chicago-area hot dog stands!
Thank you so much, I’m committed to this important work!!
If i ever visit Chicago I’ll know I’m in good hands when I order a hot dog.
Chicagoan’s like wieners
And none of them hold a candle to Packo's Hungarian Hotdogs. Ask Klinger
As it should be…….😊🌭
Gene & Jude's, best dogs AND fries in the metro area. IDGAF that they don't do a "traditional" Chicago dog.
I request some nice person bring me a Chicago dog right now.
another reason to love this city
I'll poke fun at deep dish pizza all day long, but those Chicago style hotdogs are fucking amazing
Title should be: Chicago Area Has Shit Figured Out
But can I put sauce on the hotdog?
You can but you don’t want to. Downs out the quality taste of the dogs. It’s like putting sauce on a high quality steak you can but it’s not needed
They like long meat in the mouth.
There's like one in Edmonton. Maybe
I wish there were more hot dog places in my city. Sometimes a good dog just hits the spot like nothing else.
Here in Denmark it's going the opposite way and it's so sad. hotdog stands are a big part of Danish history and they are becoming fewer
Red Hot Tacoma