On The Town: Hot Doug’s (Chicago)

Hot Doug’s
3324 North California
Chicago, IL 60618
Phone: (773) 279-9550

Alas, this is my last post from my most recent Chicago visit.  I was in Chicago to attend a taping of the “Oprah Winfrey Show” (episode airs on Monday!) with som friends and made sure to eat up a storm!  After the taping we decided to make a trek out to the very famous Hot Doug’s.

If you love hot dogs you have to hit up Hot Doug’s the next time you’re in Chicago.  Their menu is kind of insane. They have about 13 kinds of sausages on offer per day PLUS any number of daily specials.  The regular offerings include regular hot dogs, Bratwurst, veggie dogs, chicken dogs, Italian sausage etc.  The specials are usually another type of sausage loaded with a ton of toppings.  Love it!

Choosing what kind of sausage you want is half the battle because then you move onto condiments.  They have the usual ketchup, mustard, relish and onions but then take it up a notch (for FREE) with toppings like caramelized onions, sauerkraut, celery salt, pickles and tomatoes.  Genius.  I didn’t know this before but apparently a “Chicago-Style” hot dog has mustard, relish, onions, pickles, tomatoes and celery salt.  I had no clue!

You have one more choice to make… how you want your hot dog cooked.  You can opt for grilled, steamed, deep fried and I think there is another option that is escaping me.

I stole this photo from my dining companion but those were my hot dog picks.  I had grilled regular hot dog with caramelized onions and sauerkraut and then a regular hot dog, deep fried (holla!) Chicago-style.  Truth be told I really couldn’t tell the difference between the grilled and deep fried, but I do know they were both delicious.  I kind of loved the Chicago-style one that was so loaded with toppings.  It was like a hamburger-style hot dog.  Kind of like heaven.

Hot Doug’s is known for their fries fried in duck fat but alas they only have them on Fridays and Saturdays and we were there on a Thursday.  The regular fries were still good to say the least.

One thing to note this place has long lines.  We were there at about 2PM on a Thursday and the line was down the block (at least 20 people in line).  Word on the street is that the lines are even longer on Fridays and Saturdays when they have the duck fat fries.  Is it worth the line?  If you love hot dogs, then yes.  This place is a keeper.