Hot Doug's

[VeryApe77]

I don't know if it's the duck fat or what, but I think that the Duck Fat Fries at Hot Dougs taste exactly like English fish shop chips. Only crispy. As a brit living in Chicago I find this pretty exciting, but I can see how one could find them underwhelming.

Edited December 22, 2003 by VeryApe77 (log)

[denise_jer]

Now I'm going to have to add Hot Doug's to my list of stops when I come home to Chicago tomorrow for the holiday! I may have to even bump off Weiner's Circle from the list! I always stop there anyway; it will be nice to try something new.

Ah, can't wait to sit in traffic!

[dls]

I was wondering what other small Chicago Hot Dog stands are worth checking out? I'm pretty new to the city, and there's so many of them and the majority of them are pretty mediocre, it can be a little tough to choose.

Speaking of Chicago hot dogs, etc, has anyone been to Jim's Original stand since the Mayor's Meigs Field-like relocation. I used to go the original location at Halstead and Maxwell all of the time when my office was in the South Loop (loved the way you could smell it from about 2 blocks). Hot dogs were pretty damn good but the real treasure was the Polish sausage. Add in the vendors and blues musicians and it was one hell of a great time.

[tcizma]

Doug Sohn, the owner of Hot Dougs is a Kendall College culinary school graduate. He did his college externship at Daniel J's restaurant ( where I was sous chef at the time ) in 1993-4.

You may remember him from the series of Dominicks commercials featuring regular folks, with his frozen peas ice pack.

In my opinion, one of the finest purveyors of encased meats anywhere. Check last month or maybe month before "Gourmet" magazine for a small piece on Hot Dougs. Take it in and ask him to autograph it.

[YourPalWill]

Funny you should mention Maxwell Street, DLS. I spen the entire Thanksgiving Day driving back to Chicago from visiting family in North Carolina and finding absolutely nothing to eat along the way except a bag of Fritos and some beef jerky.

Having had set my mind up for a Thanksgsgiving Dinner of Lem's Rib's (spicy), I was disappointed to learn, upon arrival, that they were closed also. Several other soul food options failed to pan out on the South Side. I'm still not sure what possessed me to get off the Freeway at Roosevelt road. But, the aroma of Jim's famous Polish hit my nose pretty quickly.

Being ravenous by this time, I made the decision that Jim's polish would be my Thanksgiving dinner. 2 all the way with thos2 great steamed onions and a sport pepper. I have to admit, it was the first time I have ever eaten Thanksgiving Dinner in the car. And I finished it before I hit North Avenue.

Jim's may be the best polish in the city. Just don't make the mistake of ordering from the place next door to Jim's (whatever its name is). Their polish doesn't hold a candle to Jims.

I'm a big fan of Doug's too.

[Jason Perlow]

MSN Lexus has an article about Hot Doug's:

http://lexus.msn.com/id/2090163/

[MJN]

If Dorothy Parker, the irreverent wit of the Algonquin round table, and Elvis Costello, the British rocker, conceived a love child, Doug Sohn would be their offspring. Sohn, the owner of Hot Doug’s restaurant in Chicago, wears thick black square frame glasses and peppers everything he does with a tiny bit of his Ginzu sharp wit. When I asked him to reveal something intimate, he said, “I don’t like to wear pants, I mean if it weren’t mandated….I just don’t care for them.” Convention is not Sohn’s game.

I have just posted a new podcast interview with Doug Sohn, the owner and mind behind Hot Doug's, The Sausage Superstore, in Chicago's Avondale neighborhood.

If you have never been, he serves game of the week like cognac infused duck sausage with truffle mustard, and duck confit french fries.

You can find the podcast at:

Hungry Magazine

We have also made our podcasts available on Itunes, so if you want to download directly to your IPOD or other mp3 player through their subscription service, it just became a little easier.

[ronnie_suburban]

Nice work, as usual, Michael. Great interview!

Thank you for the link

=R=

[molto e]

Hot Doug's Website

New Address- 3324 N. California on the corner of Roscoe

Monday-Saturday 10:30 am - 4:00 pm

I have eaten at Hot Doug's many times over the years and like it, but my last trip there was outstanding. I had a tequila black bean lime chicken sausage with honey garlic borracha and chihuahua cheese AND a blue cheese pork sausage with pear puree and smoked almonds. Both of those sausages were specials and they were very interesting and tasty. I also had a chili cheese dog that was good but that was kind of a snack. I did not go on duck fat fry day but the fries were better than normal (crispier).

I found some pictures from a meal in July...

The Virgil "the turk" Sollozzo - Italian sausage

The Don Rickles - Thuringer: Beef, pork and garlic

Foie Sausage with trimmings

[santo_grace]

I'm a big fan of his chicken sausages. Well, actually, I'm a big fan of a lot of the sausages but the chicken ones are among my favorites.

Wouldn't you know that I was thinking about going on Monday since I have the day off for President's Day, but it looks like they will be closed for a couple of weeks.

[ulterior epicure]

Well, santo_grace, I can't disagree with you on those chicken sausages. It was the best one I had on a recent visit to the tiny sausage emporium.

You can see pictures of and read more about my lunch at Hot Doug's on my Flickr set.

My friends and I were expecting a large meal at The Avenues later that evening, so between the three of us (one being pregnant), we ordered 5 dogs (yet we still managed to hit a tacqueria on our way back):

I ordered the "Celebrity of the Week," the "Treffly Coyne" (extra credit for those who actually know who she is). ($7) This featured mint garlic lamb sausage with anchovy aioli and Doux de Montagne cheese melted over the top. The sausage was gamey and lamby, which I liked. The anchovy aioli wasn't as pungent as I had hoped - I think the lamb really outpaced the rest of the flavors. The cheese was a great addition - slightly buttery and somewhat sharp.

I also ordered the "Spinach and Feta Chicken Sausage" with skordalia and sheep's milk haloumi cheese. ($7.50) This was a daily special and, as stated, was my favorite hot dog of the five we ordered. The chicken sausage was extremely moist and flavorful. It got a nice garlicky kick from the skordalia, which functioned as an adhesive for the chunks of cheese on top. I didn't get any feta from the sausage itself. Maybe it was all that yummy sheep's haloumi that covered it up. Loved this hot dog. Loved it.

My friend ordered the "Atomic Bomb" Daily Special: Spicy pork sausage with chipotle Dijonnaise and applewood-smoked Cheddar cheese. ($7) Two bites and it's pretty apparent why this is called the "Atomic Bomb." The heat is of the slow, gradual, then rapidly engulfing-mouth-in-flame type of heat. You think you're okay for the first bite - it's good, the pork sausage is wonderfully seasoned, and the cheese is nice and sharp - so you greedily take another big bite. Then it hits you. Despite the good kick of heat, I could have used more. Regardless, this should have been the last dog I tried. Unfortunately, it was my first. The heat lingered through the rest of my meal - not a bad thing, but I would have liked to taste the other dogs without that warm, spicy feeling in my mouth and throat.

He also ordered the "Game of the Week," a "Goji Berry Pheasant Sausage with Jerk Dijonnaise, Pappadew Peppers and Butterkäse cheese. ($7.50) You couldn't taste the pheasant by itself (I have no idea wha the goji berry was supposed to do for the sausage - there was only trace amounts). This was a sweet-ish dog, due largely to the peppadew, which also imparted some level of heat. The jerk dijonnaise, which looked not unlike dirty mayo, also contributed to the heat. The cheese was good, but the dices kept falling off, despite the dijonnaise glue. This was probably the least memorable of the dogs we had.

Lastly, my other friend got "The Dog," the original Chicago-Style Hot Dog with all the trimmings. ($1.75) When you order "The Dog," you're given a choice of weiner cooking methods: steamed, grilled, fried, or fried-and-grilled. My friend (wisely) choose grilled. This dog (served on a poppyseed bun) ended up taking second to the chicken sausage. The key to its success was the many different flavors (salty, sweet, tart, fresh) and textures (juicy, crispy, crunchy, meaty, etc...). Actually, I think the real key was the relish. It's a lot sweeter than I'm used to. It's also a lot more green. It's *neon* green. I thought it might be because it happened to be St. Patrick's weekend, but it's not - it's always that *neon* green. It almost looks toxic.

It being a weekend, we also splurged for duck fat fries (yes, we were being *VERY* irresponsible). And, of course, how can you eat sloppy food and NOT have a can of Cel-Ray on hand?

A good time was had by all (once we got inside the restaurant - the 40-ish minute wait on the freezing sidewalk was not fun).

I don't remember having to ever wait this long for Hot Doug's, but then again, the last time I visited I was a lot younger (in college), and the meal was more of an event (try convincing a college student that a $5+ hot dog is good value).

[ulterior epicure]

If I were in Chicago right now, I'd be at Hot Doug's having a Tongue and Cheese Sausage with Horseradish Mustard, Chopped Liver and Swiss Cheese. It's on their Daily Specials menu right now.

[kendix]

If I were in Chicago right now, I'd be at Hot Doug's having a Tongue and Cheese Sausage with Horseradish Mustard, Chopped Liver and Swiss Cheese.  It's on their Daily Specials menu right now.

←

I was there last week and it was between that and the Game of the Week (pheasant sausage). I went with the Game of the Week and it was disappointed in myself that I didn't have the room to go back for the tongue sausage.

I shared that with my group and got to taste the crawfish sausage, the duck sausage, and the two chicken sausages.

Those duck fat fries are awesome.

I was surprised that a lot of my transplant friends had never heard of Hot Doug's.

[prasantrin]

I was surprised that a lot of my transplant friends had never heard of Hot Doug's.

←

If "transplant" means "heart transplant", it wouldn't surprise me so much...

[kathryn]

Would it be insane to try to go to Hot Dougs on a Saturday in the summer around 2 or 3 pm? I'm used to long lines (Shake Shack, NYC) so a line of 30-45 minutes doesn't scare me.

We're only in town for 4th of July weekend and I'm assuming he'll be closed on the 4th as it's a Friday. And they are closed on Sundays.

[alain]

went there this past friday at 1130 with a minimal line, just to the door. i think the rain had a bit to do with it.

five total dogs, doing the salma hayak (andouille and pretty damn good, the dog (regular, and, well, regularly normal), the uber garlic (pork and crazy, crazy garlic- but an awesome flavor with the van gogh), the apple-habenero (chicken, but not nearly the bite and heat i was hoping for) and the bacon and cheddar elk sausage. the elk was my favorite by far, not too gamey,but it had a lot of dense flavor. the guiness mustard was awesome too. i need to hunt that one down.

and the duck fat fries? totally worth any wait. i still have to laugh over spending $40 for hotdogs for two of us.

i'm making that at least a once-a-month stop.

[prasantrin]

Is there a lot of parking (preferably free) around Hot Doug's?

[santo_grace]

Is there a lot of parking (preferably free) around Hot Doug's?

←

Yes, it is free street parking and even on the weekend you can find something within a block. We generally park on the east/west street (Roscoe).