Hot Doug's (Chicago)

Caught up with a friend from college in Chicago for lunch today, and the two of us drove up to Hot Doug's late enough to beat the lunchtime crowd. After a wait of about five minutes (not bad at all, and inside all the time) we picked out/split two of the day's specials - a brandy-infused Portuguese chorizo with a saffron sauce, and a smoked/spicy Cajun pork sausage with blue cheese and crispy fried onions. And duck fat fries, given that it was a Friday and our arteries needed clogging.

The brandy-infused chorizo was very underwhelming. I found the saffron flavour a little too strong and overwhelming the flavour of the meat/everything else in the hot dog. The sausage on its own wasn't anything special. Certainly nice, but nothing really remarkable or memorable.

The Cajun pork sausage on the other hand - WOW. I may return on Monday, Tuesday and the rest of my lunches in Chicago just for that if it's still around. The smoky/spicy Cajun flavoured sausage was amazing, the crispy onions on top made it quite unbelievable. Best hot dog I've ever had in my life by a mile.

The duck fat fries - hyped to the point of being a legend in Chicago (these are made only on Fridays/Saturdays, and the lines at lunch - or all Saturday - tend to go out of the door and around the block due to these) - were very good, but not as earth-shatteringly great as I'd expected (perhaps I'd let myself get carried away with the hype). Incredibly delicious though. Great experience, and I'm looking forward to going back there soon.

[Jenise]

Standard American hot dogs--blech. But the type you're describing can be a genuine wonderful thing! I take it this is a deservedly popular and well-known local haunt?

Jenise - Hot Doug's is *nothing* like a regular hot dog. A bit like comparing McDonalds to an actual good restaurant.
The real specialities there are things like the game of the week - sausages that usually feature some exotic game ranging from antelope to ostrich (from their online menu - this week's special is "Chardonnay and Jalapeño Rattlesnake Sausage with Ancho-Lime Mayonnaise and Smoked Gouda Cheese"). It's got a huge cult following in Chicago, an incredibly high stock among the food geeks and the lines there tend to be massive, especially when the duck fat fries are being served.

I'll be revisiting on Monday.