hot doug's is a hot dog place, i guess, but it's a great restaurant as well

the crawfish, alligator, and wild boar specials spring to mind. doug has specific condiments matched to the sausage. you are 100% of the time better off just letting him do whatever he normally does with the specials.

i once saw him refuse to put ketchup on some exotic dog--he told the customer he was welcome to put ketchup on it, but he'd have to do it himself. i thought that was great.

i once saw him refuse to put ketchup on some exotic dog--he told the customer he was welcome to put ketchup on it, but he'd have to do it himself. i thought that was great.

International Delights, a middle-eastern joint down the street here in Durham, NC, has a sign explaining that ketchup is used to mask the flavors of bad food, and that it will not be served. If you still ask for it, you'll be scolded loudly. Another sign asks that you not speak to them while they cook your food. The food, as it usually is in such cranky establishments, is quite good.
I would like to one day eat at this crazy hot dog place. I adhere to the advice given me by a chef friend a long time ago: if a special is available, order it. Best way to find out whether the restaurant is any good.

The food, as it usually is in such cranky establishments, is quite good.

you didn't imply this, but some might infer that doug is a cranky guy

he's not. he's a very, very nice guy, from all appearances. he just won't put ketchup on a garlic chicken sausage, or whatever it was.

I love Hot Doug's. The last meal I had there was so good it sent me to the emergency room (truly, I have the medical bills to prove it). Now that is seriously good. I mean if you have to go, this has got to be the way, right? Give me duck-fat fried french fries on my deathbed and I will be a happy corpse.

Also, while standing in the hallway behind the kitchen in the old place I was waiting to use the men's room (it seems that the guy before me must have ordered an Exlax-infused red-hot) I watched Doug work and saw how nice he was to his employees from top to bottom. It was a very busy day there and he still kept his cool and treated them all with the kind of respect that is noticeable to someone waiting to use the can.

So how is the new place? My insurance will not cover me if I step foot in there. I wonder if that counts for delivery?

tmidgett - we have to figure out how to get delivery up to niles/lincolnwood for midweek consumption. u dawg u (while being pretty great in its own right) doesn't compare.

A few years back i used to walk to dogs around that area. I stopped in for Hot Dougs at least twice a week. i justified the fact that i was eating that much encased meat by the fact that I was 'exercising' during the day.
Then one day i went to get some Hot Dougs and it was closed! I was so upset. i am so happy its open again. Long live HD's!
and I'm not talking about protools.

I would love to hear more of Mayfair's story.

Jay/Jason, if you go on Saturday morning, I am planning on going as soon as he opens. Maybe I will see you.

Johnny 13 wrote:Jay/Jason, if you go on Saturday morning, I am planning on going as soon as he opens. Maybe I will see you.

Saturday sounds like a perfect time to try out the new HD.

10:30 saturday. all are invited. bring your infants / children. you know who you are.

my sat. plans for hd's were already in the works

but i may not arrive until later

what kind of sick freak eats a sausage on a bun at 10.30am?