food A Tale of 3 Chicago.....Dogs

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I'm not sure how many of you are from the Chicago area, ...or have ever tried one or have heard of the "Chicago Style Hot Dog?". I 've spent all my Hot  Doggone years here in Chicago......and have eaten many varieties of hot dogs through the years. Most are still respectable...
 
 
 

 
Here's the "Motha of All"...hot dog meat grinding companies....well, at least here in chi-town. Vienna Hot Dogs originated in 1893. Through the years the company has marketed its way into the resturants, sports venues and the homes of the Chicagoland area. The popular yellow and red colors in the advertising have attracted many, ...of hot dog lovers.
The company also producers the "Red Hot Chicago".....which was acquired in 1986...owned previously by a past employee. Also swept up in 1992 was "David Berg"..(one of my favorites). The Berg was sold at one sportsvenue while the other had the Vienna. I'm sure it made more (cents)..and dollars to acquire the other leading competitors.
Are Vienna Hot Dogs the best........in my opinion, one of the best.
 
Actually what comes out of Vienna thats really good is there Corned Beef and Pastrami.
 

 
Here's Vienna and a couple of other favorites of mine. The Daisy brand dog is another good one. This is another natural cased dog that has a great snap ! These cook up well either steamed or simmered. Grilling them will make them split, the casing is thinner than most. We will ocassionally fill a nesco roaster with about 60 of these at the bar.
The dogs will get simmered in a moderate amount of water. They'll stay hot all the way through the football game.. No waiting til halftime for the food spread. Just grab 1,2 or as many as you'd like....lol
The other package is an all natural beef dog from Open Nature. If there was such a thing as a "ThrowBack" dog from the past this would be it. We don't eat alot of dogs in my house, but this one is the families favorite. Juicy, beefy and lower in sodium than the rest. Very tasty, these can stand up to the grill or the flat top.
 

 
Not only has Vienna captured the dog poundage....ha, but has also succeeded in producing its own line of  Dill Pickle Spears, Neon Relish , Celery Salt, (the must on the dog)...Sport Peppers and what I wasn't awhere of, their own line of buns..........now the hot dog buns are another situation. Rosens "MaryAnn" products have cornered the bun market everywhere from the steam carts through the sit down resturants. About 85% of the venders use their products. This company claimed stardom yrs back, and I agree with "Gilligan"......."MaryAnn's" buns are the best !..... :lol:
Besides, these buns are made with a high gluten flour, which helps standup to all the wet toppings.
 

 
Ok here she is, Dog #1. The Chicago Style Hot Dog..... A steamed MaryAnn's Poppy Seed bun with a steamed Vienna Dog....topped with Ploachman's Yellow Mustard, chopped Onions, Neon Pickle Relish, sliced Tomato, a Dill Pickle Spear, 3 Sport Peppers and a shake of Celery Salt. If you're lucky you'll get fresh cut French Fries.......so this is the standard.
 
Most dog stands use the #8 (8 per lb) franks, weiners, tubes....dogs..whatever you go by. The consumer can buy 4's, 6, 8 and 10's in a package or 10 lb vact. 
There are a few but not many places that advertise the "Garden Dog"...with the addition of whats already on the Chicago Style you'll also get shredded lettuce, cucumbers, possibly red cabage and maybe grilled onions.........the problem with those sandwiches are, ..... the #10 size dogs being used..........where's the beef !
 

 
The 2nd hot dog is a spinoff of another popular place "Gold Coast Hot Dogs". This resturant has satelited into other locations. As with the pizza parlors, nothin beats the original location. GCHD's claim to fame is there Char- Cheddar Dogs. Now I see some of you don't like to split the natural case dogs. This is the only time I'll do that. When grilling and topping off with a cheesy sauce. The cut part of the dogs grill up nicely and the exposed area's pick up the flav off the wood...if you're using.....By the way...forgot to mention, this is yet another all beef dog made here by a company called "Bobaks".....which also makes all kinds of smoked sausages...
 

 
Here's my take on the Char-Cheddar with a twist...a spiral twist that is... :lol:  I grilled the spiral cut dogs, topped it off with, not melted Cheddar but Queso that I also added some Aji Amarillo powder to. On top of that I added some Bison Chili....(Ha, I think I had all burners on the stove running.). Topped that off with more Queso and some pickled Jalapeno's and sliced Red Habaneros. I mandaline cut some Yukon Gold Potatoes, deep fried them up and sprinkled Salt, Maple, and De Arbol powders. Washed it all down with a local brew 312 (that's the local area code)
 

 
The 3rd dog will be a special one.  Home made buns topped with Black and White Sesame Seeds and flaked Salt, Wasabi, Sriracha Mayo, Hot Japanense Mustard, ( I like to give a shout out to Rick ( stickman ) for giving me the idea on making some "Kimchi",...shredded Nori, Sweet Potato, Taro Root, Yucca, and Yukon Gold Potato
 

 
Here's the "Pit Bull"of all dogs...."The Asian-Fusion Dog".......with some Korean, Thai and Japanese influence.
A pan seared ft long Thai Basil and Pickled Red Chili...Chicken dog. served in a soft homemade hot dog roll, topped with  Kimchi, shredded Nori, Wasabi, Sriracha Mayo, Hot Japanese Mustard, pickled Thai Chili's....sided with Root Vegetable madaline cut fried Chips................and washed down with a Korean Soju (19%)
 
Next time you're in town or passing through the airports...grab a bite with a Chicago Dog....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Man! You done that one up proud Greg! Out here in the Northeast we get these wimpy boiled dogs on plain white buns with relish, mustard and maybe a little sauerkraut. That's why I like topping mine with Kimchi... much more flavor. I loved the look of all the dogs pictured, and am jealous as #&!! of you guys out in Chi-town :)   If you'd like to post or pm your recipe for the poppy seeded buns It'd be much appreciated! We get poppy seeded Kaiser rolls here, but not hot dog buns, and your comment on using high-gluten flour to make them when using so many wet ingredients makes perfect sense. Good on ya!
 
Devv said:
Damn Greg!
 
You've added a whole new dimension to a simple little hotdog. Glad I'm full from dinner already!
 
Enjoy the weekend!
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Thanks Scott,
p Although, plain and simple is just fine, a slather of yellow mustard only works well in a pinch..........now adding ketchup would be a whole new dimension...as it's a no-no to do.............here 
Glad you liked 
Rawkstah said:
Put the french fries IN the dog! GnJ's ruined me and I can't eat a dog without 'em. Other than the occasional chili dog eating other kinds of hot dogs just feels weird to me... 
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I've been there.........tamales and dogs..putting the fries ontop of the dog is fine when your dining in........and there's a fork in hand. 
It's not the best way when all rolled together in a foil wrap. As a take out it becomes a steamy mess. Wojo's in Evergreen Park does a nice job on that. You have to wait a bit because everythings made fresh to order. ....well worth it though.
kgetpeppers said:
Good ol gene and judes.. many floods and still cooking
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Lines out the door like Hot Dougs...
meinchoh said:
I think JayT passed out from excitement....
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I see Jay likes to mike the dogs....another popular way with the jumbo dogs and polish would be to deep fry.and slather with caramelized onions.
bhut camp said:
Where's the giardineria?
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Giardineria is normally put on Italian Beef and Sausage sandwiches in most fast food places......on request only...Jalapenos would work fine though.
 
Although..... I do make an Orange Habanero Giarinera that I'll use on the dogs when I want to spike it up. 
stickman said:
Man! You done that one up proud Greg! Out here in the Northeast we get these wimpy boiled dogs on plain white buns with relish, mustard and maybe a little sauerkraut. That's why I like topping mine with Kimchi... much more flavor. I loved the look of all the dogs pictured, and am jealous as #&!! of you guys out in Chi-town :)   If you'd like to post or pm your recipe for the poppy seeded buns It'd be much appreciated! We get poppy seeded Kaiser rolls here, but not hot dog buns, and your comment on using high-gluten flour to make them when using so many wet ingredients makes perfect sense. Good on ya!
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Hey Rick, 
Thanks for the idea on the Kimchi. I've never made it before only had it from a salad bar or the jar. Homemade is the best. I skipped the Mustard Greens, probably could have used them for color and to stretch the mix....it shrunk through the brining process. Couldn't find fresh Oysters with out traveling downtown. Right now I have the two half gallons and a 2 qt plastic container in the fridge. I used 2 heads of Napa (6lbs total). Parts of the rest of the ingredients that were displayed in the glog. Galanga Root was cheaper than Ginger.......never is. But fresh young yellow Ginger was priced like Gold.
I'll shoot you the Hot Dog bun recipe later...
 
PIC 1 said:
Hey Rick, 
Thanks for the idea on the Kimchi. I've never made it before only had it from a salad bar or the jar. Homemade is the best. I skipped the Mustard Greens, probably could have used them for color and to stretch the mix....it shrunk through the brining process. Couldn't find fresh Oysters with out traveling downtown. Right now I have the two half gallons and a 2 qt plastic container in the fridge. I used 2 heads of Napa (6lbs total). Parts of the rest of the ingredients that were displayed in the glog. Galanga Root was cheaper than Ginger.......never is. But fresh young yellow Ginger was priced like Gold.
I'll shoot you the Hot Dog bun recipe later...
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You're right Greg, homemade is definitely best! Be aware that as kimchi has a living culture of lacto-bacteria in it, it will get more sour as it gets older. Refrigeration slows this down, but it's best if eaten within 4-5 weeks. If you don't finish it soon enough, you can make Kimchi Chigae with the old, sour kimchi and some pork belly. http://koreanfood.about.com/od/soupsandstews/r/Kimchichigae.htm
 
Time to update this one..........maybe once a week !
 
 
 
 
 

 
Here's another relic in Chicago from way back when. This is "Jim's"......Maxwell St......The original building was located 1/2 block down. The operation dates back some 75 yrs sitting on the end of street known as Maxwell. From the late 1800's this strip was a well known open air market....folks traveled in to the city for "the deals". You could probably find anything there....and I mean anything. Chicago being a large railway hub through the 30' thru 60's brought many freight trains through. Although at the market you'd find new and used items, some of the unopened brand new items came from broken open freight box cars. Those items were usually hidden under the tables or in the warehouses behind. How do I know this ?....the internet......ha.... :lol: ......not!.... I just happened to get shanghaied on a Sunday mornings in the summer  by my dad and his buddies. I was the bag man.......or lets just say the bag boy......I was probably only about 7 yrs old.....vintage 1966.......har. We travel downtown and walked and walked and walked....If one of the guys would buy something I'd have to carry it......That all ended when I was carrying  something my dad bought, and I dropped it. That cost more for the repair then he paid .on the spot.
 When the tour was usually over we always stopped at the Maxwell "shack" for a dog or whatever. The smell of grilled onions and the steamed poppy seed buns was alluring. 
 
During the late 70's the area became depressed with poverty......flith, homeless....all kinds of street music.....blues bands ....dirty blues, ( that;'s the way the musicians looked)....The city fought to close down the area and clean up the situation. The street was closed and the U of I (Chicago campus) at the time probably called Circle   had bought up the property, closed down the street and rebuild a beautiful campus for the students. What's left is an archway "Maxwell St"........and Jim's original
 
 

 
Here's the current menu.....$ 5.10 gets you a polish, fries and a can of pop...But what the claim of fame here was the "Breaded Pork Chop Sandwich"....bone-in... on a bun. Be careful which side ya bite in to....lol . Everybody got one of those....but me.I had a hot dog. 
 
In the last 20 yrs a bunch of these satellite "Maxwell Polish" type places have popped up........but they're not the original
 

 
This is a smoked Polish  I bought ...and a dash board cam shot........literally on the dash of my work truck..... :P
Tasty sandwich with some awesome large pickled Serrano's.........wouldn't you know it , I always get extra's .
 
I think I can take this sandwich up a notch...
 

 
My take on the Maxwell St Polish...starts with some local smoked Bobak's Sausage, Shallots, Red Bullet Serrano's , bakery buns, and fresh cut shoe string fries.
 

 
Slice up the Shallots and Serrano's and sweat the mix down with a scant amount of Oil.
 

 
Since the Sausages are already fully cooked I'm just adding them in to heat'em through......covered pan.
 

 
Here's the sanwich with Brown Mustard, Shallots and Serrano's and fresh cut shoe string french fries.
 
Next week something a bit different...
 
Used to go to Jim's after a night of being out. I lived not too far from there for a couple years. Do Gene n' Judes! 
 
I started a thread about spicy stuff Chicago, if you've got any suggestions or input on restaurants to try or places to buy stuff, I'd love to hear it! 
 
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