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Hot Dogs & Wings

by Matt B on May 10th, 2007

When it comes to food, I’m pretty easy to please. Give me a good Chicago-style hot dog, and I’ll be happy. A Chicago-style dog is a steamed or boiled all-beef hot dog (usually Vienna Beef) on a poppy seed bun. It’s then topped with mustard, onion, sweet relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices, sport peppers, and a little celery salt. No ketchup!! Hot dogs are so popular here in Chicago, there are more hot dog stands than Burger King, McDonald’s, and Wendy’s restaurants combined.

hot dog

In downtown Chicago, one great place to get a Chicago dog and other hot dogs from all over the country is America’s Dog. It opened just a few months ago (in the former Garrett Popcorn spot), but already multitudes of customers have come looking for multitudes of toppings. The restaurant is a result of a road trip co-owner Manolis Alpgiannis and his brother took in 1993. They traveled around the United States, and as they visited different cities, they noticed that each city had a different way of making and topping a hot dog. So they took all these different recipes and put them under one roof.

America’s Dog offers seventeen different hot dog variations, including the “Buffalo” with Buffalo sauce, blue cheese, and celery salt; and the “New York” with sauerkraut and brown mustard. (The menu also offers salads, wraps, Italian beef, and turkey burgers.) Despite all these options though, I’m still convinced that the Chicago dog is the best one of all.

Not in the mood for hot dogs? How about wings? Wings Around the World is a take-out-only eatery in Bronzeville (straight east of U.S. Cellular Field) and offers an incredible assortment of flavors from nine different countries. They have thirty-five sweet, sour, and spicy sauces to help turn the chicken wings into a real feast. No breading or batter-dipping here. Abeng Stuart, the owner, opened the restaurant in the hopes of exposing Americans to the different ways wings can be seasoned. There’s plenty to experience here beyond the traditional barbecue sauce. You can expect to find fire jerk from Jamaica, chipotle from Mexico, and curry-masala from India. Wings are served in batches of five per flavor, so feel free to explore recipes. Twenty wings will run you about $13, and depending on your order, $2 more will get you fries and a drink. If you like what you taste, you can offer some to everyone you know; order a thousand wings for only $450.

Photo credit: vomsorb (cc-sa)

America’s Dog ($): 26 E Randolph St; 312-345-0100
Mon - Fri: 10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Sat - Sun: 10:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Difficult street parking
Public Trans: Bus # 2, 6, 10, 29, 36, 62, 144, 145, 146, 148 or Red Line train (State/Lake) or Brown/Green/Orange/Purple/Pink Line trains (Randolph)
http://www.americasdog.com/

Wings Around the World ($): 321 E 35th St; 312-326-6930
Mon - Fri: 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 p.m.
Sat: 11:00 a.m. - 12 midnight
Sun: 12 noon - 7:00 p.m. (during football season)
Public Trans: Bus #35 or Green Line train (35th/Bronzeville)

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2 opinions for Hot Dogs & Wings

  • Jon
    May 13, 2007 at 7:04 am

    You mentioned the America’s Dogs opened in the former Garretts Popcorn location. Please tel me it’s not the Garretts on Michigan Avenue location' Did they move to a new location or go out of business?

  • Matt B
    May 13, 2007 at 11:24 am

    No worries, there are still three other Garretts locations: Michigan Ave, Madison, and Jackson.

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