Hot Doug’s is a glorified hot dog stand in the best way possible. It is billed as “Hot Doug’s Encased Meat Emporium”. They keep extremely limited hours, but as far as I can tell are always busy. I dropped by around 2:30 on a Tuesday afternoon and the line was out the door. I had heard about the place from my friend nickd.
The restaurant is known for having rare encased meats with elaborate gourmet garnishes. I ordered the BLT dog, bacon sausage with lettuce, tomato and avacado mayonnaise. It was good, but my sausage was a little dry. I infinitely preferred Eric’s more interesting choices.
Eric chose two, the lamb sausage with curry sauce and the Ostrich with strawberry Dijon mustard.
We also ordered fries, but sadly the much-anticipated duck-fat fries were only available on Fridays and Saturdays.
The decor inside is all kitsch. The restaurant is painted in bright colors and tacky Elvis posters adorn the walls. The service isn’t really noteworthy, you order at a counter, sit down, and a waitress brings your order when it’s ready. I have no complaints about it, they got everything right, it just wasn’t anything remarkable.
The dogs were all different combinations, and mine was easily the most boring of the three. My favorite was probably the Ostrich with the strawberry sauce. I also wished I had tried the duck sausage with foie gras, but was afraid it might be too rich. Every week they change their menu, and they always have a game sausage of the week.
I’d recommend going as a fun lunch place, but it’s pretty far west of the loop, and they keep strange hours, so it’s definitely a place where you have to plan ahead to make a trip.
Food-20
Decor-17
Service-15
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