From down the street, it looked like the line waiting for a hot dog or sausage at Hot Doug’s spilled out the front door.
Talk about an understatement.
The full line not only spilled out the front door but twisted out of sight to snake back alongside of Hot Doug’s for half a city block. If it had been a little shorter I would have given up, but a line this long in the middle of a residential neighborhood usually means something epic. There was even a guy in line who had brought his own folding lawn chair… apparently the line was a normal part of the experience.
Then there is the fact that Hot Doug’s actually has a theme song with three separate mixes: rock, techno, and a hybrid. And the full name: Hot Doug’s: The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium. I’ll stand in line to meet a guy who opens an encased meat emporium and hires a band to sing about jonesing for a hot dog.
One hour and 15 minutes later we get a glimpse of the line INSIDE and after a little over an hour and a half we are seated on stools along one wall with our hot dogs and hand-cut duck fat fries (a specialty Doug only offers on Fridays and Saturdays).
Was it worth the wait? Yes.
I ordered the basic hot dog ($1.75) and the duck fat fries. The dog was a classic Chicago dog with essentially a salad on top. I skipped the pickle (which I think overpowers the dog) and I tried Doug’s grilled onions rather than opting for the more common raw.
The verdict? A decent dog.
Yet it wasn’t life-changing. There are plenty of other spots around Chicago for a good basic dog. Next time I’ll spring for something you can only get at Doug’s… something like the “Game of the Week” sausage made that this week was made out of alligator.
I’d certainly get the duck fat fries again. I was braced for more ‘duck’ that there actually was. Yet after a moment of disappointment, I tucked into what turned out to be a great basket of hand-cut shoestring fries with just a hint of the exotic every few bites. I wasn’t expecting subtlety after Doug’s garish decor, but here it was in the last place I expected it: in the fries.
Doug is obviously doing something very right. I’ve never been in line this long where everyone seemed expectant and hopeful rather than angry or resentful. Doug also managed to get my daughter Megan and her friend Alyx to eat something clearly not vegetarian: encased meat and duck fat fries.
The Sausage Superstore and
Encased Meat Emporium
