C Ya Hot Doug's

Hot Doug's is, simply stated, a Chicago landmark.  As much of a foodie as I am, I don't say something like that about restaurants too easily. The encased meats emporium, where one can get hot dogs and sausages made of exotic meats, distinctive toppings, and cheeses that nobody in America knew existed. I had been there myself 5 or 6 times before. Sometimes the menu looks appealing and sometimes the special sausages look so over the top that they were just too much for me to make the hour drive for. But when I did, I knew there was no other place like it. Open 10:30-4, six days a week, cash only. The hot sausages named after beautiful women. the option to get a hot dog deep-fried and then grilled! Duck fat fries on Fridays and Saturdays. Several times, I went before a Mets-Cubs day game at Wrigley. I'd be dressed in my Mets garb. Doug, the owner, would always man the counter. He would tell me stories about going to college in New York in the 1980's, when Dwight Gooden and Darryl Strawberry owned New York baseball.

Then in May, Doug confirmed they would be closing in early October. Chicagoans couldn't believe it. This is such a unique place and to lose it is pretty hard to take. Doug has given no reason other than it's time to different things, as in get out of the restaurant business. So I knew I was going to make one last trip to Hot Doug's before they closed. I went on a Saturday in the middle of the afternoon before heading to Ring of Honor wrestling later that night.

I left at 1:30, as it usually takes an hour to get to the Avondale neighborhood. Just before I left, the rain began. It took me 90 minutes. I parked and got on line an hour before closing. I had my Jets slicker on as the rain came down on me and the 150 or so other people on line. One of the workers came outside and told our section of the line that we'd have to wait 90 minutes or so, but we would get served. Long story short, it took 2 hours and 45 minutes. I didn't get to the counter until 5:45, nearly 2 hours after they closed.

Doug asked me if Gerry Philbin was in the house, referring to the Jets old defensive end from the 1960's. He asked me how long it would take until Michael Vick would start over Geno Smith. and I told him I thought Geno would be okay. That remains to be seen, but I do have faith in the kid. With all these kinds of conversations, it's easy to see why the line moves so slowly. Anyway, I ordered 3 sausages. First was the bacon and cheddar smoked elk with Eugene porter mustard, Jarlsberg cheese and crispy fried onions. I really enjoyed the gamey flavor of the elk. There was a little flavor of bacon and cheese, but thankfully not so much where the elk flavor was overwhelmed. And you can't go wrong with crispy onions. I got the smoked Texas pork hot link with Coca-Cola BBQ Sauce, white cheddar cheese curds and pickled green tomatoes. I really enjoyed this one. A good pork flavor with a little touch of spice, though not hot. The curds weren't deep fried, like I expected though. Finally, there was the porcini and parmesan chicken with chèvre aioli, roasted red peppers and mushrooms sautéed in duck fat. This one was disappointing. The aioli just took over the sausage. I ate maybe a third of it and I was done. I basically picked off the mushrooms and roasted peppers and just ate those. The French fries were hot and fresh cut, just great.

I thought that was my last trip. But the guys from my small group decided that they wanted in. So we agreed that the next Saturday, we'd go to Hot Doug's and Firecakes, a donut place in the River North section of Chicago. We decided to meet in Schaumburg at 9 am and drive in together. Well, Matt never showed up, he slept in. It was his idea from the beginning anyway! So it was myself. Jon, Fil, and Fil's friend, Ashley. We got to the corner of Roscoe and California at 10 am, a pretty smooth drive. The line was three times as long as it had been the previous Saturday. On that line, we played hearts and Heads Up. Long story short, it took five hours to get through that line and order our food. Basically 20 percent of our day was waiting in that line! 

I got the mountain man sausage. It's a very tasty combination of antelope, elk, venison and buffalo with red currant mustard and smoked gouda cheese. This was one of the 2 or 3 best sausages I've had there and easily the best I'd had between these two visits. It tasted gamey. The smoked gouda added a little nutty flavor. The currant mustard gave it a bold, sophisticated flavor. It all came together so well. And over that charcoal grill, well, that just put it over the top.

 

I also had the steak au Poivre sausage with four roses bourbon mustard, Irish whiskey cheese and crispy fried onions. This was pretty good, although I can't say I was thinking the sausage tasted like a steak. The mustard tasted really strong too. It was a pretty good sausage; the mountain man was just better. And the duck fat fries were amazing, as always.

It's sad to see something so good and so unique go away. Life will go on, of course. But hey, it was a great place to check out while it lasted. Thank you, Doug Sohn.