With the one year anniversary of the King of Weird's death coming around your going to see quite a few news stories and such about it. I'm sure to go with that, you'll see a boatload of memorials and plenty more weird people crying that he's gone. So were going to try to go with the flow and so with that today we head to Michael Jackson's hometown of Gary, Indiana to a place I'm sure the Jackson's visited now and then, the Koney King. Like the rest of the town this little popular Coney dog shack is stuck in time back when it was an up and coming U.S city with its steel mills and other urban plants and plenty of work. As you can see according to its sign this particular place has been in operation since 1920 and I'm sure it has some stories to tell.
a locals favorite in Gary, IN
I had read about this place thru LThforum and since I find it very interesting to take a ride thru Gary I eventually passed by it one day while riding thru to Michigan. I had to have a stop in and see what was going on at this last of a dying breed Coney shop in Gary. There was a time when there were quite a few Coney dog shops in Gary much like there are in Detroit and other Midwestern blue collar cities. The inside is fairly simple with a counter and some stools, the menu is also fairly simple and the hot dogs sit on a flattop in the window. The service is very friendly and on our visit there was a group of regulars who had most likely been eating and chatting there for generations.
Koney Kings menu
regular old hot dogs roasting away
After some very friendly dialect between us and the reg's I decided I had to have a dog, burger and cup of chili. You just don't find too many places like this spot anymore and we were quite pleased with the visit. The chili came with onions and crackers and it was a hearty Midwest blend. It wasn't my all time favorite but you could see yourself indulging after a long day of work at the mill in the wintertime. I'm suspecting many people that have lived or still do reside in Gary have been here countless times, its a real neighborhood type spot. The chili cheeseburger tasted old school in that good way meaning it seems like they been making them like that for a long time now.
cup of Koney King's chili
chili cheeseburger
But hey its not called the Koney King for nothing so its all about the Coney dogs. I somewhat surprisingly very much enjoyed my dog and the sum of it as a whole. Sure the hot dog was your standard child's play version but when combined with the chili and cheese and some fresh diced onions it was real chart topper. In case you couldn't figure it out by now I'm not all that sad of the king of pop's death. Quite frankly I think he was straight weird but for those that haven't been to Gary, its a startling place and it's death is more saddening than Jacko's, to me anyway. Luckily there are a few things that remain from when it was a different world and the Koney King and their dogs are one of them.
Koney Dog from Koney King
Koney King 4601 Broadway Gary, IN 46409-2425 (219) 887-1843
Regional Fast Food -a popular place from Michigan for Coney Dogs
We recently had a Leo's Coney Island open up in Chicago. Its a popular sit down/carry out place from the Detroit area. Since we have so many Michigan transplants here in Chicago, a few of them decided to open up this popular food stop from Michigan. I thought now was the time to start the regional fast food series. The opening of this franchise of Leo's was pretty hyped around the city since its the first location outside Michigan and so many people from Michigan now live in Chicago. It was also much talked about because some people wondered how you could open a regional hot dog place in a city that has its own style. However there arent many Coney dog places in Chicago and they have an extensive menu that includes breakfast, soup, salads and many sandwich selections along with their famous Coney dogs.
Birthplace: Southfield, MI Type: Franchise Founded in: 1972 How Many Today: 42 Locations in: MI (and one in Chicago) Menu item that made them: Coney Dogs My personal take: I actually liked it more than I thought I would.
The companies history according to its website
"In 1968, Leo Stassinopoulos, at the age of 17 immigrated to America from a little known village in Greece. Leo came over with very little and did not speak any English. Leo did have a strong determination to achieve a better life in America as many Greeks had in the past. He hoped and wished to obtain a piece of the American Dream he had heard so much about. At first, Leo took up a job in a meat factory and began to save up money to pursue his own goals. Later, he began to work in a local Coney Island establishment where he was able to learn the restaurant industry from the ground up. The next step was to team up with his older brother Peter and open a restaurant of his own."
My Take
According to the people in the know and from Detroit there were mainly two things that they missed so much from Leo's. The obvious being the Coney dogs and the not so obvious is the Greek salad. They have a combo deal on the menu that can get you both a Coney dog with fries and a salad and I believe a drink for a decent price on all of it. I went with that and got cheese on my Coney dog. I was pleasantly surprised with my Greek salad. I'm not a big salad guy as those who read this site would know, but this is one I'll have again. The dressing which is also available by the bottle for take home was awesome and might be the key part. The greens were fresh though and I was won over with the salad alone before I had the hot dog. I'll even buy a bottle of the dressing next time I stop on in.
Leo's Coney Island Greek Salad
Now for those of you not in the know of what a Coney dog is allow me to to simply explain. Despite the name, they have no association with New York or Coney Island. These hot dogs are the most well known regional eat of Detroit and many Coney Island shops are found throughout the Midwest. Although many have also come and gone. Exactly who invented them is unclear. A Coney dog starts off what is usually a natural casing hot dog. Koegel's is a well known brand around Michigan and Leo's is their number one client. The dog is then topped with a usually dry all meat chili mixture with everyone using their own different seasonings to go with the beef and chili powder. Its then topped with mustard and diced onions and can also be ordered with cheese. I am a big fan of Coney's and will usually stop when I spot an old school coney shop. Most of these Coney spots around the country have been around for sometime. Even though Leo's is a chain and this location hasn't even been open a year, I really liked my Coney. The bun held up very well and the dog toppings complimented the super snappy and flavorful hot dog very well. When I get the craving for a Coney in Chicago, I will go to Leo's.
Leo's Coney Dog with Cheese
Leo's Coney Island of Chicago 3455 North Southport Avenue Chicago, IL 60657 (773) 281-5367 Website
-Grubbing in Chicago Where the locals eat and drink.
Get your drinking faces on and while your at it work up some major munchies because were headed to a classic Chicago neighborhood bar that takes both its drinking and eating very seriously. In fact its the last of that type on the stretch of Southport that goes from Addison down to Irving and is filled with commercialized, corrupted scenes of spots where there are more Blue Moon's and Martinis drunken than Guinness' and shots of Jameson consumed. Where you'll find more sushi and salads than chicken wings and burgers. Like the rest of the city, the business district of Southport has a whole bunch of trendy bars, boutiques and hair salons. Not much going on in these parts for the All American male, unless you like to go to see play's, but then I guess your not really an All American male who loves good regional food like Po' Boy's and BBQ and prefers to eat them with classic American microbrews while watching some football or taking in the scene on Southport on a hot summers day. I keed, I keed. Which brings us to the last of a dying breed and one of my favorite Chicago neighborhood bars.
The best bar in Lakeview
Toon's has been around since 1989 but the corner of Southport and Byron has been home to a bar since the neighborhood was heavily populated with Germans back in the day. I guess from the story's I've been told was that Doninger's Tavern was a low key place with quite a few local "drinkers" that had only one bartender who was quite a character himself. So then when Doninger's was no more, it was bought by a longtime friend of mines dad who turned it into Toon's. The name came from the cartoons that were once painted on the outside wall of different bar paraphernalia like beer mugs and cocktail glasses and I always loved driving by it as a kid. As time went on the bar was eventually sold by my friends dad to one of his longtime employees who worked at his other bars and he pretty much kept it the same. Which was the way to go. The current staff here is super freindly and ready to make sure your first visit makes you a regular.
Toon's has two rooms and has always had a real shuffle board
Danny Beck is from Kansas City and along with his partner Dene Lencioni they are the current owners of Toon's Bar & Grill. When you hear his story or at least when I did, I thought damn dudes done it up bigger and badder than Bourdain. Over the years he has lived a life most people would only day dream of while sitting inside your cubicle. Danny went to college at KU in Lawrence so the fun started in his early 20's attending a great university in a really live college town. What was that? You bet it is-Toon's is a KU bar and you can catch all Kansas Jayhawk basketball games there and there's not a better spot to do so. Toon's will be rocking come March when the conference tournaments start and then after them when people start dancing to the madness. Do I think KU will win it all? no comment.
Watch all KU games at Toon's while you eat and drink like champs
It was after his days at KU that Danny decided to live up life the right way. Screw getting a real job and working 9-5 and never being able to rise up from where you started. Danny took his ass to the Caribbean where he lived and worked in St. Thomas for a couple years before relocating to Florida. He spent his time in both spots working in the restaurant/bar game and then after a few years decided to make his way to Chicago. Danny then settled in working at both Toon's and Nick's Beer Garden, which is also where his partner worked. Danny also attended classes at Kendall college learning the tricks and trades of the culinary world. After making a name for himself he was then given a job to be in charge of Planet Hollywood Chicago and then moved to Las Vegas to run the PH there. After Vegas it was a stop in Nashville and then back to Chicago to run the House of Blues and eventually he would buy Toon's with his partner Dene and settle down with his family here in the Windy City. It was his goal to have a neighborhood place with a nice selection of good beer on tap and also a place where to go with that good brew, you can get some great grub. Toon's has 15 beer's on tap.
Great Lakes Xmas Ale on Tap during the Holiday Season
But what about the food? It's amazing how much good eats come out of that small ass kitchen. The kitchen over there is smaller than most little brats from the Northshore's closet space. I'm talking maybe 10 by 10 feet at most so they got some grill space and a fryer and some room to prep what needs to be done and it leaves very little room to move. Danny is a student of food and loves it like me. During his time at HoB and while in the south he developed a love for New Orleans style food and all things Cajun. So part of the menu is influenced by this cuisine like the fact that since late January up thru Fat Tuesday the specials board has featured different gumbos in celebration of the upcoming Mardi Gras season. You would never expect it by just looking at the bar from outside but inside they serve one of if not the best bowls of gumbo in the city.
Toon's usually has Gumbo on the specials board
"No shorts cuts" should be the motto over there and the Gumbo is an example of why. It's not easy to make a real deal batch of goodness and it takes time and passion. Its also one of those foods much like BBQ and chili that can cause a war of whats real, whats not and how its supposed to be or or how its not. Well your going to get a gumbo with a broth deep in flavor along with whatever is in it on the day you visit. I've enjoyed a chicken version and a shrimp, sausage and crawfish one as well. You cant ask for anything better on a cold winters day watching the snow fall away with an Abita at your side. Its smokey, rich and full of flavor.
The Insides
Its not just a NOLA themed menu there's also all the classics of good American bar food. One of the more interesting things to try is their chili. I usually don't like it from most spots in Chicago and wouldn't expect a bar on the northside to do anything close to good but Toon's once again proves why you don't judge a book by its cover. I never would of thought of it but they use crumbled Italian sausage as their base meat in the chili and its served with the must haves of cheese, sour cream and chopped onions and with a side of tortilla chips. The onion rings are about the only thing they don't do from scratch and its easy to understand why when you see the space they would have to toss and coat onion rings all day. Nonetheless they still have an excellent beer battered brand that you must eat with the housemade BBQ sauce.
Beer Battered Onion Rings go great with the house BBQ sauce
I'm always having trouble deciding what to order when I'm over at Toon's but one thing I usually just cant pass up are the real deal New Orleans style cheese fries. Just like the ones you'll find at the bars in New Orleans being chowed down by hammered patrons in them. In New Orleans cheese fries are done by loading a blend of shredded cheeses on top of a mound of fries, they are then placed under a broiler and melted down into one of the best drunken eats of our great states. I've been to NOLA and I don't remember the cheese fries at F&M being nearly as good as the ones at Toon's. One way to tell if a places takes its food seriously is the use of fresh cut fries. I wouldn't hesitate to call Toon's spuds the best bar fries in Chicagoland and their cheese fries the best in Chicago. If you like chili cheese fries, you gotta get them at Toon's. Other apps I have to have are the pulled pork quesadillas and the fried shrimp on a bed of those fries. Hell even the pickles that come on the side of every dish ordered are some of the best I have ever had, made in house. Next time you stop by, tell them you want them fried!
Toon's New Orleans Style Cheese Fries
Pulled Pork Quesadilla's hit the spot, Monday's all apps are 1/2 price
Popcorn Shrimp with dipping sauces and their perfect pickles
-KingT's Wing Fling
When I told you Toon's had the barfood down pat the wings are where we start. I've been on my wing fling for years now and have sampled Buffalo wings from 100's of spots around town. If your a Winger like me and also love your sports then you might of heard the recent "best Buffalo Wings in Chicagoland" contest over on Sportsradio 670 the Score. Well when you include places like BW-3 and Wingstop in the discussion, you've already got me questioning your knowledge and have people questioning the nomination process. Guess where I go when I have to get my wing on? I have always loved the Birds Nest and their most excellent wings but over the past year they had their title taken by Toon's. Where I go to calm my wing fiends. In fact one of my friends who is as knowledgeable as it gets when it comes to regional eats and is from Buffalo originally said this "No doubt about it, Toons is this Buffalonian's current choice for wings."
Real Deal Buffalo Wings from Toon's and the best in city
Word spreads fast when around Chicagoland because Toon's wings have been featured in the Tribune and named best in city by 100's of food lovers like myself in a very short period of time. Your going to get textbook Buffalo Wings when you eat them here. The wings are big and meaty so its important they are fried perfectly, well they are. The next step is the sauce which needs to have the perfect balance of hot and sour and made with the basics, butter and vinegar laced hot sauce. Everything about Toon's Buffalo wings are the best in city. Even the blue cheese dressing is the real thing with chunks of blue cheese and by far the best of its type I have had. Danny also makes an in house KC style BBQ sauce that can be had on the wings. His BBQ sauce is some of my favorite out there and if you mention chibbqking they'll make you up a batch of KC-BBQ wings that they finish on the grill. They aren't on the menu due to limited grill space. I'm getting really hungry. Not surprisingly The Score's Wing contest didn't even include Toon's or Bird's Nest as contenders. Pfffft!!!
KC BBQ Wings, Thursday is Wing Night ($2.50/basket)
-Got beef? The burgers of Chi
Just like any other joint that is considered to have good bar food they do up a fine burger at Toon's. Nothing frozen or pre-formed here. If you decide to go the route of a burger you'll get a fresh hand patted, half pound beauty available in a variety of ways and served with the fresh cut fries and plenty of them perfect pickles all on a wonderful bakery baked bun. If you go on a Wednesday they'll be just $4 along with $3 drafts, cant beat that. Especially when those $3 drafts include some real nice beers.
Surf & Turf: Toon's burger paired with fried catfish
KC Burger Special comes with bacon, cheddar and plenty of BBQ sauce
Wednesday is burger day at Toon's ($4) pictured is a black and bleu burger
-The Sammy's of Chi
Continuing with the theme of NOLA and other southern delights on the menu are the Po' Boy's and other sandwiches which are all outstanding. You will also find a wonderful ever changing selection of sammy's on the specials board along with the everyday goodies. One of my favorite sandwiches is the fried oyster Po' boy which is on special thru Fat Tuesday and always ordered with extra pickles by me. When it comes to the sandwich selection you pick which one sounds good and it will be. There's a fried buffalo chicken Po' Boy that is excellent as well as a grilled Cajun dusted Po' Boy that is as good as any grilled chicken I've had. Not pictured is the catfish Po' Boy and that's great too. I haven't tried the grilled portabella shroom sandwich but I bet I'd like it if I was a veg-head.
Fried Oyster Po' Boy on special thru Fat Tuesday
Buffalo Chicken Po' Boy
Grilled Cajun Chicken Po' Boy
Its not over folks, Toon's takes all of its space and puts it to good use. This is why out back behind the bar in the little two car parking lot you'll find a smoker where they do up real smoked BBQ items such as ribs, pulled pork and turkey breasts smoked with wood and those are just the everyday items-food specials come from the smoker too. Screw the fact there isn't but room for a 10 by 10 foot kitchen, they just smoke some BBQ out back. Once again you would never know it (unless you got a whiff of the smoke from out back) but the longtime corner bar at Southport and Byron also has some of the best BBQ in the city and certainly the best of any bar. Danny is from KC and is a true student of BBQ. He's been all around the country in search of it and seeking out tips and advice from some of the best like Mike Mills on how to perfect it. So there isn't a day that goes by where you wont find Danny and his top notch staff smokin' out back.
Along with those many fine sammy's mentioned above there's another one to be had. The staff will smoke turkey breasts and uses the meat for an amazing turkey sandwich that is sure to have even someone like me who's not big on turkey, loving it. When I had my 1st fried turkey about 6 years back I knew I was done with the baked stuff. Great stuff it was moist and full of flavor from the homemade rub with the perfect touch of smoke, which goes really well with turkey. You can try it the Jive way and the pulled turkey comes topped with BBQ sauce, provolone cheese, bacon and fried onion straws or get it with just the BBQ sauce on top.
Turkey Breasts Smokin' away
Pulled Turkey Sandwich made with smoked turkey breast
I've had the ribs quite a few times from Toon's and never had a bad batch. Sure like any other real deal BBQ place the goodness can vary depending on when your getting them since you don't make real BBQ in 15 minutes. I've had them fresh off the smoker and when ordered from the lovely female servers and they always make my mouth drool. I think the best batches have perfect smoke flavor and were just in between from being too chewy and too loose making them just right. When you consider this is a neighborhood corner bar (in Lakeview) putting out ribs like that, its damn impressive. Look I love Twin Anchors and its history and old school charm and will even eat their tasty Baked (not BBQ) ribs (if your paying) but there's no way they have the best ribs in Chicago and there's no way they have the best ribs at the bars. That honor belongs to Toon's. Danny being as he is from KC has even spent the past years perfecting a KC style BBQ sauce that is one of my favorites out there.
Toon's Ribs are real smoked BBQ, nothing baked or boiled here
Friday is rib Night ($10 for 1/2 slab)
Smoked Ribs ala Toon's
But even after all the great grub previously pictured we haven't even gotten to Toon's signature move in the food game. Going on for over ten years now has been the Toon's all you can eat crawfish boil done up just like they would down in Louisiana. In fact its gotten so popular that its not just a one time thing anymore they have quite a few during the crawfish season. With it being the very early start of mud bug season there was a small boil of 250 pounds there on Super Bowl Sunday and it was da bomb. Who Dat?
a cooler full of mud bugs, sausage, corn and potato's
In just another fine example of taking everything seriously Toon's will order their crawfish from Louisiana and have them delivered live the day of the boil where they are picked up at O'Hare that morning. When they get back to the bar with the mud bugs Danny and his team of super cooks get to work by throwing the crawdaddy's into pots of spiced water along with halved heads of garlic, corn, potatoes and three types of sausage. The tubed meat's thrown in were andouille, kielbasa and Child's Play hot dogs (the cheap turkey/chicken/pork kind) of which the Oscar Meyer like hot dogs actually came to very good use. One of Danny's buddy's Mark introduced me to this little trick to make cheap hot dogs actually edible. The dogs absorbed a high percentage of the spicy crawfish infused cooking liquid thus packing them full of flavor with everything in the pot making its mark in them.
Video from Super Sunday
The boils work like this. You pay your $25 and you grab a seat at any of the tables layered in newspaper and take a bucket and throw what you in it from the cooler and bring it back to your table and dump it out and start chowing down. Also included in this wonderful must do eating deal are all the red beans and rice you care to eat. Its all in the family with the Beck's as Danny's lovely wife Annie takes care of a few of things fro the Bar including the creamy red beans and rice packed with the perfect amount of smoke flavor from a whole lot of sausage. I would pay $20 to eat the beans and rice alone all day while I drink $3 High Lifes and watch sports.
Mrs. Toon's magnificent Red Beans & Rice
If your looking at these crawfish boil pics and starting to get an itch for them well you need to mark off Saturday March 20th on your calendars. That is the date of the next crawdaddy extravaganza over at Toon's and it also happens to be the Saturday of the opening weekend of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament. I can hardly wait. Come catch me and lets throw a few back and kill some crawfish and watch our tourney sheets closely. I also have a special offer to all my readers from the peopel at Toon's. I met Danny thru the neighborhood and being known by the same people and he's a big follower of S'C&C and would like to offer all of its readers a 20% discount on all food bills thru next Friday. So in case you were wondering where you were gonna spend your Fat Tuesday...you now know. Holladay.
Toon's annual crawfish boil is a blowout each March
Toon's Bar & Grill 3857 North Southport Avenue Chicago, IL 60613-2823 (773) 935-1919 Website
The next stop on the Chicago Hot Dog Stand Tour is to Henry's Drive In on Ogden ave, aka Route 66, in the Chicago suburb of Cicero. If you've ever taken a drive down the start of US Route 66 on Ogden ave then you have seen Henry's. Out of all the 1950's era neon signs in Chicagoland-Henry's reigns supreme with me. This classic Chicagoland hot dog stand was started in the 50's by a guy whose surname was Henry. He originally started off with a hot dog wagon on Austin just north of Ogden. When Route 66 was getting going, Henry then built and opened up his own place where it stills stands today. Luckily for the fans of Route 66 and all the neon signs that were built to be displayed along it, Henry's sign is still alive and well. If Henry's were to ever close, I'd pay top dollar for the neon. It shows a hot dog with toppings and fries on top which is how they're served at Henry's and then has a neon arrow pointing towards it proclaiming their slogan "It's a meal in itself" Its classic signage.
A familiar face along Route 66 in Cicero, IL
I'm sure you could find anyone who grew up in Cicero to give you their story of Henry's and recollect when they used to hang out there in high school but I read an interesting piece of info on it over at LTHforum. It seems as though back when Henry's Hamburgers was an up and coming chain (read about my story on it here) they tried to open a location at the corner of Ogden and Austin right by Henry's Drive In which was already there. The poster at LTH who went to high school with Mr. Henry's sons went onto explain that "One of the two parties sued, and Mr. Henry won, primarily, as I understood it at the time, based on the fact that his business bore his actual surname, whereas the chain was using a corporate identifier" The business was then taken over by one of Mr. Henry's boys and has since been sold to a family from the area.
Henry's has some relics on the walls from when Rt. 66 was BIG
So what about the dogs? Well they aren't bad. I would call them your typical Chicago hot dog stand hot dog (better than most places outside Chicagoland, not as great as the best in the city) but since this place has so much history, its a cool spot to visit and I would recommend doing so if your ever in the area. If your doing Route 66 from Cali to Chicago, you'll know your close to the city when you see the sign. The dogs are Vienna Beef skinless (not my style) and come dressed with mustard, onions, relish, sport peppers and a pickle spear. When they wrap the hot dog up they throw the fries (which are frozen but not bad) on top just like so many other Chicago hot dog stands do nowadays. I don't think Henry's started this trend but its obvious from their sign they've been doing it this way since the 50's.
Hot Dog from Henry's fresh out the wrapping
a well known hot dog in Chicagoland
Just like the rest of the hot dog stands around the city, Henry's serves up hot dog stand tamales. If your from Chicago then you should of had one or two in your day and if you haven't you've definitely seen them. Its thought that when the blues musicians of the Mississippi delta came north to Chicago to get out of the south, they brought with them their Delta style tamales. Eventually before you even knew it the city had at least three companies that mass produced the cornmeal based tubes filled with mystery meats that can now be found all over town. In fact it was Iltaco, the creator of Pizza Puffs, who started off selling just tamales. Illinois Tamale Company as Iltaco is short for would eventually cease all making of tamales and stick to their popular pizza puffs. Over at Henry's they serve Tom-Tom tamales and you can have them a few ways.
Serving Chicago since 1937...Tom Tom Tamales
There are a few popular ways of eating Chicago hot dog stand tamales aside from straight up. The most popular way is probably in a bowl of chili. Some places will take the tamale out of the wax paper and break it in half and throw it in a cup and then some chili on top. Its something that Chicagoans have been eating for decades.
Tamale in a bowl of chili
It doesn't end with the chili tamales. If you saw the "No Reservations" Chicago episode then you might remember the "Mother In Law" which is one of these tamales stuffed in a bun and smothered with chili, cheese and onions. Also at Henry's you can get a tamale dog which is just a tamale replacing the wiener in the bun with mustard, onions, pickle and sport peppers.
Henry's Tamale Dog
Lets just say that the "Chicago Style tamale" was my first and last try of one of these things. Something about the pickle spear and tamale didn't make for a pleasant texture or taste. I love a tamale in chili and feel like the tamale often makes most hot dog places below average bowls of chili a little better. They also still carry BBQ beef sandwiches with pickles on top which I remember loving as a youngin' in my youth and ordering often. But rarely see it on the menu of spots these days.
In the land of the hot dog, the number of places that push them can come a dime a dozen. However just because a place serves up a hot dog doesn't mean its anything worth trying, especially in Chicago. I mean 7-11 sells hot dogs, you gotta pick and choose when it comes to eating the hot dogs of Chicago. It's not that hard to find the popular joints and the best ones are the spots that have been around and have unique looks to them and you'll usually see people walking in and out with brown bags and drinks in their hands. The best places not only serve great red hots but also have great character like you would expect to find at classic roadfood establishments. Enter Odge's at the corner of Damen and Superior in West Town.
Odge's Old Fashioned Red Hots
A familiar spot along Damen ave.
I always loved driving by Odge's as a kid and seeing the bright colors and painted drawings of food and items served on the menu. I've also been eating here since my youth and have always enjoyed the dogs when in the area. Its not just the outside that's different at Odge's because the inside is just as quirky. The walls are filled with 50's memorabilia and old school collectible items and its one of the best dining areas of any hot dog place in the city. More times than not you'll find Odge himself making the homemade chili or dressing hot dogs for his customers. Its been that way going on four decades now. You can also add a tamale to your chili for a dollar extra and along with a hot dog you'd be eating an old timer's Chicago style lunch. The chili is ehh but it can be satisfying with a tamale thrown in during the wintertime.
Odge's chili
The rest of the menu is your typical Chicago fare with hot dogs being the most popular item. They come dressed with pickles, onions and mustard and relish. The fries are just ok but its a good hot dog and a favorite of many. Another little thing I like about Odge's is they have bunch tamales which isn't anything special but more on that another time. I wouldn't head out of my way for Odge's but should you live or be moving to the West Town neighborhood then Odge's will be your hot dog joint. Its another time honored Chicago hot dog stand establishment.
Odge's Red Hot
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Ody's Drive Inn
A familiar spot along Grand ave
I found Ody's cruising down grand ave one night and it caught my eye. Over near the Brickyard Shopping Center and the Belmont Cragin neighborhood there's a hot dog stand on every block or so it seems. According to there website, Ody's was built from the ground up in 2008 and they "are proud to serve delicious fast food at affordable prices" I did learn just now as I write this, that it is owned by the same guy who owns White Palace and Hollywood Grill. Its also open 24 hours and has plenty of parking in their lot and a outdoor patio that is enclosed and warm in winter. Its basically another one of the many Maxwell Street type establishments trying to be like the real McCoy's. Its not like the real ones but its good for what it is and that's quick fast food. The burger was a fresh Vienna beef patty, nothing special, but also not bad. The dogs are nice and the fries were made fresh and came out well fried. Not a bad option at 2a if in the area.
2am cheeseburger from Ody's
Hot Dog (everything includes mustard, onions, relish, sport peppers) and Fresh Cut Fries ________________________________________
Odge's 730 North Damen Avenue Chicago, IL 60622-5517 (312) 666-7335
Ody's Drive Inn 6001 West Grand Avenue Chicago, IL 60639-2718 (773) 745-3444 Website
