R.I.P. Hot Dougs
September 27, 2014 9:09 AM   Subscribe

Doug wants to do other things so you had better go while you still can... Previously
Hot Doug's is a Chicago, Illinois-based restaurant specializing in a variety of hot dogs and sausages. The self-proclaimed "Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium" is in its second location at 3324 North California Avenue in the city's Avondale neighborhood. Its first location, on Roscoe Street, closed after a 2004 fire. Hot Doug's is frequently featured in local and national media for its unique menu, and its purveyor and head chef, Doug Sohn, has been noted for his work to create affordable gourmet food.[1] The restaurant is an extremely popular dining destination among both locals and tourists, and at lunch time and throughout much of the weekend customers can expect to wait in lines sometimes exceeding an hour just to get in the door. On May 6, 2014, Doug announced that he will be permanently closing Hot Doug's on Friday, October 3, 2014 (WiKi)
Anthony Bourdain(slyt) posted by shockingbluamp (57 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
:*(
posted by Smart Dalek at 9:17 AM on September 27, 2014


I'll never understand people waiting an hour or more for hamburgers or hot dogs, I don't care how good they are. I wonder if it's a function of living in a city where I can walk another block to someplace else to eat.

Nah, when I lived in the woods I walked out of lots of places with half that wait.

Get your ass and your hot dogs off my lawn.
posted by nevercalm at 9:32 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


I wonder if it's a function of living in a city where I can walk another block to someplace else to eat.

The restaurant is located in Chicago, you might have heard of it? Pretty large city in the middle part of the U.S.?

Anyway, lots of restaurants in Chicago.
posted by aramaic at 9:40 AM on September 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


There are not a lot of places like Doug's but there a few in other parts of Chicago and they have no lines such as Franks n Dawgs near DePaul or Hoppin Hots in Andersonville. So the only real reason to endure the line at Hot Dougs is to say you endured the line at Hot Dougs.
posted by srboisvert at 9:41 AM on September 27, 2014


Lines may reach an hour or more? HA.

They're closing the lines for the entire day an hour or more before they open. The first people in line got there at 12:30 a.m. the night before. Spots in line are selling on Craigslist for $200.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:42 AM on September 27, 2014 [2 favorites]


Damn. I'd always wanted to go there.
posted by jonmc at 9:42 AM on September 27, 2014 [2 favorites]


You can walk a block from Hot Doug's (well, okay - two blocks) and find a whole pile of restaurants. I mean, it's Chicago. There are lots of other places to eat.

But none of them are Hot Doug's. It's always been one of my favorite places to eat in the city. The sausages themselves and the combinations are delicious and fun. Eating there is fun. Waiting in the line is even fun. Doug? Man, that guy is fun. It's a great experience, and I'm glad to have had it many times. But if you don't get it, I'm glad you're not hogging a spot in line.

Doug Sohn has kindly requested that people don't be douches and sell/buy spots in line. I'm down with that.
posted by obfuscation at 9:43 AM on September 27, 2014 [5 favorites]


As of October 4th, I guess the most famous hot dog place in Chicago will be Wiener's Circle, you worthless motherfucking pieces of goddamned shit.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 9:45 AM on September 27, 2014 [9 favorites]


It's going to be all right. There's still Mr. Beef.
posted by Mental Wimp at 9:48 AM on September 27, 2014


I wonder if it's a function of living in a city where I can walk another block to someplace else to eat.

What? There's people in my city standing in a long line for the taqueria that just won the 538 bracket for best burritos, and that's on a block with at least two other taquerias that have damn good burritos. It's not a function of not being somewhere with no other choices. It's a function of people being all "I hear this is awesome and I want to experience the awesome too."
posted by rtha at 9:51 AM on September 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


The man followed his dream to become the sausage king of Chicago. He succeeded. He deserves our respect
posted by mulligan at 9:53 AM on September 27, 2014 [27 favorites]


My friend and I drove out to Chicago in 2010. We saw that Hot Doug's was on the way and headed over for a nice lunch before going to Great America. The line was long enough that we had to make a decision between hot dogs and roller coasters.

The coasters were fun and none of the lines we waited in were anywhere comparable to Hot Doug's line, but now I am sad I won't get the chance to make that decision again.
posted by Spatch at 9:58 AM on September 27, 2014


All these years I thought Abe Froman was the sausage king of Chicago.
posted by squinty at 10:00 AM on September 27, 2014 [11 favorites]


I went 2 months ago and didn't get through the doors until after the posted closing time. I was still served.
posted by brujita at 10:11 AM on September 27, 2014


I travel a lot. I like cased meats, a lot. I've had everything from Gray's Papaya to Show Dogs. And you know what? Doug's was worth the wait, every damn time. Food's delicious and affordable, staff is amazingly nice, and I'm pretty sure Doug is the happiest dude I've ever met in my life. Like, infectiously happy. Even after an hour in line, I've always walked out of that place with a smile. Kuma's Corner up the road always called to me with it's lack of line and phenomenal burgers. And I considered that fact every time I waited in line for Doug's. But I never walked out of there feeling like I wasted my time, even knowing what was nearby.
I'm going to miss being able to go there when I pass through.
posted by piedmont at 10:15 AM on September 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


I understand waiting in line for an hour or two, maybe even half a day (in this case).

Look, the thing is, you're not standing in line for a meal, your standing in line for a memory; your standing in line for your last chance to experience something wonderful that you've experienced before, before it goes away forever. It makes a ton more sense than waiting in line for an xbox/iphone/starwarscrappymovie.

There's often a reason there are lines for things like this - particularly when it's locals that are the ones waiting in line.
posted by el io at 10:30 AM on September 27, 2014 [5 favorites]


I'll never understand people waiting an hour or more for hamburgers or hot dogs

I live nowhere near Chicago but quite apart from the recommendations there are three words that would have made me line up there if I were in town: duck fat motherfucking fries.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:40 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'll never understand people waiting an hour or more for hamburgers or hot dogs, I don't care how good they are

The not caring part is why you don't understand.
posted by mhoye at 10:42 AM on September 27, 2014 [16 favorites]


Duck fat fries. DUCK FAT FRIES.
posted by joseph conrad is fully awesome at 10:45 AM on September 27, 2014 [5 favorites]


The hotdogs are good, and the duck fat fries are really, really good, but part of what makes Hot Doug's such a Chicago institution is that it's totally democratic. Everyone waits in line: I once thought a guy in line in front of me looked vaguely familiar, and then my friend pointed out that he was Eugene Mirman. Pretty much everyone can afford to eat there. It's not some hidden secret that you have to be in-the-know to know about. It plays to Chicago's romanticized, mostly-bogus blue-collar city-of-big-shoulders self-image. Plus, the duck-fat fries are really, really good.
posted by ArbitraryAndCapricious at 10:49 AM on September 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


Weird. Why not sell it rather than simply shut it down?
posted by notyou at 10:53 AM on September 27, 2014


> Duck fat fries. DUCK FAT FRIES.

Duck fat fries are great, but not as rare as they once were. Our beloved local fairly-new-but-an-institution-anyway BCBB has duck frites with rosemary and sea salt (and no they're not frites canard and I don't care enough to ask why not). Although I tend to prefer the standard dirty fries because they cut their duck fat fries shoestring style and that makes the texture all wrong.
posted by ardgedee at 10:55 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


All these years I thought Abe Froman was the sausage king of Chicago.

I believe his reign ended in the great Meatwave of '03.
posted by Iridic at 10:55 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


"Weird. Why not sell it rather than simply shut it down?"

I assume that he doesn't want the new owners to start changing things and make the place below his personal standards. At the very least they might want to rename dishes, change the decorations... At the very worst they'll start using inferior ingredients and not being as meticulous with the preparation of the food. When you sell something, you lose control of it; and I can understand him not wanting to see his labor of love turn into a cash grab.

People are free to create a new hot dog place that has high standards with great meat and fries; they'll eventually get the reputation they deserve for their efforts and earn a loyal following in due time.
posted by el io at 11:19 AM on September 27, 2014 [2 favorites]


.
posted by HeroZero at 11:19 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


"Weird. Why not sell it rather than simply shut it down?"

Integrity.
posted by el io at 11:19 AM on September 27, 2014 [8 favorites]




Integrity, sure.

What about the folks who depend on the place -- his employees for example?
posted by notyou at 11:44 AM on September 27, 2014


Hot Doug's is awesome, though sadly I only got to experience it once. There are of course a lot great hot dog / sausage places in Chicago... I'll take a beef/sausage combo from Portillos any day of the week, and that's a chain. Wiener and Still Champion in Evanston is a great lesser known spot. Pretty much anything on the LTHforum GNR list is a good bet.
posted by kmz at 11:46 AM on September 27, 2014


(Seattle and Tacoma folks may be interested in The Red Hot).
posted by mwhybark at 11:51 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


I'm really gonna miss Hot Doug's, though the line at this point is just too extreme to make a final visit worthwhile.

The place really did/does embody its mantra:
"There are no two finer words in the English language than 'encased meats,' my friend."
posted by theoddball at 11:53 AM on September 27, 2014


Not a duck fat fry fan. I like fries, and I like duck, but I don't enjoy the weird nuance of meat in my fries.
posted by Chrysostom at 11:54 AM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


While there is a plain-old Chicago style hot dog on the menu, that's not what made Hot Doug's so special. It was all the gourmet sausages and toppings, concocted by a regular joe who happened to go to cooking school and who personally takes your order and makes you feel welcome, that made the trip worthwhile. Hot Doug's has spawned dozens of imitators, some of which have gone on to great fame themselves. This isn't just a simple hot dog stand closing. Don't mistake its plebian trappings for a lack of sophistication and importance.
posted by me3dia at 11:55 AM on September 27, 2014 [2 favorites]


Not a duck fat fry fan. I like fries, and I like duck, but I don't enjoy the weird nuance of meat in my fries.

I'm curious, how do you feel about McDonalds fries? Julia Child wept the day they stopped frying them in beef tallow, reportedly, and they now include some sort of beef flavour derivative in the preparation.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 12:06 PM on September 27, 2014


Hot Doug's Line So Long, Waiting Couple Plan Wedding, Get Married.

came into this thread knowing there'd be poo pooers who haven't been, was not disappointed. HD is great, duck fat fry-day is wonderful, seasonal antelope sausages are delicious (this week's included a shoutout to tim midyett's daughter, i think? neato), etc. (though yes, super dog's inexplicable tarzan and tart anthropomorphic 'dog statues crack me up every time i'm in chicago too). didn't realize the "encased meats" quote shirts were prized possessions these days; i will cherish mine extra special.

i do find myself wondering if anyone who might've taken up Doug on his "get a hot doug's tattoo and you eat free forevermore" feels cheated. also, yeah, i follow HD on FB and yesterday amazed me because they closed the line like an hour after opening. nuts.

the one chicago given i have never gotten around to continues to be kuma's corner. hm.
posted by ifjuly at 12:08 PM on September 27, 2014


The food sounds wonderful, but add me to the people unwilling to wait in line for pretty much anything. Too bad that it's closing; it sounds like the kind of place I would have liked to try on a trip out east.
posted by Dip Flash at 12:16 PM on September 27, 2014


"What about the folks who depend on the place -- his employees for example?"

Oh, I imagine that the employees who have on their resume 'worked at the most popular hot dog joint in the country' can find similar work anywhere it is to be found. I mean if you had two applicants for a position, one of which had worked at Dougs, and the other of whom hadn't - who would you pick?
posted by el io at 12:22 PM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


I've eaten a few times at Hot Doug's and I think it's a special, even magical place. The food is auteur-level amazing but Doug has never felt the need to charge more than a modest price (even though people obviously would be willing to pay more). I don't know what to call it: it's like high-end cuisine from a well-educated chef, presented in the most low culture, democratic, and inviting way possible. It's positively Midwestern. Doug greets every single person and takes their order, and he just exudes a certain ineffable something that contributes to the experience. I think he actually cares about every single customer, about his community, about creating something cool that makes people smile. That's why he's gotten very, very generous offers to sell the place, and he's turned them all down. It's not just about money or even reputation with that dude. It's a calling and livelihood in the purest sense.

It feels dumb to talk about things like integrity, livelihood and passion when you're talking about motherfucking Chicago hot dogs, but there you go. It's a special place. Even hour-long wait special, maybe. Why not. It's worth an hour standing outside, talking with friends, if you get to experience a special kind of thing even Alinea can't manage to capture.
posted by naju at 12:25 PM on September 27, 2014 [10 favorites]


When I went during the summer, the wait was 3-4 hours on Saturday mornings. Honestly, the wait isn't that bad if you go with a couple of good friends on a sunny day (not that those are in high supply in Chicago).

I love this place. The regular menu isn't that great, but their specials (like the foie gras duck sausage) are absolutely incredible, far above what you'd expect from a place that looks like a fast food joint. I'm really sad it's closing down rather than expanding.
posted by placoderm at 1:01 PM on September 27, 2014


> What about the folks who depend on the place -- his employees for example?

Down here when a local beloved restaurant (del Toro) was shut down after a fire, the owner made arrangements to get his team temporary gigs at nearby restaurants so they could stay employed and available while he made repairs.

Doug can probably pull similar strings, asking around and cashing some chips on behalf of his crew.
posted by ardgedee at 1:02 PM on September 27, 2014


Re: why not sell the place.... It really wouldn't be Hot Doug's without Doug himself there at the counter taking every single order. It may seem like a little thing, but it's important.

The good news is he really started a trend with the fancy gourmet sausages, so he's no longer the only place in town to get bacon sausage or bison sausage, with fancy toppings. The Haute Sausage food truck, for example. Or Chicago's Dog House by Fullerton & Lincoln.
posted by dnash at 1:21 PM on September 27, 2014 [2 favorites]


The Doug abides.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 2:04 PM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


but I don't enjoy the weird nuance of meat in my fries.

I do -- but only if it's the beef dripping that chips were cooked in throughout my childhood, especially on a coal fired range.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 2:24 PM on September 27, 2014 [3 favorites]


This place and other like it sound great; wish there was something like it around here.
posted by Mitheral at 2:31 PM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


.
posted by eamondaly at 2:44 PM on September 27, 2014


I hate waiting in lines. I really do. But in June, I took a Friday off and spent 2.5 hours in line with a couple of friends, where we prepared to have our "Goodbye" meal at Hot Doug's.

What makes Doug's so special is that it flipped the script on dining in Chicago; it offers a casual and affordable experience, yet it exposed this then-24-year-old-from-the-Midwest to haute cuisine like foie gras. Other restaurants followed suit (whether or not they were directly influenced by Hot Doug's, I don't know)—and restaurants in Chicago, especially Paul Kahan's (Blackbird, The Publican, Big Star), also provide culinary casual of the highest quality. Go to Chicago and it's like, dude, I can afford to eat in a Michelin-starred restaurant! (Longman & Eagle, BTW)

And the man himself is also an institution. If Doug wasn't there taking orders behind the counter, then Hot Doug's was not serving. He was always there, and if you were there enough, he would get to know your name and sometimes, because he's a generous dude, he'd throw in a pop or a sausage on the house.

So, that's why I waited in line.

(One other note on Doug's: I never understood why more people didn't take advantage of Doug being BYOB. Beer and sausages are the perfect pairing. For our goodbye lunch, we rolled up with a six-pack of local beer, selected to complement the specials and it was awesome.)
posted by pfafflin at 2:47 PM on September 27, 2014 [6 favorites]


HD also has the distinction of having some of my favorite bathroom signs.
posted by ifjuly at 4:54 PM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


Hey, I don't know if this is going to be too oftopic and/or unwelcomed...

But how about people list their favorite hot dog places in the area of the world they live or know?

In Grand Rapids I always make it a point to go to Yesterdog. I get the veggie dog (which has no dog, but tons of other toppings - the cheddar makes it, but the sauerkraut is important).

In Seattle I go to the (possibly blasphemous) vegetarian hot dog place (yeah, that's what they do, it makes no sense, how are they still around?): Cyber-dogs.

In NYC I've had a great dog at the specialty asian styled Asia Dog and the awesome (but curse their Flash based website) Crifdogs.

Anyone else?
posted by el io at 6:09 PM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


A rather hilarious friend of mine live tweeted his recent Hot Doug's experience, mostly the line. Starts here.
posted by look busy at 7:02 PM on September 27, 2014 [1 favorite]


What the fuck Chicago, I show up on the 5th and this is how you prepare for my arrival?
posted by mrzarquon at 12:16 AM on September 28, 2014


I love Cyber Dogs too, but my favorite Seattle hot dogs are those Japanese style ones with seaweed and kewpie mayo they sell in Pike Place Market. Makes me miss Seattle.
posted by oceanjesse at 5:29 AM on September 28, 2014 [1 favorite]


You know, it really was worth standing in line for because Hot Doug's is/was not a hot dog place--not even a Chicago dog place. It was a sausage shop. See, there are a number of Chicago dog places that you'd take a vegetarian to because a Chicago hot dog--although the quality of the hot dog matters--is essentially a condiment-delivery device. It's a wonderful thing but it is "just a hot dog" and there's no need to wait in line for it.

A sausage at Hot Doug's was not a condiment-delivery device, so it's not a hot dog. And it's a huge waste of everyone's time to take a vegetarian there because Hot Doug's served encased meats, fancy sausages, things that resemble hot dogs at only a superficial level. It was a wonderful place. I'll miss it, but I'm glad it had the impact on neighborhood restaurants that it had.

Although I thought the duck fat fries at Hot Doug's were not very good.
posted by crush-onastick at 8:19 AM on September 28, 2014 [2 favorites]


Yeah, they were too thin and crispy for my taste, though I understand some people like them that way.

Game of the week, always.
posted by Steely-eyed Missile Man at 9:32 AM on September 28, 2014


RIP the Hot Dog Show in Burbank, which is now an Umami(*snarl*)
posted by brujita at 12:31 PM on September 28, 2014


I tried, unsuccessfully, for years to get there. Every times came home to visit, I always planned to go, but things came up, one of them being Doug's propensity to take random days off (that happened to me twice). I finally got there this June when I went home for a week. My cousin, his fiancé, and I got into line, waiting to meet an old college friend of mine with whom I was going to hang out for the day, including a house warming party and a brewery tour. When my friend finally shows up, it turns out the crowd of people in front of us were his friends that would be coming with us to the brewery. It was about a two and a half hour wait, though we only waited an hour once the place opened.

It was everything I've heard about, and more. It was meeting Doug, and him, though incredibly busy, listening to me as I told him about how I'm trying to open a restaurant in Japan, how I make my own sausages, and consider him to be an inspiration, and that he took the time to wish me luck, and to ask me questions about it, rather than just nod and smile.

The elk sausage I had was one of the best hot dogs I've ever had. The morning spent waiting in line, hungover, with my cousin and his fiancé, having time to catch up, to talk to my friend from college, to meet his friend, and on top of all of that, the best hot dog I've ever had, hell, I'd have waited twice as long. The fact that, after all of these years, I finally managed to eat there, that I finally got to taste the food that even just reading about, has been enough of an inspiration to me to change careers, that's something I'll remember the rest of my life. What's a couple enjoyable hours chatting with friends when it comes to that?

If you're someone who can't understand waiting in line (and I won't lie, it's something I rarely am willing to do), that's awesome. It means the line will be that much shorter for the rest of us.

though, honestly, the duck sausage with pears, topped with smoked Bleu cheese? Way, way too much going on there, not very good, wish I'd ordered something else
posted by Ghidorah at 4:45 AM on September 29, 2014 [2 favorites]


el io: "Hey, I don't know if this is going to be too oftopic and/or unwelcomed...

But how about people list their favorite hot dog places in the area of the world they live or know?
"

The O in Pittsburgh has good hot dogs, excellent fries, and not more than one or two shootings a year.
posted by Chrysostom at 8:02 AM on September 29, 2014 [1 favorite]


Hot Doug's basically became a symbol to me of everything I hate about "foodies" after their well-publicized flout of Chicago's short lived and much ridiculed foie gras ban. I love how animal torture suddenly became okay because it was trendy.
posted by Jess the Mess at 11:16 AM on September 29, 2014


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