The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium!

Last week, my good friend Cathy and I decided it was time to conquer a major Chicago foodie right of passage. I've heard about Hot Doug's since we rolled into town three years ago, but the long lines on the weekends had scared me off more than once. People have sworn to me it's worth it, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to wait in line for an hour or two just for the duck fat fries and gourmet sausages. Call me crazy, but with Urban Belly right down the street, I still leave the area well fed and quite satisfied.



Last Tuesday, Cathy and I were trying to decide what to do on our day off, and I suggested Hot Doug's. She had also never been, and we agreed there was no better time than the present. There was one down side to a Tuesday visit to the "Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium"... they only serve their infamous duck fat french fries on Fridays and Saturdays. While I would still love to try these fries, I have no complaints about their regular french fries, and even fewer complaints about the practically non-existent line!

The hot dogs we had were seriously fantastic! Cathy had the "game of the week" buffalo sausage, and I had a Portugese linguisa. The have a standard menu that doesn't change, but also tons of special combos that they rotate. Check out the current specials here. There were so many dogs that I wanted to try, and I'm pretty sure I'll come back on other weekdays when I know the line will be shorter. I am still dying to try the duck fat fries, though, so maybe one of these weekends I'll suck it up and brave the line. Anyone want to visit this summer, so I have an excuse to go back?