Chicago, widely considered the sausage capital of the U.S., continues providing a smattering of delightful new joints offering classic Chicago-style hot dogs, as well as gourmet joints with creative toppings. For the uninitiated, a classic Chicago-style hot dog features the following items: tomatoes, celery salt, sport peppers, a pickle, green relish, white onions, yellow mustard, all on top of a beef hot dog placed inside a poppy seed bun.
Makes you hungry just by thinking about it, huh?
But might I offer a suggestion?
Ketchup should be used only with the fries.
One of the best places to enjoy a Chicago-style hot dog is Hot “G” Dog. Hot “G” Dog is named after the Garcia brothers — Juan Carlos and Octavio Garcia — hence the “G”. The two brothers learned the gourmet-sausage trade from “Hot Doug” Sohn (the famous bratmaster from Chicago). Situated at 5009 N. Clark Street, Hot “G” Dog offers a mouthwatering Chicago-style hotdog, alongside other inventive wild hotdogs such as a Guinness Beer Brat, duck sausage, and much more. Other items on Hot “G” Dog’s menu that stand out include specialties such as duck fat fries, wild boar sausage, smoked alligator sausage, and chicken apple cranberry sausage. Hot “G” Dog is the best place to go if you would like to have, say, alligator sausage alongside shrimp remoulade, or a smoked elk sausage with bacon cheddar cheese and garlic sauce. Or if you just want to stick to the traditional Chicago-style hot dog.
If you never had the opportunity to visit Hot Doug Mania, or if your friend is among the list of people who relocated to Chicago before the restaurant closed and still reminisce about it, take them to Hot “G” Dog. They have the same duck fat fries and gourmet hot dogs, including the alligator sausage hot dog. If your nostalgic friend just dropped by whose best idea is to indulge in a delicious hot dog, Hot “G” Dog is the best place to do it.
If you are considering visiting Hot “G” Dog but wondering whether it is a good use of your time, the answer is yes. The sausages are sourced from the same purveyors and the recipes used are mostly the same as that of its predecessor. Even when the sausages deviate from each other, they are made using the same culinary philosophy. Two things worth remembering during your visit to Hot “G” Dog is that the foie gras sausage is ridiculously delicious, and the duck fat fries are out of this world.
Hot “G” Dog is in many ways similar to Hot Doug Mania. After all, it was an attempt by hot dog curators Juan Carlos and Octavio Garcia to pool their talents together and capture an elusive success twice by replicating Hot Doug’s bon viveur, menu, and decor — the only difference being the absence of Dough Sohn. The two Garcia brothers set up the hot dog shop about eight months after Hot Doug’s was shut down. Doug Sohn was completely on board with the idea and even gave the two brothers his blessing and wished them success in their new endeavor. The former owner of Hot Doug’s was unbelievably flattered when Juan Carlos and Octavio approached him with the idea and was happy that his hot dogs had inspired others to follow the same path.