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The Dog Joint
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Lunch, Dinner, Late Night
- Alcohol:
- None
10 reviews for The Dog Joint
Hot dog hospitality. Yes, that's right. If you want some HDH after a late night of drinking, head to The Dog Joint. The crew who works here is super friendly and accommodating. My friends and I grabbed Chicago dogs, cheeseburgers and fries from the TDJ and ate inside. The food was delicious and hit the spot. It was a great alternative to the nasty eats at Wiener Circle.
The restaurant was clean, service was good, food was tasty. We'll definitely be back.
This will be a surprise for those who know me because I usually don't like French fries, but I have three words to describe my new addiction:
3 Way Fries.
They are served with cheese, real bacon, and sour cream, and taste to me just like the Wendy's potatoes with all that stuff on them that I used to love, only with fries. So good.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/23/2009 First to Review
[whoops, I had the name wrong in my original review]
This space has had a lot of turnover the past… Read more »
Welcome addition to the 'hood. Glad to see it open! I've been a few times to grab something on the fly and was pretty impressed by the food. The Italian beef was spectacular. (if only they melted mozzarella or provolone to top it off). Fries are yummy and perfect for that Saturday morning grease fix. A step up from fast food and as good as the late great Red Hot Mamma's was. Hopefully they will have a run as long as they did.
Prices are pretty fair for the area and the quality while the service is friendly and efficient. The downside? Cash only.
I've never understood what makes food "sporty." First, there's Ritter Sport chocolate bars, while awesome I see nothing sporty about chomping on a brick of chocolate. Then there are sport peppers, which complete the Chicago-style hot dog - sure they're healthier than chocolate, but sporty? Really?
Anyhoo, a little birdie named Lauren H. yelped about a new dog joint by my house that was veggie friendly and I just had to try it. Lots of places serve veggie burgers, but since veggie dogs haven't achieved the same level of popularity I was excited to give it a shot. While it's no Hot Doug's, it's pretty darn good.
I ordered two Chicago-style veggie dogs, an order of fries and a soda, which ran me about $9. The dogs were good, but the sport peppers were a bit overwhelming to me. I don't know if they come in varying levels of heat or what, but these were way hotter than Doug's, so much so that I took them off of my second dog because they were too overpowering. My only other complaint is that I would like to see them slice the cukes thinner and cut the slices in half, it would make getting the dog in your mouth much, much easier.
I didn't scour the menu, but I did notice they also have burgers (regular and veggie), chili, fries (regular and cajun) and serve them in all sorts of combinations.
The place is small, but there are a few booths, tables and seats at the counter facing the street. The counter seats are my favorite when the weather is nice!
Bottom line: Good food, veggie-friendly choices, quick and friendly service - I hope this place makes it!
*Cash Only
Like so many others in this city, I have an almost unbecoming man-crush on Doug Sohn (aka Hot Doug). As such, there is only room for one true veggie dog love in my heart. Anyone else who opens a stand that sells meatless franks needs to shine to even get my attention. The Dog Joint (in the old Rockstar Dogs space) comes close. But since it doesn't quite pass the mustard (er muster), I will affectionately refer to it henceforth in this review as "Not Doug's."
Now, it's not exactly fair to compare Not's to Valhalla On California since this is a much simpler counter concept. There are no encased meats made out of quail or bison or whatever quasi-ethical (and sometimes quasi-legal) substance Doug chooses to use in a given week. No, stepping inside these doors, one gets a hot dog the way "nature" intended - Chicago Style. Though you can request the dog any way you want (there's even ketchup on the tables, though I don't remember if it's on the menu). And, unlike Doug's, if you want something like a dive restaurant style chicken sandwich (or a veggie burger), you can get that here as well.
A dog runs right around $2 ($2.35 for the veggie dog), toppings included. Fries are shockingly similar in price and there is a bit of skimping here. My cajun fries (not really spicier than regular curly fries) only filled half the basket. Come on, it's not like fries are made of gold! The dogs are also not incredibly filling for the price. I took three of these bad boys (two Chicago style) to fill me up.
The dogs do taste good though - one flaw aside. I think instead of sport peppers, Not Doug's uses jalepenos disguised as sports peppers. Disguised in the taste of the relish, this is okay, but attempting to eat one that fell off brought tears to my eyes. And there is no sport that should do that - unless you count competitive onion chopping.
There are some nice seats facing out the window to people watch on Armitage on a nice night (and these might be necessary since the restaurant is a little hot). And it could be considered an ample substitute as Not Doug's keeps a more convenient location and set of hours than Hot Doug's. But, sorry, Not's. I may frequent you now as one might a mistress but only to tide me over for my true love.
This is the first five star review I've given. One word...service. It is obvious that one of the owners is always onsite because they really treat you well. They are open late on Thurs, Fri, Sat, but on Wednesday they close at 10pm. I didn't know this and went there last night at 10:00pm. The door was locked, but they ran and opened the door and took my order with a smile! Most other restaurants have staff so uninspired that they give you a dirty look or don't even bother to open the door 30 minutes before the posted closing time! And they've given me free refills every time I asked. Yes, they are a VERY service oriented place. And the food is great too! Hot dogs and fries are tastey and hot.
Best wishes The Dog Joint, you guys are bringing real customer service back to the fast-food industry!
And today (July 30, 2009), I just tried their bacon hamburger. It tasted just like a Carl J. burger. Freakin awesome. Well done!
Today (Aug 11, 2009), They updated their beef and meatball sandwiches. Now tasting better than any I've had in the city, including portillo's and al's. The beef flavor is top notch, and the meatballs taste gourmet! BRAVO guys!!
The Dog Joint makes a real nice dog. Their Char-dog is nice and crispy on the outside, juicy on the in. The toppings are nice and fresh, and the fries are nice and crisp. I've had the burgers and onion rings also, but the dogs are what will make you howl(lol) with pleasure!
I have 2 distinct experiences with this new place, one great, one bad.
1) went there on a quiet sunday afternoon, and the staff was friendly, the dog and burgers were good. I felt like I had a found a great place that would go into my favorite list
2) went there on a saturday late nigh - 1.30am. It was a different place - the staff was rude (and it was the owner - the guy - behind the counter), only had a burger, but it was dry as hell, overcooked, the fries were pure grease and it took several minutes of chaos for them to complete my order with drink, fries and burger.
2 star overall, but fact is, not more chances to this place - won't be going back ... sad given it's very close to my place
You see a 5 star rating. Absolutely. this is a A1 hot dog stand. It puts any place within miles to shame. Service, service, service, I can't say anything better about it, It simply is the best.
The hot dogs here are perfectly made. Steamed poppy seed buns, Mustard, Pickle Relish, Onions, Dill pickle spear, Tomato, cucumbers, and topped with Celery salt. It doesn't get any better. I have had over a dozen since they opened (10 days ago) and they are Consistently cooked and made to perfection. If you want Kraut or grilled onions or god forbid Ketchup, they will oblige.
The hamburgers are made from fresh beef. They are cooked perfectly and have great accompaniments for them. I liked the hamburgers as well. Very high quality.
Polish sausage, it was fantastic, I ordered mine with Mustard and Grilled onion and it was flawless, nice char, perfectly cooked onions, and good quality mustard. It made for a amazing Polish.
Taco's. for 99 cents they will make you a from scratch taco, the shell is freshly crisped in the deep fryer, add in some spiced ground beef, and those fresh, crisp veggies. This is the KILLER DEAL on the menu.
Italian Beef and Italian Sausage: I love Italian beef, It is high quality and made fresh, and the gravy (beef juice) is AWESOME, The bun is fresh, but I like mine toasted (They make it toasted.) the sweet peppers are good. The sausage is cooked perfectly and has a nice flavor. Get some red sauce on the side, it compliments it well.
Good fresh cut fries crispy, salty goodness. Onion rings are good too.
Pop. This is a Pepsi place, with "Free Refills"
They also sell Chili fries, cheese fries, chili-cheese fries and Pizza Puffs. They also have Grilled Chicken sandwiches and I think salads, I never tried those but they looked good.
At the moment they have a special Hot dog, fry and drink for 4.99 plus tax, that's a steal for this area, and its great.
Ask for Jerry, tell em Eddie sent ya.
Give them a shot, you will be shocked at the amazing service, and very happy with the food quality, and freshness.
Live long and Prosper.
Stopped in before a show (Playing for Change) at Park West. PW is less than a block east. GF and I had a couple of hot dogs, fries, and Pepsi for me, Diet Pepsi for her. Pretty standard Chicago dogs (and that is a good thing) - Red Hot Chicago brand. Well steamed poppy seed buns and good snap to the dogs. Fresh toppings including cucumbers which is increasingly rare these days. The fresh cut fries were very good - not greasy or stale, cooked properly (golden brown), and sufficient portion. Pepsi's were mixed well - not too weak and not too much syrup or ice. Service was good and prompt. Reasonable prices - I think the dogs were about $2.35 and the fries around $2. Drinks (small) were about $1.50. Seating consists of several pub tables, a couple of booths, and counter seating at the front by the windows. Remaining star would have been given if the dog had come with fries (ala Mickeys in Bellwood). I would definitely stop here again the next time I visit the Park West. Glad to see a worthy Chicago hot dog stand so close to Park West for visitors.
