Hot Doug’s at Astor Center
March 9, 2010 by admin
Surprise surprise, I am behind in posting about our lives lately so naturally this took place all the way back in October. I’m hoping to play catch up in the next week or so and get pics posted from our holiday trips to Hong Kong and Florida.
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A few months back whilst browsing the interwebs, I saw a post on Serious Eats about an event they were sponsoring at Astor Center’s new space with Hot Doug’s. Truth be told, I had never heard of Hot Doug’s prior to this but as soon as I saw the menu, I knew we had to get tickets. If I remember correctly, it was $60 for two and the meal included 6 Dos Equis beers, an amuse, 2 Chicago-style hot dogs, two of their foie gras topped hot dogs, and an order of duck fat fries.
Ed Levine and Doug Sohn
Beer
Chefs in the kitchen
Jason
Jason and JJ
Amuse of fancy pigs in a blanket with spicy mustard (not surprising that these were Jason’s favorite of the whole night, aside from the beer that is)
Chicago-style hot dog with the works
Foie gras topped hot dog
Duck fat fries
All of the food was good but surprisingly, my favorite was the “homely” Chicago dog. I thought it would be the foie gras dog but without anything acidic/sweet/tart, it was a bit too rich for me. The Chicago dog was perfect though with the refreshing and crunchy fresh vegetables on top. I think the duck fat fries had been fried a little bit earlier so by the time we got to them, they weren’t as crispy as I would have liked but the flavor was good nonetheless.
The highlight/memorable moment of the evening for me though wasn’t the food. It was getting to meet and speak to Doug Sohn for a few minutes as we waited in line to get our food. Yes, he is THE Doug behind Hot Doug’s. He stood at the front of the line and spoke to each and every person at the event. It wasn’t surprising that he did though because he apparently mans the register at the storefront in Chicago almost all the time. Being owners of a food establishment ourselves, we totally respect his passion for his craft and appreciate that he loves to talk to his customers. He is a very funny, down to earth, and approachable guy.
When he learned that we were new owners of a food place, he quickly offered up some hard-earned advice. He told us to never look at blogs and online review sites (i.e; Yelp). He said that our goal shouldn’t be to please everybody and that we shouldn’t change what we do based on the opinion of a few people. That’s hard for me to do and whilst I don’t agree 100% with that philosophy because I do think that listening to our customers is important, I do understand that there will always be naysayers no matter how good the food. Now every time I read a negative review or comment on Twitter about us, I think about Doug’s advice, take a deep breathe, assess whether there’s any merit in the person’s opinion, and usually just close down my browser because I find none.
In any case, Jason and I are heading to Chicago for our annual anniversary trip (read about last year’s in New Orleans here) this year. So far I have about 30 places on our Chicago Google map to go to but rest assured, Hot Doug is at the top of the list and one of the places that definitely will not be missed.
Tags:Astor Center,hot dogs,Hot Doug's
Hot Doug’s is definitely an edible gem of our fair city but it’s in GREAT company. Sounds like you have more recos than you know what to do with for your trip but if you get a chance…Longman & Eagle, Big Star, Hoosier Mama Pie Co, Floriole Bakery, Picolo Sogno, Mado, Avec, Jerry’s Sandwiches…all delicious.
JLH: Thanks so much for the recs. I’ll try to stop by a few of those places~