Hot Dog! Doug's Rises From The Ashes

By Rachelle Bowden in Food on Dec 1, 2004 10:08PM

Chicagoist lived in Roscoe Village for almost a year before we'd discovered Hot Doug's, though it's not as if you could have blamed us. Nestled in a small storefront on the west end of the Roscoe Street hubbub of commerce, Hot Doug's was the kind of place you had to seek out if you were new to the neighborhood.

If you were patient enough to handle the throngs of people who crowded the tiny space during the few, inconvenient hours it was open, eating your first sausage at Hot Doug's was like the first time you had sex in a position other than missionary. You were eating meat the way meat should be eaten and you swore to yourself you would never eat a boring old hot dog again.

Unfortunately, a fire in April in the apartment behind Hot Doug's left those of us who cherished its inspired use of meat in sausage form from a variety of game meats to unique culinary creations to look elsewhere for our fix as the site temporarily closed. And don't get us started on how life was like these past months when we had to eat French fries that weren't prepared in duck fat.

Thankfully, despite conflicting reports that had the hot dog joint reopening in the summer and fall of this year, the official word at Hot Doug's is that they're set to reopen in January 2005 at a brand-new location. According to the Web site, look for Hot Doug's to open at 3324 N. California Avenue on the corner of Roscoe and California. Plans are in the works for expanded seating and an outdoor dining area in the warmer months.

Thanks, Erin!