Chicago Day 4 – Superdawg

I love hot dogs.  I don’t usually eat hot dogs at home.  Except for National Hotdog Month – July, for those of you that don’t already know.  I figure if someone in marketing at the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council went to the effort to get July deemed National Hot Dog Month, then who am I to not celebrate?  I buy hot dogs in July.  And the style I like to make most is the Chicago style hot dog.  This is a an all beef hot dog topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt.  It's difficult to get the right components in Minnesota, but with a little searching and the help of mail order, it is possible to make a good approximation.  At least I thought so.

 I’ve been to Chicago a number of times, but I have never had a Chicago style hot dog in Chicago.  This had to change.  I decided to checkout Superdawg.  A drive-in started in 1948 by recent newlyweds Maurie and Flaurie (Florence) Berman on what was the edge of town.  They named their special recipe the Superdawg and today the drive-in is still family owned and one of the few remaining 50’s style drive-ins.  The two hot dogs on top of the building represent Maurie and Flaurie and beckon drivers to stop for a hot dog.

You drive into a spot next to a menu – front end in or out depending on the location of the menu and who is ordering – and you make your order over an intercom.

I order the Superdawg without fries and the startled order taker confirms that I really want my dog without fries.  I’ve found on this trip that fries are the street food sign that you have made it.  If you can serve fries, you are big time.  I've also found that if I eat the fries I’ll never be able to eat at all the places I want.

Some may argue that Superdawg isn’t completely true to the Chicago dog because they use a pickled green tomato in place of a fresh tomato, but I’m willing to let that slide.

 A server brings the bag out to my car and collects the money.

 The box is telling me that I deprived my Superdawg of being contentedly cushioned.

 Even more overstuffed than the ones I make it home, it has the flavor balance I’ve been trying to achieve.  My choice of hot dog has been all wrong and I’m a little too heavy on the mustard and celery salt.  I could eat these for all three meals of the day without hesitation. 

 This is great, I want in on naming stuff here!