FREDHOTS
by Walt and Paula
It’s not really a stretch to have a hot dog at ten in the morning as we have learned from previous encounters in Chicago. We rarely need to eat breakfast following a night in Chicago. And besides, 10:30 in Chicago, is really 11:30 in Ann Arbor, so it’s almost lunch time for us.
With that, we set out for Fredhot’s; no disrespect to Fred, but it’s the Northern suburbs version of Hot Dougs. What’s missing from Fredhots is the perpetual line you experience at Hot Dougs.
In seeing the blank stare of the first timer on our faces, Al, behind the counter directed our attention to the specials of the day. What we chose was the Antelope sausage with a pommegranite mustard, lightly sauteed onions and sprinkled with the Mexican feta-like cheese, on a beautiful poppy seed bun. It was the best looking bun we’ve seen. The meat was slightly gamey tasting but was complimented by the slightly sweet sauce. The bun was full and sturdy, yet soft.
The Chicago Dog was superb, possibly the best we have had yet in Chicago. The tomato was perfectly ripe, the pepper was larger than usual, the hot dog had the perfect snap. We had been thinking it would be hard for a Chicago style dog to stand out from all the rest, given that all are made with Vienna beef dogs. But Fred’s clearly makes the difference by using the best of the additional ingredients.
Walt had asked Al if he were the owner. He said no, directing us to Fred who was in the dining area bussing a table in a chef’s coat. Fred Markoff embodies two current trends in food. Fred appears to be a pioneer in both. First is the alternate career of the baby boomer, leaving corporate IT, for a passion in food. And secondly, after earning his culinary chops as a chef and manager of other well known establishments, Fred turned a simple cuisine into a more in depth concept, in this case the Chicago canvas of hot dogs, french fries and Italian Beef sandwiches.
The menu board at Fredhots lists Belgian style French fries. This is a claim not to be taken lightly. Belgian fries are twice cooked. The first time at a lower temperature to cook the potato through, again, cut size is important. The second time, in hotter oil to crisp the outside for serving. Fred apologized to us for todays fries explaining that the water content in the potatoes during peak summer french fry season can vary significantly. For Belgian fries, they lacked a little crisp. To us, they were still very good. Fred’s culinary chops show in the sauces he serves with the fries. We were delighted with our two choices of curried mayo and a Thai mayo. Fred researched the most popular Belgian sauces to determine which he could recreate in his limited space. .
While it would be easy to compare Hot Dougs to Fredhots, because of their seemingly similar offerings, both are great places on their own, and worth seeking out.
Fredhots also serves an Italian Beef Sandwich. In taking an idea from mothers in New Orleans, Fred uses the scraps from the Italian Sliced Beef to produce a “Debris” (pronounced Day/Bree in Naw’lans) Po-Boy Sandwich. He gave us a sample of the meat. It was delicious, but we just didn’t have room to eat one more thing, so we promised to return. It’s always a treat at these smaller establishments to have the chef/owner hand you his food to enjoy. Close second to that, and in some ways on a non-food level, even better, is having the owner mingling in the seating area as Fred does, or taking your order, as does Doug at Hot Dougs.
Fred talked with us between helping in the tiny grill area, bussing tables, and waiting on customers. If he were a little less of a food lover and a little more of a business operations manager, given time, he would be like Portillos. In two years, when his lease is up at his current location, expect an expanded Fredhots and additional locations. He appreciated our appreciation of his product and loved talking about his experience, concept and product.
Fredhots is located at 1707 Chestnut Ave, Glenview, Il. Phone: 847-657-9200 or on the web at www.fredhots.com.
We said our goodbys to Fred and hurried onto our next location. We were in a bit of a hurry since Cemitas Puebla is known to close around 3:00 in the afternoon, just because.
In an era when we can text and call each other via cell phone and reach each other any time, any place, the Garff family takes it up a notch...we text and call each other across the country while we are simultaneously having an other-worldly food/dining experience. For example, on August 1, 2010 at exactly 11:40 a.m. PST Parry called us. We were in Chicago, it was 1:40 CST. We were eating lunch at Cemitas Puebla (more on that in Part 4) while he was eating at Bubba in San Angelina, California.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
CHICAGO Part 2
PORTILLOS
by
Walt and Paula
Next on our agenda, since we had a whole pizza to try from Burt’s Place ( see Chicago, Part 1) and knew we wouldn’t want much else to eat, but would want to sit and dine on something warmer, we went to Portillo’s Hot Dogs. We had heard Portillo’s was in a strip mall location, but in Chicagoland that’s like saying a grocery store is in a mall, because there are so many Portillo’s in malls. From it’s humble roots as a shack called The Dog House, it has grown into the largest independent chain in the mid-west. If this location is any indication, it is easy to see why. Portillo’s menu offers something for everyone in the family. The inside was a very inviting, roomy, family style environment. It was decorated in fun old time memorabilia with even a full size jeep jitney on a platform raised above the dining tables. It was clean and well lit. We read that Dick Portillo (the owner of this mega chain) began the concept idea in the mid-seventies and they have flourished ever since.
We had a decent Chicago Dog. The Italian beef Sandwich, a famous Chicago treat, was a delightful surprise. It had a nice Italian roll, that you can’t seem to get outside of major metropolitan areas with large concentrations of Italians. The beef was a thinly sliced, braised, chopped beef. The pickled peppers and jalapenos were a must. Adding cheese would qualify it as a close cousin to the Philadelphia Cheese Stake (made from thinly sliced rib eye). To Walt, what made the sandwich was the gravy. Extra gravy is standard. Next time Walt would have ordered it “fully dipped” in which the bun is actually dipped totally in the gravy before they serve it to you. It was a very beefy tasting sandwich and very juicy, due to the gravy. There have been debates on whether the fries are fresh cut or frozen. They are a thicker crisp, crinkle cut potato. They reminded Paula of her childhood. They are the kind of fry that is made when you take fresh potatoes and cook them once. They have a very pale, golden color and crisp texture. The crinkle cut adds more taste due to the high surface area.
Possibly the best thing at Portillo’s was the chocolate cake. Almost as good as Paula’s and except for the drive, a lot easier.
by
Walt and Paula
Next on our agenda, since we had a whole pizza to try from Burt’s Place ( see Chicago, Part 1) and knew we wouldn’t want much else to eat, but would want to sit and dine on something warmer, we went to Portillo’s Hot Dogs. We had heard Portillo’s was in a strip mall location, but in Chicagoland that’s like saying a grocery store is in a mall, because there are so many Portillo’s in malls. From it’s humble roots as a shack called The Dog House, it has grown into the largest independent chain in the mid-west. If this location is any indication, it is easy to see why. Portillo’s menu offers something for everyone in the family. The inside was a very inviting, roomy, family style environment. It was decorated in fun old time memorabilia with even a full size jeep jitney on a platform raised above the dining tables. It was clean and well lit. We read that Dick Portillo (the owner of this mega chain) began the concept idea in the mid-seventies and they have flourished ever since.
We had a decent Chicago Dog. The Italian beef Sandwich, a famous Chicago treat, was a delightful surprise. It had a nice Italian roll, that you can’t seem to get outside of major metropolitan areas with large concentrations of Italians. The beef was a thinly sliced, braised, chopped beef. The pickled peppers and jalapenos were a must. Adding cheese would qualify it as a close cousin to the Philadelphia Cheese Stake (made from thinly sliced rib eye). To Walt, what made the sandwich was the gravy. Extra gravy is standard. Next time Walt would have ordered it “fully dipped” in which the bun is actually dipped totally in the gravy before they serve it to you. It was a very beefy tasting sandwich and very juicy, due to the gravy. There have been debates on whether the fries are fresh cut or frozen. They are a thicker crisp, crinkle cut potato. They reminded Paula of her childhood. They are the kind of fry that is made when you take fresh potatoes and cook them once. They have a very pale, golden color and crisp texture. The crinkle cut adds more taste due to the high surface area.
Possibly the best thing at Portillo’s was the chocolate cake. Almost as good as Paula’s and except for the drive, a lot easier.
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