REVIEW
When we think of Chicago hot dogs we think of Vienna Beef, the Chicago company that produces the snapping-good garlicky franks used all over the city. Wouldn’t it be something if you could actually visit the factory and get a Chicago dog right there? Well, it turns out you can!
A Chicago dog minus onions, nestled in fries (poppy seed bun, of course)
Vienna Beef operates a workers’ cafeteria that’s open to the public. The brightly lit space looks very much like a company cafeteria, albeit one done up in bright hot-dog-joint colors, and while many employees do lunch there, more than a few folks wander in from nearby businesses. They also do a steady business with those who come by to pick up 10-pound boxes of dogs (this cafeteria also serves as a factory store, where you can purchase pretty much everything that Vienna Beef makes, like cold cuts, whole corned beefs, and big bags of smoked meat snacks).
Kind of like the old Nathans, or Katz’s deli in NY: find the counter that’s selling what you want to eat, walk up and place your order.
The room is decorated with autographed jerseys of Chicago sports stars and Vienna Beef ads (these unsigned). There’s a serve-yourself soft drink dispenser and a serve-yourself soup counter, but the real draws are the series of hot food counters, one for hot sandwiches, one for grilled foods like burgers, and one dedicated to dogs. Some of the people manning the counters hawk their wares – the woman at the hot sandwich stand one afternoon let all passersby know that her corned beef sandwiches were the best in Chicago.
Vienna Beef has thoughtfully provided clocks that tell the time anywhere in Chicago.
If Chicago dogs are new to you, there’s an excellent diagram of their construction on the Vienna Beef website. The Vienna Beef store’s Chicago dogs are notable for the absolute sparkling freshness of the toppings (yellow mustard, chopped onion, green relish, tomato wedges, pickle spear, celery salt, sport peppers, and… no ketchup). Everything is in perfect, crisp condition, the poppy seed roll is soft and fresh, and the franks themselves are of course at their best here at the factory.
Casual in the extreme – you carry your lunch on a tray to the table of your choice.
Fries are hot and crisp. And those corned beef sandwiches, piled high with steaming meat, look wonderful.
There are a couple of outside tables for those who feel that a Chicago dog just has to be consumed al fresco.
The factory is located in an area of Chicago that out-of-town travelers are not likely to find themselves in. Add to that the fact that you can’t take more than ten steps in any direction in Chicago without encountering a Chicago dog, and you may surmise that a trip to Vienna Beef is not worth the effort. You would be mistaken. It’s surely worth the short drive to try a Chicago dog at its best, at its source.
As the sign says, the public is most definitely welcome at the Vienna Beef cafeteria.
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