Lunch at Hot Doug's and dinner at The Publican
Posted 07-14-2009 at 01:24 PM by Nicko
Well if anyone reads my blog you know I am die hard pork loving kind of guy. So when my long time friend Nicholas George from culinary school came into town for a visit it was a great opportunity to try some new places. To my surprise both places Nick suggested I had not been to and were both places I was eager to try.
Hot Doug's
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The first was Hot Doug's which has been a Chicago hot spot for quite a few years now. Known for their unique selection of hot dogs and sausages it is not your typical hot dog stand. Probably one of the main reasons I have never ventured to Doug's is the horror stories of the long lines. As a matter of fact one of the ChefTalk community members posted a nice thread about their visit and included a photo of the line out the door here:
http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/resta...-emporium.html
We arrived at Hot Doug’s on a Thursday around 11:00 am and it looked like we beat the noon time rush since our wait was only about 10 minutes. The place is a hole in the wall but it has character and Doug is a cool guy. The menu options are unique and I found myself having hard time trying to decide on which dog I wanted because they all looked so good. In the end we opted for one Chicago style hot dog each, one smoked crayfish hot dog, one foie gras hot dog, a large order of fries and a couple of cokes.
The Chicago classics were excellent and what you would expect. No ketchup though, and there is a sign on the wall that says “No ketchup on hot dogs” so mind your manners at Doug’s or you might get the boot. The other two dogs were excellent any like nothing I had ever tried before. I mean c’mon how often do you have a Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris served on a hot dog bun? Both sausages (Foie gras and smoked crayfish) were tasty and filling. I recommend going with one or two friends and ordering several different dogs and sharing as we did. One of these sausages is enough to fill you up with an order of fries so it pays to share so you can try different choices. It was really nice to see someone doing something so different with something so classic as a hot dog. I found myself as a former chef wishing I had come up with a similar idea.
Hot Doug’s serve duck fat fries on Friday and Saturday but if you go, go early or bring a book to read while you stand in line.
The Publican
==========
The second place my friend Nick wanted to try was The Publican, Chef Paul Kahan’s new place. Visit them at Publican - News and Events. This is my kind of place, the type of establishment that I would go back to regularly to enjoy great beers and food with friends.
The focus of the restaurant is pork and is not a good choice to take a vegetarian especially if it is your first date. Each week they get a whole pig in and break it down and make their amazing pork rinds, sausages and pates etc. Although they have some excellent seafood and chicken dishes the pork is the show piece and not to be missed. Going to the Publican and not trying at least one pork dish is like going to Paris and not trying the food. The menu changes daily at the Publican so I was disappointed to find out that they did not have the crab I had heard so much about on the menu. It should be noted that the have an excellent selection of fresh oysters on the menu but we were not there for oysters so we will have to try those on the next visit.
I really liked the layout and design of the restaurant it created a perfect atmosphere in my opinion. The restaurant team really tried to create something similar to a German style beer hall and I think they hit the mark. From the stand up tables to long communal tables to the long wooden handles on the beers on tap the ambiance was perfect.
There are some tables where patrons can sit by themselves, but I think you will have a better experience sitting at the long wooden communal tables with everyone else. We had some great conversations with our neighbors and it really ma
Here is a quick rundown of what we had:
Wines:
1976 Johannisberger Claus Riesling Kabinett (yep you read it right not a typo a 1976er and it was excellent) A gift from my friend Nick and it was so good we shared it with a few of our neighbors who also really enjoyed it.
2006 Geil, Scheurebe Kabinett, Rheinhessen, Germany (Scheurebe)
Spicy pork rinds
Bone Marrow: roasted with toast points and small parsley, shallot and caper salad
Charcuterie plate: scrapple, duck and foie gras terrine, pork pie and chorizo served with pickles and mustards
Sardines: golden raisins, pine nuts, bacon and cerignola olive
Sweetbread: bacon, mustard greens and tarragon mustard
Grilled baby octopus
Frites with George's organic egg
Little Gem salad: basil, fennel, pig's ear, radish and buttermilk-Muscatel vinaigrette
Waffle with strawberries and pear and honey butter
Whiskey kissed with pure maple syrup
I have photos of just about everything in the photo gallery so you can stop by and check it out here: Publican - ChefTalk Photo Gallery. The one area I haven’t commented on was the beers and this along with the pork dishes is one of the main reasons to visit The Publican. Unfortunately I don’t remember the beers we had and they are not on the website menu but I do remember the Belgium beer I had was excellent. They beer list is a perfect size with only 20-30 beers with about 7 on tap. Next time I will be sure to write down the beers.
In closing I have to say that The Publican is probably the best restaurant I have been to in years. The food was outstanding and there was not one dish that was under par, everything was well executed and the flavors and textures were outstanding. The service was polished and professional and that is not an easy task with communal tables. My only negative comment is that it is very loud when the restaurant is packed. The Publican is my new Chicago favorite I highly recommend you check it out. If you have eaten there I would love to hear your comments and experience.
Hot Doug's
===========
The first was Hot Doug's which has been a Chicago hot spot for quite a few years now. Known for their unique selection of hot dogs and sausages it is not your typical hot dog stand. Probably one of the main reasons I have never ventured to Doug's is the horror stories of the long lines. As a matter of fact one of the ChefTalk community members posted a nice thread about their visit and included a photo of the line out the door here:
http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/resta...-emporium.html
We arrived at Hot Doug’s on a Thursday around 11:00 am and it looked like we beat the noon time rush since our wait was only about 10 minutes. The place is a hole in the wall but it has character and Doug is a cool guy. The menu options are unique and I found myself having hard time trying to decide on which dog I wanted because they all looked so good. In the end we opted for one Chicago style hot dog each, one smoked crayfish hot dog, one foie gras hot dog, a large order of fries and a couple of cokes.
The Chicago classics were excellent and what you would expect. No ketchup though, and there is a sign on the wall that says “No ketchup on hot dogs” so mind your manners at Doug’s or you might get the boot. The other two dogs were excellent any like nothing I had ever tried before. I mean c’mon how often do you have a Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Sel Gris served on a hot dog bun? Both sausages (Foie gras and smoked crayfish) were tasty and filling. I recommend going with one or two friends and ordering several different dogs and sharing as we did. One of these sausages is enough to fill you up with an order of fries so it pays to share so you can try different choices. It was really nice to see someone doing something so different with something so classic as a hot dog. I found myself as a former chef wishing I had come up with a similar idea.
Hot Doug’s serve duck fat fries on Friday and Saturday but if you go, go early or bring a book to read while you stand in line.
The Publican
==========
The second place my friend Nick wanted to try was The Publican, Chef Paul Kahan’s new place. Visit them at Publican - News and Events. This is my kind of place, the type of establishment that I would go back to regularly to enjoy great beers and food with friends.
The focus of the restaurant is pork and is not a good choice to take a vegetarian especially if it is your first date. Each week they get a whole pig in and break it down and make their amazing pork rinds, sausages and pates etc. Although they have some excellent seafood and chicken dishes the pork is the show piece and not to be missed. Going to the Publican and not trying at least one pork dish is like going to Paris and not trying the food. The menu changes daily at the Publican so I was disappointed to find out that they did not have the crab I had heard so much about on the menu. It should be noted that the have an excellent selection of fresh oysters on the menu but we were not there for oysters so we will have to try those on the next visit.
I really liked the layout and design of the restaurant it created a perfect atmosphere in my opinion. The restaurant team really tried to create something similar to a German style beer hall and I think they hit the mark. From the stand up tables to long communal tables to the long wooden handles on the beers on tap the ambiance was perfect.
There are some tables where patrons can sit by themselves, but I think you will have a better experience sitting at the long wooden communal tables with everyone else. We had some great conversations with our neighbors and it really ma
Here is a quick rundown of what we had:
Wines:
1976 Johannisberger Claus Riesling Kabinett (yep you read it right not a typo a 1976er and it was excellent) A gift from my friend Nick and it was so good we shared it with a few of our neighbors who also really enjoyed it.
2006 Geil, Scheurebe Kabinett, Rheinhessen, Germany (Scheurebe)
Spicy pork rinds
Bone Marrow: roasted with toast points and small parsley, shallot and caper salad
Charcuterie plate: scrapple, duck and foie gras terrine, pork pie and chorizo served with pickles and mustards
Sardines: golden raisins, pine nuts, bacon and cerignola olive
Sweetbread: bacon, mustard greens and tarragon mustard
Grilled baby octopus
Frites with George's organic egg
Little Gem salad: basil, fennel, pig's ear, radish and buttermilk-Muscatel vinaigrette
Waffle with strawberries and pear and honey butter
Whiskey kissed with pure maple syrup
I have photos of just about everything in the photo gallery so you can stop by and check it out here: Publican - ChefTalk Photo Gallery. The one area I haven’t commented on was the beers and this along with the pork dishes is one of the main reasons to visit The Publican. Unfortunately I don’t remember the beers we had and they are not on the website menu but I do remember the Belgium beer I had was excellent. They beer list is a perfect size with only 20-30 beers with about 7 on tap. Next time I will be sure to write down the beers.
In closing I have to say that The Publican is probably the best restaurant I have been to in years. The food was outstanding and there was not one dish that was under par, everything was well executed and the flavors and textures were outstanding. The service was polished and professional and that is not an easy task with communal tables. My only negative comment is that it is very loud when the restaurant is packed. The Publican is my new Chicago favorite I highly recommend you check it out. If you have eaten there I would love to hear your comments and experience.
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