More Chicago Hot Dogs - The Pickle and Mushy Buns (Ugh)

The Chicago Hot Dog post raises the question of the pickle or 'cuke.'  The pickle that nestles alongside the hot dog is to be a 'new' pickle. One that has not been seasoned for a lengthy period of time. By definition that means it will crunch as the teeth penetrate.

One naive reviewer, a Minnesotan (that speaks volumes), actually criticized the hot dog's pickle for having too much crunch. Sorry. Wrong. This is not open to debate.

From the Badger Herald: Chicago ‘Dog’ arrives tame in Madison

The pickle spear, traditionally the crowning accoutrement of a Chicago dog, was simply too firm for either one of us to enjoy. The frank was otherwise fine: The sweetness of the relish, the piquancy of the mustard and peppers and the fresh, grassy note of the celery salt balanced one another perfectly. Nevertheless, the pickle’s durability was a glaring interruption to this harmony.

The author arrives at this conclusion relying on someone name Jason, a Chicagoan who says:

“A Chicago dog should be mushy goodness,” he said. “You should always be able to get consistent bites, and the pickle should not be firm.”

As we noted in the original review, the bun should be properly steamed. But never mushy. Jason was undoubtedly raised in the suburbs.

The combniation of not understanding the nature of the pickle and this 'mushy' silliness is enough to make a grown man weep.

Meantime someone at Isthmus is in a snit. Here is how the good-humored heretics at Madison's weekly linked to our review:

A persnickety pompous look at the wieners from Mad Dog's Chicago-Style Eatery Paul Soglin

Obviously some people do not take well to criticism.

If Mad Dog's Chicago Style Eatery is to survive, they know who to heed.

Update: 10/12 10:20 am:

Here is a link to a website that identifies and that shows pictures of over 50 different Chicago Hot Dogs from Chicago. Notice, in virtually every instance where you can see the pickle, that it is a new pickle that clearly will crunch.

GreaseFreak.com

some samples:

Note on the next to the last one that the fries are served in the wrapper with the hot dog.

Comments

[George H.]

total agreement on crunchy pickles. nothing worse than mushy pickles.

[George H.]

total agreement on crunchy pickles. nothing worse than mushy pickles.

[Anonymous]

Your first piece was a work of art and your defense of the pickle is the same. You obviously are a man in the know on this issue and I would buy from you if you had a hot dog stand.

[grumps]

From your sublime to my absurd.

http://happycircumstance.blogspot.com/2007/10/kool-aid-dills.html

Just for the record, both the dog and the pickle should snap when you bite them.

[Anonymous]

UNFAIR! Posting those pictures are very tempting to go and have one...can you believe that a picture can make your mouth water.

[Chief]

At the risk of resurrecting an old post . . .

Had my first visit to MadDogs today and wanted to offer my two cents and pose two vital questions regarding Chicago Hot Dog cuisine.

First, my bona fides: While Hizzoner can establish credibility in a number of ways, including the fact that Vienna hot dogs were first introduced to the world at the 1893 Columbian Exhibition on the SOUTHSIDE, I grew up just off of Damen Ave, that would be a mere 14 blocks from the headquarters of Vienna on the NORTHSIDE.

Second, while I was first introduced to dogs at the cart on the corner of North Ave. and Paulina, I sampled numerous northside stands. (Of course, there was little reason to go to the southside: the occasional Sox game, the Museum of Science and Industry, and Maxwell St. are the only ones that come to mind.) I'm sure that among the cognoscenti citing joints like Tasty Pup, Tastee Hastee, and SuperDawg would establish me as a guy who knows a dog when he bites one.

Now MadDogs. Pretty good. Solid B. Would have been a B+, but my dog had just a bit too much celery salt. Without the indoor seating, it was never a conventient place to have lunch, but now that I can sit inside, that's where you will frequently find me.

But let's revisit the pickle issue, not as to it's crunchiness, but Paul's reference to pickle/cuke. I can remember instead of a pickle spear, getting two slices of fresh cucumber on my dog. Why have pickles overtaken cucumbers as the gerkin of preference? Isn't there room for both(not, obviously, on the same dog)? I would argue that late summer, when those cukes are at their peak of freshness, they're a better complement than the pickle.

Second, I miss hot tamales. When one dog isn't enough, there's nothing like a hot tamale to finish off the meal. My choice was always the "bunch" tamales, four little rolled tamales "bunched" together in one wrapping. If I had to, I would settle for a "roll" tamale, but they never seemed quite as good. These days, it seems you've got to go to a Mexican restaurant to get a tamale, and these aren't the same because, for some reason, the Mexicans don't make them the same way as the Poles, Lithuanians, and others did in Chicago.

So I'll be going back to MadDogs to try the Italian Beef and the Polish, but it's nice to know that if those don't meet the culinary test, I can always "settle" for the Chicago Dog.

Chief

[dentist Gainesville fl]

Your first piece was a work of art and your defense of the pickle is the same. You obviously are a man in the know on this issue and I would buy from you if you had a hot dog stand.