Chicago’s best hot dogs: author Dennis Foley chronicles the area’s top dogs - Chicago Sun-Times

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Dennis Foley had a mission for his latest book: To eat 50 hot dogs in 50 days and live to tell all the tales.

Out now on McBride and Roche Press, “No Ketchup: Chicago’s Top 50 Hot Dogs And The Stories Behind Them” is not just a definitive guide to some of the best stands serving one of the city’s most iconic foods — from Mustard’s Last Stand in Evanston to Joey’s Red Hots in Morgan Park to Janson’s Drive-In in Beverly and everything in between — but it also uniquely profiles the hardworking people behind the counters.

There’s the story of Andja Branko, of the namesake Branko’s Sandwich Shop near DePaul University, referred to as “Mama” by the many students who pay her regular visits and get feedback on their school papers while eating a ’dog. Foley tells the story of how she emigrated from Yugoslavia in the ’70s with her parents, who still live in the apartment above Branko’s.Today, in addition to running the successful eatery and taking care of her family, Branko also participates in the Eastern European dance ensemble Balkanske Igre.

You alsolearn about the “new kid on the block,” Nick Versetto, owner of Nicky V’s on 159^th Street in Oak Forest. At only 37, Versetto already made a career for himself flipping homes and working in the banking industry, but his dream was always to own a hot dog stand. In 2019, Versetto made that a reality, scooping up the old Doug’s Dogs spot, keeping the iconic Lady Liberty statue on top of the roof, a likely symbol of his own American Dream. Nicky V’s is the newest hot dog stand that Foley profiled in his book while the oldest institution is Dave’s Red Hots, a West Side mainstay for 80-plus years.

The classic Chicago-style hot dog boasts mustard, celery salt, sport peppers, relish, onions, pickles and tomatoes.

File Photo

“The hot dog has been written about and blogged about a bunch, of course, but rarer are the stories about the owners, the mom and pop people who even before COVID-19 have fallen on tough times, and 2020 certainly hasn’t helped,” says Foley, explaining his process for writing the book, which he started in December of 2019 and took just a few months to put together. “I would go into these different places, order up a ‘dog, and if I liked it, I gave the owners a little information about the book I was putting together and set up a time to do an interview. I had a blast talking to them and now being able to share their stories.”

Foley — who was raised on the South Side and currently lives in the Beverly neighborhood — had his own short list of places to visit.

“I went back to my ‘old faithfuls.’ I’m a hot dog fanatic and have been to a lot of these places over the years,” he says. As a former electrician for the Streets And Sanitation Department of the City of Chicago, Foley says it was his job to “work and eat lunch,” and in those seven years he compiled a list of his favorite eateries, which ultimately culminated in his first book, 2004’s “The Streets And San Man’s Guide To Chicago Eats,” a book he worked on while enrolled in writing courses at Columbia College Chicago. It won first place for humor in the Midwest Independent Publishers Association Book Awards and remains one of Lake Claremont Press’ best-selling titles ever.

Author Dennis Foley enjoys a hot dog at Doug’s Dogs, the iconic Oak Forest restaurant, complete with a Statue of Liberty on the roof.

Patrick Foley

But he also hit up some of his “foodie friends” for recommendations. One of his favorite discoveries was Henry’s Drive-In in Cicero where owner Tony Rotolo impressed Foley with his own hot dog recipe processed by a food maker in Michigan, as well as an old steam generator Rotolo uses that keeps the ’furters fresh.

As Foley notes in the book, his take on the perfect hot dog has a few necessary requirements: it must be all-beef; it must have the right curve and shape to give a “snap” when you bite into it; it should be steamed (not charred); and the bun should be steamed. Though Foley prefers poppyseed buns, a naked bun will do too, he says. And most important, it must have the “holy M7” add-ons — “the magnificent seven ingredients” that truly make up a Chicago hot dog: mustard, onions, relish, pickles, tomatoes, sport peppers and celery salt.

As his book title suggests, that list does not include ketchup. While Foley personally thinks that the “no ketchup” rule is a matter of Chicago pride, he does affirm that while attending a two-day class at Vienna Beef’s Hot Dog University in preparation for the book, he learned that the reason ketchup is not recommended is that “it gives [the hot dog] too much acidity and makes it too sweet.”

Foley has his own mustard bottle rating system for places profiled in his book, though to keep it positive, none fall under the “3-bottle mark.” He also provides his own commentary if the hot dogs are “thummy” (as thick as your thumb) or “pinky” (as thick as your pinky finger). Of all the stands he visited, Foley also divulges his favorite Top 5 North Side, Top 5 South Side, Top 5 Suburban and Top 5 Specialty Dog spots. North Side honors go to (in order): Wolfy’s, Byron’s Hot Dogs, Superdawg, Branko’s Sandwich Shop and Budacki’s Drive-In. South Side honors go to: Fat Johnnie’s, Don’s Drive In On Kedzie, Fat Tommy’s, Dan’s Hot Dogs and The Skyway Dog House. “Of all those, Fat Johnnies is my primary ‘go-to-’dog’” he says.

In a virtual Zoom event in partnership with the Highland Park Historical Society on Oct. 22, Foley will share his hot takes on hot dogs, including the history of the hot dog in Chicago (first introduced at the 1893 World’s Fair) and how he personally refrained from getting sick on his 50-day journey.

“As soon as I told my wife the idea she called our insurance guy to up our policy,” he jokes, “but I had this rule of walking a mile for every hot dog I ate. I only gained a few pounds.”

“No Ketchup,” which can be purchased now through Amazon or locally at Barbara’s Bookstore, Quimby’s in the Bucktown area, and several of the hot dog stands, is perfectly sized to fit in a car glovebox and includes coupons for many of the eateries.

“I still go out and get hot dogs now, but I just throw mask on,” says Foley of his tried-and-true routine during the pandemic. “And it’s great because I’ve had a couple of the owners tell me that people are buying the book and making the rounds. It’s nice to hear that because of the book they can get a few more people coming through and can keep their doors open.”

Selena Fragassi is a local freelance writer.

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October 21, 2020 at 04:00AM
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Chicago’s best hot dogs: author Dennis Foley chronicles the area’s top dogs - Chicago Sun-Times

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