Chicago’s Dog House

If imitation is the highest form of flattery, Hot Doug’s Doug Sohn must be blushing. The friendly recent grads running the show at this hot-dog shop in the heart of Lincoln Park serve picture-perfect Chicago-style dogs and hand-dipped corn dogs along with a rotating menu of franks with cheeky names like the Blago (“Opening bid: $1,000”) and the Snoop Dogg. Specialty sausages are hit-or-miss (the rib-eye steak dog was nearly swallowed inside a dry-and-bready French roll), and curly wisps of potatoes are not quite crispy enough to be chips nor substantial enough to be fries. Still, if it’s time—not duck fat—you value, consider this a viable wait-free alternative to Doug’s.