At the end, the lines started at 1:30 am. Even though the restaurant didn't open until 10:30 am, if you weren't in line by 9 am, you weren't getting in, though the restaurant didn't close until 4 pm.
All for a hot dog. Okay, a really good hot dog. And duck-fat fries on Friday and Saturday.
Hot Doug's is a Chicago institution that is closing its doors today at 4 pm for the last time. The establishment has always drawn lines, especially on Friday and Saturday, even before we heard that the place was closing for good. Once that happened, the lines got ridiculous.
Doug Sohn has always run Hot Doug's in his own manner. Open 10:30 am-4 pm 6 days a week. Closed Sundays. Cash only.
The hot dogs offered unusual combinations with unique wild game meats and really good duck-fat fries.
The lines are what made Hot Doug's legendary.
Yes, people wait in lines for pretentious places. Hot Doug's was never pretentious. When someone on Craigslist offered $200 to "only" wait 45 minutes, Sohn went on Twitter to strongly discourage the practice.
Before the closing hype produced lines of several hours, a typical wait on a Saturday afternoon was 90 minutes-2 hours. To be fair, the wait on Saturdays factored in the duck-fat fries.
The wait was worth doing, though you did wonder why you took up a lovely Saturday afternoon for a hot dog.
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I did try once this summer to get one last taste. After 2 hours, and being nowhere near the entrance, I gave up. This was the only time I waited and didn't get in. As much as I loved Hot Doug's, I couldn't wait more than 2 hours.
If I had been in Toronto for the In-N-Out popup, I would have waited longer than 2 hours because that day was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. But I wouldn't have waited 9 hours, like some of those Hot Doug's customers.
By being open 5½ hours, 6 days a week. Sohn inadvertently created this hysteria that lasted until the last day.
The last day for Hot Doug's features cold and rainy weather. But the people will still be in line. And because it's Friday, they will be rewarded with duck-fat fries.
One more thing you should know about Sohn. When Chicago came up with a foie gras ban, many upscale restaurants gave away foie gras to quietly get around the ban. Sohn publicly sold hot dogs with foie gras and made sure city officials knew what he was doing. Sure Sohn got fined but his open ridicule of the ban got him fame and brought a swift end to the ban.
Sohn said he would be the last person in line today. Sohn runs the counter so a friend will get the opportunity to ring in Sohn's order. Of course, Sohn won't have to wait hours like everyone else.
photo credit: Wikipedia/cometstarmoon Flickr
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