Chicago Haute Dogs

It's a cute idea. Gourmet hot dogs add a little style to this basic fast food and Chicago boasts quite a few eateries offering their take. Frank N' Dawgs' adventurous menu intrigued me the most. Smoked tofu? Scallop sausage? Kimchi?  These aren't your typical hot dog ingredients and I was fascinated to discover if they actually  tasted good. So I headed to Frank N Dawgs with my skeptical hubby.

I laughed at this sign that greeted us, above. In case we didn't know, there'd be no typical dogs with peppers and relish here.

Who can think about humdrum dishes when there's triple truffle fries?  Slathered in truffle butter, truffle oil and truffle salt, we almost forgot about the hot dogs as we (mostly hubby) gobbled them down.

I opted for fried green tomatoes to accompany my dog. I liked the idea of crunchy, cornmeal covered tomatoes to offset the heaviness of the dog but the cornmeal didn't quite stick to the tomatoes. So I ended up eating the green tomatoes and then the cornmeal.

 We weren't brave enough to sample the smoked tofu or kimchi and braised short rib dogs but we did explore. This is the Lamb-orghini, lamb sausage topped with chili aioli and deep fried basil that my hubby ordered.

I tried the Tur-doggin, turkey and date sausage sprinkled with crispy duck confit, herb garlic aioli and pickled carrots. The highlight of these dogs was the soft, gently toasted and buttered rolls that they nestled in. I could eat the rolls alone and be happy. Hubby wasn't as impressed, chiefly because the two dogs, fries and tomatoes costs almost $40. That's pretty steep for what amounts to a fancy snack but high style always costs.