Entries associated with the tag "Hot Doug's":

Tom Tunney's stealth attempt to repeal the foie gras ban just passed in the City Council 37 to 6.

Joe Moore was pissed. After what some say was Tunney's "unprecedented" end run around regular procedural rules, he scolded the council for not allowing a debate on the matter: "Today it happened to me. Tomorrow it could happen to you."

"Thank you Alderman Joe "Foie Gras" Moore," replied the mayor with a dismissive rap of the gavel.

Over at Hot Doug's the only Chicagoan busted under the ban, Doug Sohn, says he'll bring back his foie gras-duck sausage as soon as he sees the law on paper.

This just in, from HD HQ:

This just in: Henry Adaniya of the late Trio has resurfaced on Oahu with a hot dog shop serving--get this--foie gras hot dogs! Well, I never. 

Hank's Haute Dogs will serve classic Chicago dogs, polishes, a local Portuguese sausage (available with kimchi), brats, something called a "no dog" (with avocado, tomato, onion, cucumber, Chinese parsley, chipotle mayo, cheddar), and, according to this interview, a series of custom dogs featuring "lobster, rabbit, boar, buffalo, venison . . . " In the aforementioned piece Adaniya says his inspiration was the hot dog stand his parents ran on a Hawaiian beach before he was born. 

Of course the real question is why Doug Sohn's business model hasn't been kyped in every city on the planet by now.

Notorious crankypants Marco Pierre White -- the man who, as the headline for today's Salon story notes, "made Gordon Ramsay cry" -- was in Chicago a few weeks back to promote his new book, The Devil in the Kitchen. Where did he eat? Alinea, of course. But while he gives Grant Achatz props for his technical chops ("This boy, I believe, can win three stars in the Michelin guide"), he found the experience too fussy and controlled. He'll take a rabbit dog any day:

"But when I was in Chicago, I also went to Hot Doug's, and it's amazing. There's a queue like you've never seen. Doug [Sohn, the owner] has got one eye on the kitchen, one eye on the room, and he's taking their money. I loved him -- he's an old-fashioned restaurateur. Even that one, it isn't just hot dogs. They are hot dogs with a difference. [Sohn] has a sausage maker, they work out the recipes -- so you might have a sausage with rabbit, with mustard, and with the onions and cheese on top. What a lunch! But you know, and here's the thing: That boy serves a hot dog -- and a great hot dog, let's not forget that -- but at 4 o'clock he closes the door and he goes home to his family. He doesn't leave anyone else to look over it. Interesting, isn't it? He has the same philosophy as a great chef."

Also, still doesn't like Ramsay.

(Via Bookslut) 

Anthony Bourdain really, really hates the Food Network. Really. (Ruhlman)

Bill Daley reports on his trip to the IACP conference. (Tribune)

Just what is Hot Doug going to do with 30 pounds of foie? (Sun-Times)

Ramps: the meth of the food world? (Hungry)

Shiner Bock, the beer that made Austin drunk, if not famous, makes its Chicago debut. (Chicagoist)

Today Doug Sohn faces a city hearing officer who will levy a fine for violating the anti-foie gras ordinance. But anyone expecting a Doug vs. Goliath-type showdown will be disappointed. 

"I'm not gonna be there," Sohn told me yesterday. "It's a glorified traffic court. My attorney's instructions are to go in, pay the fine, say thank you, and leave." No chance of a media circus, he says. "If I was dealing with the anti-foie gras people yeah, fine, I'll take that argument on all day. [But] this is now dealing with the city. It got dumped on the health department.  They're not happy about it. So when I sort of poke and prod they're not happy with with me, and my argument's not with the health department or the city of Chicago. . . . To me it's not a big enough deal to warrant the interruption of business. It's just a duck."

Sohn says foie gras will return to Hot Doug's when the ban is overturned. 

UPDATE: The Trib was on the scene. The city handed Sohn the minumum fine--$250 

As Liz suggested, the most entertaining aspect of Chicago's Battle Foie Gras is the naked display of agenda among the politicians, activists, chefs, and publicists in the trenches. It's a grand drama in which even the most beloved players aren't above suspicion of crass opportunism or "sketchy ass"-ness.

Enter, stage northwest, Fred Markoff, owner of the Glenview specialty sausage stand with a familiarly punning eponymous name, fRedhots and Fries. Yesterday, four days after Hot Doug's was busted, the restaurant's publicist fired off a press release introducing a "Legal in the Suburbs Duck and Foie Gras Sausage ($8.50 including tax)" With duck liver sausage off the menu at Hot Doug's, and Doug himself on vacation until March 5, how will he survive the mass exodus of fickle customers to the suburbs?

Tune in tomorrow . . .

The Tribune reports the Man raided Hot Doug's yesterday, "sealed" his foie gras, and slapped him with the city's first ticket in violation of the foie gras ordinance. Doug's hearing date is March 29; he faces a fine somewhere between $250 and $500.