Sunday, March 8, 2009

The Hot Dog Platform

Hot dogs are viewed differently from children to adults. Children put ketchup and mustard on their hot dogs. Adults put mustard and other condiments on their hot dogs. One of the best ways to eat a hot dog is Chicago style. At Chicago Gyro's & Dogs (an awful name), formerly Pug's Dog House (an awesome name), this involves yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, sport peppers, celery salt and french fries. It turns a hot dog into a meal.

A hot dog is a pretty crappy piece of meat and a hot dog bun is the worst type of bread that you can have. What makes it terrible is that most hot dog vendors boil the hot dog and steam the bun instead of grilling both. The hot dog overcomes this because it is a canvas to do some awesome things.

Consider the rest of Pug's (former but similar to now) Menu:

Pug's Chicago Style Hot Dog: - $2.50
Served with yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, sport peppers, fries and celery salt.
Chicago Dog without fries: - $2.25
Served with yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions & sport peppers.
Chili Works: - $3.25
Pug's Chicago Style Hot Dog topped with Chili & Cheese.
Slaw Dog: - $2.50
Topped with our homemade creamy coleslaw
Pug's Double Dog: - $3.75
Chicago Style Hot Dog with 2 dogs.
Rachel's Favorite: - $2.75
Chicago Dog with HOT Giardiniera.


Pug's City Dog - $2.50
Served with Tomato slices, yellow mustard, bright green relish, chopped onions, dill pickle spear & celery salt.
Chili Cheese Dog: - $2.75
Mustard & Onion upon request.
Kraut Dog: - $2.50
Served with loads of Sauerkraut Mustard & Onion upon request.
The Fedyk Dog: - $3.25
Served with Chili, Cheese, Mustard, Chopped Onion, Cole slaw & Fries.
My favorite one out of these is The Fedyk Dog (on current menu). It is named after a UD football player, http://www.daytonflyers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/102105aab.html, whose culinary legacy may be more pronounced than his football legacy.

Pug's is my daughter's favorite restaurant in Dayton. She has very sophisticated hot dog tastes for being a youngster. Her favorite hot dog has relish, ketchup, mustard, and french fries. That will be what she orders on her birthday. I can also convince her to try every hot dog on their menu (without sport peppers). The hot dog is great for the food you can put on top of it.

This restaurant has good atmosphere. It is a small shop and you order from the counter. The walls have a lot of posters about UD and their Chicago hot dog vendor. The owners were very, very nice because I think the kids and I got unlimited french fries. We'll give the atmosphere 4 out of 5 lunch hours because of the unlimited french fries.

The food is really quite spectacular. I have not tried their gyros but their hot dogs are always worth the trip. Additionally, their french fries are small, fried, and very salty. They are worth a trip of their own. Though Chicago really needs a chili cheese fries option on the menu, I give the food 4 out of 5 lunch hours.

11 comments:

  1. I agree that Chicago Gyro's and Dogs on Wayne is great. The owners are very nice and the food is great. You said you hadn't tried the gyros yet, but if you like gyros then do yourself a favor and try one - they are some of the best in town.

    Thanks for starting your blog - we have added it to our blogroll at DaytonMostMetro.com (http://www.daytonmostmetro.com/index.php/blogosphere/dayton-blogs/)

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  2. You might want to put an address on your posts- since Chicago's is on WILMINGTON- not Wayne.
    Hours, phone, web address if available helps.

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  3. Havn't been since they turned into a gyros place, but Pugs was a good Chicago-style hot dog joint, esp since they had Vienna hot dogs, which was one of the big brands up in Chicago for hot dog stands. They had Italian beef, too. Very authentic.

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  4. Oops, yes it is on Wilmington.

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  5. I stopped eating there when I had to request, more than once, that the person handling the money PLEASE wear gloves while preparing food and start over with my order. They were nice other than the irritated response I got from that request.
    I loved it because I could go there for a quick bite since I work at Hospice of Dayton. The chicken souvlaki was my fave. Ate there probably 3 times a week.
    But the longer the place was open the dirtier it got. I just had to take it off my list.

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  6. Have you by chance had the pleasure of viewing "The Hotdog Program"?

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  7. Tracy, yes, I have viewed the best hour of television in history.

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  8. At Anonymous Their not using gloves and your eating is a greasy place that serves hot dogs...
    That should be the last thing on your mind.

    BTW Pug Dogs was a kick ass name!

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  9. Be sure to try What-A-Dog on Salem Ave near Hillcrest. Yummy Chicago style dogs and the owner is a very nice guy.

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  10. If you're a gyro lover, like myself, you will LOVE their gyros. It's a classic Chicago-style pita sandwich with LOADS of gyro meat. Dayton has NEVER offered a good gyro anywhere (until now), and I've had them all. This place is as good as a gyro gets. Quick service, very reasonable prices, and absolutely top-notch quality. I've also had their italian beef sandwich and it is equally impressive, but the gyro has the best taste. They were just a bit niggardly with their onions and tomatoes, but you can always throw a few more on when you get home. Their cucumber sauce (tziki) is excellent, and they are happy to give you some extra if you ask. For under $5.00, I have not found a better gyro anywhere in the world. In Chicago, where I travel to frequently, they have awesome gyros, but they're up to $8.00. And this place in Dayton is almost half the price. You can't go wrong here.

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  11. I just read the comment from the hag who complained about them not wearing gloves. Astounding. The food is prepared on a 400 degree griddle. No germs are going to survive that kind of heat. I'd bet anything this lady has put her mouth on much dirtier things, and probably had a cigarette afterwards. People like this make me sick....they always have to find something wrong with a place. If this lady only knew what happened in commercial kitchens that have prepared her food, she'd have a heart attack. This gyro place is as clean as the next place and their food is awesome.

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