Jacky's Hot Dogs - Chicago, IL

My A#1 Favorite Chili Dog anywhere . . . 

Jacky’s is a total nostalgia trip.  Saying I’ve been getting chili dogs at Jacky’s forever isn’t quite hyperbole.  It’s been at least 45 years.  When I was a kid in Chicago, my mom worked at the Osco across the street, and often a trip from near Ford City where we lived to pick her up from work would involve a stop 

The place has barely changed.  Same building, same sign, same concession stand menu boards, and the same row of round spinning stationary counter stools in the front window.  To sit at that counter with a brown paper lunch bag of goodness looking out the window at Pulaski traffic . . . man, I love it and miss it.  It might be a decade between stops, and still the good ol’ same old same old  

If anything’s different it’s that the place looks cleaner, less shody, and the staff was a bit more friendly than normal.  Chatting with the guy running the show on the last visit, I pointed towards my daughter, and his eyes lit up in surprise when I told him I’d been coming to Jacky’s since I was her age!

In all that time, I’ve tried little of the menu.  A Chicago Dog; the occasional Pizza Puff.  They have the usual gamut of Chicago Style staples . . . Maxwell Street Polish, Italian Sausage, Gyros, Burgers, deep fried Whatnots.  Looking at the online I see they have Italian Beef which I don’t know I was ever aware of, and might have to try it on the next visit

My go-to is always the same.  A Chili Dog (or dogs) w/ Onions and a Tom Tom Tamale . . . 

Oh, to the unnostalgia'd it may not be pretty to look at, but that's a thing of beauty to me.  The chili is a rare breed that's brown gravey-ish and untomato-y, maybe a tidge pasty.  To their credit, they've never been shy with the onions.  It's a unicorn of a chili dog, and it's fantastic

Like a lot of Chicago dog joints, crappy fries come standard in the bag with your dog.  Jacky's are of the even crappier variety than normal, and sitting in the bag for any length of time won't help them.  But it's not about the fries, and never ever was

And ya gotta have a Tom Tom Tamale.  Nothing wrong with Supremes, I love those too.  Maybe Tom Tom is a bit drier and less greasy?  Doesn't matter, this is the type of bastardized tamale I grew up on

I try to make a point to hit Jacky's every time I’m back in Chicago, but it’s just so awkward and inefficient to get to from the Elmhurst area.  There's just no good direct way to get there, so it takes an hour, but I do NEED to get to finally try Birrieria Zaragoza which is right down Pulaski, so maybe next summer . . . 

If you're from Chicago, you have your favorite dog place, your favorite beef place.  Jacky's is my dog place.  Go check'em out

Comments, Questions, Two Bit Opinions, and Whatnot are welcome:

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Jacky's Hot Dogs - 5415 S Pulaski Rd, Chicago, IL 60632

773-767-7676