A Chicago Culinary Institution

The Chicago culinary scene is a deep, complex one that often is only talked about in terms of the restaurant experience downtown or on the north side.  There is an entire other side of native Chicago food on the south and west sides of the city.  Predominately black and poor, these areas offer a different type of Chicago culinary take that is just as good tasting as its counterparts in other parts of town. 

One such institution is the famous Home of the Hoagy.  This small, unassuming take out only restaurant touts some of the city’s best French fries and mild sauce, along with its famous “Meal on a bun.”  This steak hoagy is chopped steak, onions, and green peppers drenched in a sweet and tangy mild sauce with your choice of sweet, hot, or both peppers and cheese.  It is the type of sandwich that brings back childhood memories of long hot summer days and endless nights.  It is perfection on a bun, a mouthwatering dance of flavors, textures, and temperatures. There are ham, turkey, and mixed cold cuts for hoagies as well.  They all are served with super thinly sliced onions in a vinaigrette, lettuce, tomato, and cheese on a hoagy style bun. 

                But what stands out to me, what makes me crave for this restaurant are its fries with sauce.  Chicago is a town known for mild sauce; everyone has their own version of it.  Home of the Hoagy just happens to do it best to me.  Your fries are given in a regular paper fry bag, placed in a plastic bag with a fork.  What is so wonderful about these fries is that they are so crispy, that the sauce, which is doused on heavily doesn’t make them soggy.  I do not know how they manage that, but they do.  I have eaten cold fries that have been sitting for a while in sauce, and still the French fry has maintained its integrity.  The mild sauce itself is sweet, vinegary, spicy, and just wonderful with a thick sticky consistency. 

                While Hot Doug’s may have fries fried in duck fat, he does not have fries with sauce, let’s venture out of what is the normal Chicago food scene locations, and see the rest of the city.  Home of the Hoagy is located at 1312 W. 111th Street.  The lines are long, the service is questionable, but the food is outstanding.  All of the color adds to a different and exciting dining experience.  Opened Monday- Saturday from 10amish until 11pmish, closed on Sunday.  They have a number but calling ahead is not a guarantee of faster service 773.238.7171.  Explore the other sides of the Chi.