I've walked out of there thinking the same thing. But most of the time, they are pretty good. I find they tend to get sloppy when they are very busy, which is most mealtimes, unfortunately.

I have never had the urge to go to Gene and Jude's. It doesn't look like anything special and it's one of those places that all hype and in folklore.

gullit wrote:It doesn't look like anything special.

OK. So what hot dog stands do you think look like something special?

gullit wrote:I have never had the urge to go to Gene and Jude's. It doesn't look like anything special and it's one of those places that all hype and in folklore.

Memo from Dept. of Painfully Obvious: If you've never been there, how can you say it's all hype? Not trying to start something here, but it seems unfair to come to that conclusion independently of any first-hand experience of the place.

First time I went, I didn't like it. Second time, getting warmer. Now, every time we drive by, I feel the urge.

I'm a fan, I really miss Demon Dogs in my neighborhood and this fills the void, I always volunteer to take people to and from O'Hare thereby allowing me to stop by Gene & Jude's with a small detour. I think it's a matter of taste, people who grew up with the depression style dog love it and people who didn't mostly don't get it. I don't think anybody's mind will be changed in this discussion, you either love Jimmy's and Gene & Jude's or you scratch your head wondering what all the fuss is about, which keeps the line shorter for people like me. That said, you really can't judge a place until you try it, if you don't like it then fair enough.

I like it and I drive past around once a week but every time it's just jam-packed so we very rarely stop. It's a shame really (well for me it's a shame, I'm sure the owners are pretty happy to have all that business).

It's the kind of place we go out of our way to hit every time we go to OHare. Since we usually visit at off hours we never have problems with long waits. Not only are the hot dogs nice and snappy every time, but it's a pretty filling meal for 2.25. I like the fries, but I should start asking for them well done, to give them that extra crunch.

turkob wrote:I like the fries, but I should start asking for them well done, to give them that extra crunch.

Yes!

turkob wrote: I like the fries, but I should start asking for them well done, to give them that extra crunch.

Is that an option? Not the asking, but the receiving.

Not sure since I've never done it, but I read about it up thread and it's definitely happening the next time I visit.

turkob wrote:Not sure since I've never done it, but I read about it up thread and it's definitely happening the next time I visit.

I wouldn't be at all surprised if it's dealer's choice -- if the counterman is simpatico, he'll direct a fry guy to crisp them up.

Count me in as a big fan of Gene & Jude's - great snap in those doggies. However, since Redhot Ranch opened up on Western Ave, I have less inclined to make the trek to G&J. Not saying that RHR is better, but they are a similar enough product.

David Hammond wrote:

gullit wrote:I have never had the urge to go to Gene and Jude's. It doesn't look like anything special and it's one of those places that all hype and in folklore.

Memo from Dept. of Painfully Obvious: If you've never been there, how can you say it's all hype? Not trying to start something here, but it seems unfair to come to that conclusion independently of any first-hand experience of the place.

First time I went, I didn't like it. Second time, getting warmer. Now, every time we drive by, I feel the urge.

While I agree about not judging a book by its cover, and while I try to respect other people's experiences, my experience with Gene and Jude's didn't follow the progression that yours did, David. Have tried it a half a dozen times or more, as Sweet Baboo's parent's remains rest in a cemetery nearby. I think it might be the steamed-soggy fries that are the deal breaker for me. I have no trouble driving past G&J and going to Paradise Pup instead.

Cogito wrote:I was reading the Vito & Nick's thread about how some folks call it Nick and Vito's, and it reminded of Gene & Jude's. Did anyone ever notice that their sign on River Road say "Gene & Jude's", while the one on the building's south side says "Gene's & Jude's". I would guess that the former is grammatically correct, but is the latter simply an error, or is there anything to it?

When a sentence indicates joint ownership in a compound construction, the possessive form is attached only to the second noun:

Deanna and Brandi's vacation plans
Tim and Bethany's wedding invitation

Individual ownership is marked by a double possessive:

Courtney's and Mem's grade point averages

Tim and Bethany share the same wedding invitation, whereas Courtney and Mem each have their own grade point averages.

http://www.meredith.edu/grammar/plural.htm

So assuming Gene and Jude are sharing ownership of the place, "Gene and Jude's" is correct; "Gene's and Jude's" is not.

teatpuller wrote:

turkob wrote: I like the fries, but I should start asking for them well done, to give them that extra crunch.

Is that an option? Not the asking, but the receiving.

Yes. And they actually deliver around 50% of the time.

rmtraut wrote:Count me in as a big fan of Gene & Jude's - great snap in those doggies. However, since Redhot Ranch opened up on Western Ave, I have less inclined to make the trek to G&J. Not saying that RHR is better, but they are a similar enough product.

I thought I was crazy and/or the only person who thought this! I agree totally. The dog is not as good but the fries are pretty similar and the interplay is close enough to it that I can substitute i=seeing I live 3 mins from there.

A bit of curiosity: While waiting for food at the Randhurst Five Guys, I read one of their posted reviews, and one from RedEye listed their fries as the best (popularity contest), followed by GNR's Mr. D's and Gene and Jude's.

Considering how many fewer people probably visited Mr. D's and G&G, that's a pretty ringing endorsement.

stevez wrote:

teatpuller wrote:

turkob wrote: I like the fries, but I should start asking for them well done, to give them that extra crunch.

Is that an option? Not the asking, but the receiving.

Yes. And they actually deliver around 50% of the time.

Yeah, I don't like the soggy, greasy version. But half the time when I ask for well done, I get crunchy hardness that is more annoying to me than the soggy ones.

Once again, Rachel Ray and Vital Information concur: it’s the Greatest Hot Dog Stand. Glad we settled that.

David Hammond wrote: Once again, Rachel Ray and Vital Information concur: it’s the Greatest Hot Dog Stand. Glad we settled that.

I'm glad to see someone else noticed the difference in signs. Overall, a good stand that I try to hit a few times a year. Will have to try Redhot Ranch at some point.

c_howitt_fealz wrote:I'm glad to see someone else noticed the difference in signs. Overall, a good stand that I try to hit a few times a year. Will have to try Redhot Ranch at some point.

Just went to Redhot Ranch a few weeks ago as part of a big food day with friends. I didn't have the hot dog, but other people in the group did and said it's very similar to G & J's. What I did have there was the fried shrimp and they were excellent- light, crispy breading; big, two-bite tailless shrimp. Someone in our group had tried them before and didn't have a great experience with them, but upon trying them again, decided it must have been an "off" day the first time.

Gene & Jude's is one of those places that's been on my visiting home hit list for ages, and I'm not sure why I didn't realize until just this trip that not only is it extremely close to my folks' place, but also open late. Time to right a wrong. Superdawg is a multigenerational family touchstone, so for me there's almost a forbidden fruit aspect to this whole endeavor.

Me: "I'm going out for a hot dog."
Mom: "Superdawg?"
Me: "Nah, I'm going to go check out Gene & Jude's."
Mom: "Oh, Cousin Sam took me there. He said it was the best hot dog in the city."
Me: "What'd you think?"
Mom: "I hated it."

Huh.

Dad: "Where are you headed?"
Me: "Hot dog."
Dad: "Superdawg?"
Me: "Gene & Jude's actually. You been?"
Dad: "I hated it."

Well, at least we have consensus. This is a Superdawg family. I brought my sister for backup, anyway.



Arriving at midnight, the place was almost deserted other than what seemed like nearly a dozen teenage kids running the show, but by the time I'd finished my first dog the counter was nearly full and the line was ten people deep.



Heeding the warning to free the fries while they still have some crispness left, I made a beeline for the counter and unwrapped the dogs. And despite what is apparently my genetic predisposition to the big fella with the pure beef heart (a love I'll defend to the death even if I'm perhaps a little more open to alternatives than the previous generation), put me in the camp that understands the love here. Even setting aside the vibe and my respect for the fact that they basically do three things, the dog is really delicious. Like most folks here, I grew up on these things -- ones other than Superdawg, even (a couple years at DePaul helped to cement a love for the dearly departed Demon Dogs as well) -- and I still don't understand the alchemy involved in getting these just right. It's a dog, a bun, some chopped onion and three bottled condiments. What's to distinguish one place from the next? And yet, when it's on, it's on. And Gene & Jude's was on. Even my sister was fully on board. Apparently laser-focused hot dog preference skips a generation. And the fries were great. I can see how if left in that paper for more than a minute, they could turn to mush, but promptly consumed on the spot they were tender in the middle with just a little crispness around the edges, possessed of an appropriate amount of grease and full of fresh potato flavor. No surprise, given that they'd just been cut.

We brought one back to my sister's place for her husband, originally from Connecticut. After briefly disappearing into the kitchen, he returned exclaiming, "Avert your Chicago eyes!" and proceeded to squirt a quarter cup of cold Heinz onto the dog. If I read in today's paper that Gene & Jude's was inexplicably reduced to a smoldering pile of ash in the night, we'll know who to blame.

Funny that you write this now, Dom. I too was inexplicably a G&J novice until not long ago. I'm rarely in that vicinity and never think about it, but I was there while wasting time near O'Hare a few weeks back. Damn, it is good. VI and every publication to have passed judgment on wiener joints in the trailing 10 years are right. Transcendent simple things are the best – a cup of coffee, a bowl of rice, a madeleine -- wait, I hate those. You get it.

So glad you see the beauty, Dom!

Since you're so close, I cannot recommend enough what has become our favorite (meaning trixie-pea & I) casual Friday night one-two punch: the 15-mile drive to Johnnie's Beef for their tasty hardwood charcoal-grilled sausage with sweet peppers (stay with me on that one! I swear they cook the peppers in either white wine or vermouth. No? I might be completely out of my mind with that theory.) then preceding with sausage in hand (that part's tough...real tough) to Gene n Jude's to procure a dog with requested extra-crispy fries.

For us, that's as high-livin' as it gets.

Extra crispy fries? I'm going to have to try that...

TCK wrote:Extra crispy fries? I'm going to have to try that...

That's always my request, too... and I actually get them approx 60% of the time.

stevez wrote:

TCK wrote:Extra crispy fries? I'm going to have to try that...

That's always my request, too... and I actually get them approx 60% of the time.

Thanks for sharing that pointer with me a few years back, Steve.

You should request "not a shitty hot dog" the next time you go.

Saw this pic today on Facebook that shows the stand inundated with water from the Des Plaines River (and the rain was still coming). So you may want to put your hot dog plans on hold for a few days.