Places in the NW suburbs that use Vienna Beef

I don't know if you've heard but Vienna Beef underwent a lawsuit because their proclaimed "all beef" hot dogs were made with pork and sheep encasings. You can see information here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/09/19/vienna-beef-settles-pure_n_127879.html

So that got me thinking...which hot dog stands have I eaten at that use Vienna Beef?

The problem is now fixed but you can get $3 back from Vienna Beef for all hot dogs you have eaten without this knowledge. I would not eat a hot dog with pork in it.

Portillo's (in Arlington Heights)
Michael's (in Highland Park)
Ira's (in Northbrook)
Fluky's (in Chicago)

Please still visit these places, as the problem has been fixed and it wasn't their fault. But add to the list of places you know that serve Vienna beef hot dogs.

Thanks!

Well, the problem wasn't exactly 'fixed' because Vienna will continue to make their natural-casing hotdogs in the same fashion (using non-beef casings), but now they will no longer bill them as being made from 'pure beef.' Since Vienna knowingly used these casings and didn't declare them, I'm not really sure how the problem wasn't their fault.

Anyway, if you don't want to inadvertantly eat sheep or pork casings, you should avoid Vienna's natural-casing products. For this non-Kosher-keeping person, it makes absolutely no difference. I will continue to eat and enjoy Vienna (not all) Beef products. FWIW, just a reminder that Vienna did not bill their products as Kosher.

=R=

Though it's probably fair to say that almost all "natural casing" sausages are made from pork or sheep intestine (I've heard that beef intestine can be used, but not actually run across it; I assume kosher sausages use it) So if you're avoiding intestines - it's skinless (or plastic-skinned) sausage for you!

You're only eligible for the settlement if you were harmed by vienna beef using the natural casings. Religious, dietary, whatever, you need to have have a real reason.

Now, they'll never know, but I hope you aren't just trying to get free money when you weren't really negatively affected.

I hope every LTHer already knew that a natural casing hot dog has, you know, a natural casing, and that a cow-intestine-encased hot dog would be awfully big. Not many choices left..

edit: I may actually be misreading the terms of the settlement. Someone else will have to tell me I'm wrong

gleam wrote:You're only eligible for the settlement if you were harmed by vienna beef using the natural casings. Religious, dietary, whatever, you need to have have a real reason.

Now, they'll never know, but I hope you aren't just trying to get free money when you weren't really negatively affected.

I hope every LTHer already knew that a natural casing hot dog has, you know, a natural casing, and that a cow-intestine-encased hot dog would be awfully big. Not many choices left..

edit: I may actually be misreading the terms of the settlement. Someone else will have to tell me I'm wrong

Interesting that their using sheep casings wouldn't have necessarily violated Kosher law but it didn't comply with their 'pure beef' declaration.

=R=

ronnie_suburban wrote:Interesting that their using sheep casings wouldn't have necessarily violated Kosher law but it didn't comply with their 'pure beef' declaration.

It would be hard to prove you'd been harmed by sheep casing, unless you have a really odd allergy.

If there's a dietary restriction that permits meat from cows but not sheep, I'm unaware of it.

It might be difficult to get a religious authority to back you up on this even if what you ate was pig casing. Trafe is trafe.

I'm not a rabbi, but as far as I know, in Jewish terms, eating nonkosher beef is no less sinful than eating pork, even though many individual Jews set their own standards and act as if it's eating trafe is permissible if it doesn't come from a nonkosher species.

Perhaps Muslim rules distinguish between nonhalal meat vs. nonhalal species in terms of level of sin; I don't know.

So this has more to do with truth in advertising than really violating anyone's religious convictions.