GP60004's Wiener and Still Champion

An interesting story that has gone somewhat unnoticed here is the story of poster GP60004 and his hot dog stand. A longtime employee of a popular north shore dog spot owned by a relative, he posted about taste tests and things like that as he did his research to open, and I believe Cathy arranged for some LTHers to go for a Polish tasting. He opened his stand-- actually reopened an old one-- about 5 months ago in Evanston, and I met Nr706 there on Friday and then took my kids back on Saturday for fortification before visiting Dave's Rock Shop.



The main thing you notice when you get your food is a commitment to doing things the right way, which also came through as GP/Gus talked to us about his plans. He doublecooks fresh cut fries, which are very good. He has a natural casing dog and good quality hamburger grilled over gas flame, and he isn't afraid to turn away from his regular supplier when he spots a better product, even if it will be more expensive and less convenient. He's still working on his Italian beef, which was in fact off the menu when we there pending the installation of a new oven, and putting a lot of thought into where he can find the best bread for it in a reasonable location (since he'll be getting it at least every other day). All this care is evident in the food, which is just as tasty and as well put together as it looks by an efficient, friendly crew.



I don't live anywhere near Wiener and Still Champion, but since one of our what-to-do-on-a-cold-day circuits includes Dave's Rock Shop and some other Evanston spots, I know we will be back and look forward to seeing how Gus's menu and business expands.

Wiener and Still Champion
802 Dempster, Evanston
Tel: (847) 869-0100

I’ve been occasionally stopping by Wiener and Still Champion ever since it was introduced to me by Cathy, who organized the Polish sausage tasting in mid-September. It helps that I live about 2 1/2 blocks away, but since then I’ve gotten to know Gus a little bit, offered him some suggestions, and have helped him a little with his new menu (no money exchanged, except from me to pay something for my food, no financial relationship, etc.) It’s a work in progress (the self-serve area isn’t finished, and he still needs some sort of menu board), but the essentials – fries, hot dogs, burgers – are top-notch, and I’ll vouch for the extremely flavorful (but, apparently, somewhat labor-intensive) Char-Grilled Chicken Sandwich. Despite his low-key personality, as Mike says, Gus is very serious/passionate about running a high-quality hot dog/burger place, with much of his stuff made from scratch (how many other hot dog stands can discuss the mirepoix they use for the base of their homemade soup?) And he has some very interesting ideas for future menu additions.

FYI – Gus/gp60004 is the guy on the right in Mike’s picture.

I finally made it over here for lunch yesterday before hitting a matinee. My boyfriend and I each ordered a Polish with everything and a dipping dog. Wow, the fries are so good - they're so light and crispy. I definitely prefer these fries to Hot Doug's and fRedhot's. At the other two venues, I always felt like my order of fries was not much more than fried skins with a little potato. Here, I can actually taste potato in the fries. We were given a very generous serving of spicy aioli, which was pretty good.

The dipping dog was delicious. The cornbread coating was very tasty - again it was thick, crisp, and light, not tough, crumbly or mealy. It really tasted like cornbread. I missed out on the falafel burger as I didn't see it on the menu until I was almost done eating. Next time.....

Definitely one of my go to places for a quick cheap meal. I love the burgers with Merkts cheese and the parsley garlic dipping sauce is terrifically addicting. My kids and I both love the corn dogs.

It's been too long since I've been to the Wiener (I've been tied down at work) but I do get cravings for Gus' outstanding char Polish -- it's one of the very best!

Finally made my long-overdue visit to Wiener and Still Champion (to Sparky's chorus: "dip-in-DOG! dip-in-DOG!") and had an excellent lunch. Since we've previously eaten our way through their encased meat selection, we decided to enjoy a regular burger, a falafel burger, and the requisite Dippin' Dog for Sparky. From the long list of sauces, we chose the Argentine garlic and herb sauce for the fries. Everything was very good - I recommend the falafel burger - the hearty bun is a wonderful counterpoint to the crunchy falafel and I prefer it to the traditional pita. The fries are, indeed, excellent - fried hard, crunchy and potato-y.

New at Wiener and Still Champion is an entire menu of sauces and though, personally, I'm partial to the Argentine sauce (full disclosure: i may have had something to do with it, as Gus is extremely accomodating with customers and their ideas...) and enjoyed many of the others at the abovementioned tasting, I can't wait to try the curry ketchup. Other sauces (there are more than half a dozen) include garlic aioli, texas-style ranch, and a honey mustard which you can use to dress your fries, or dip your dippin' dog.

Oddly, as I was looking in the cooler for a soda for Sparky, I came across Materva, a Yerba Mate soda. I was raised just Argentine enough to have tried Mate on a couple occasions, but never developed a taste for it (to me, it tastes like stewed lawn clippings.) Uberspouse decided to take one for the team and tried it - it's like a Jamaican ginger beer with overtones of lawn - infinitely better than the real thing IMHO.

Definitely worth the trip up to Evanston, especially for the fries! Gus is a genuinely nice guy who is really committed to his work, and it shines through in the food.

I'm excited to see this post as I used to live almost directly above Weiner and Still Champion (I lived above the rug store next door). It's been almost a year since I moved but it's nice to see that the place is expanding its menu. When I left, it was a basic burger & dog joint (with excellent fried mushrooms, btw). Given that I will always shed a mental tear at the fond memory of the days when they served tasty samosas, it's nice to see the new ownership bringing back some more ethnic, fancy-pants items.

I'm definately going to have to make return visit to the old neighborhood and investigate this falafel and aoli business for myself...

shoes wrote:Given that I will always shed a mental tear at the fond memory of the days when they served tasty samosas

You can get the same Samosas at:

Tahoora
2326 W Devon Ave
Chicago,il
773-743-7272

That is where they were purchased from.

Stopped by today with borrowed children: The Picky-Eater Twins gave the curry ketchup a smeary four thumbs-up, while I enjoyed the spicy mustard sauce. Curry ketchup is very interesting - more like what I imagine ketchup to have been like at it's inception - but very kid-friendly. Spicy mustard was a mayo/mustard sauce with a horseradish kick that made me want to steal Picky-Eater I's dippin dog; it's probably a fabulous adult accompaniment.

I'm embarassed to say that it took me this long to finally get to WASC, but I'm pleased I finally did.

Gus has a terrific place and everything I ate was at least a few notches above your normal hot dog stand.

The dippin' dog was terrific, and Cookie described it as "hot dog candy" on account of the sweet notes in the corn batter.

Personally, I loved the falafel burger. Spiced nicely, cooked crisp, and served on a fresh bun (I only made one small modification--hot sauce). Fries, as expected, were top notch.

Gus' attention to cooking shows through in everything served. If you're like me--a hot dog stand fan who's never been there--get off your lazy butt and visit WASC.

Best,
Michael

Dippin' dog and falafel burger w/fries

About a year ago, my then 12 month old daughter and I, were lucky enough to sample the delight that is this WASC.

I've been meaning to post forever but life gets in the way! The fresh fries were fantastic and the dipping dogs and the homemade honey mustard were outstanding! Best corn dog I've ever had!

New reason to visit: Country Fried Bacon and now, Fried Pickle Chips are officially on the menu!

Country Fried Bacondebuted at the GNR dinner at WASC; it's battered, cruncy, and deep fried...and it's bacon. 'nuff said (wiping off chin.)

The fried pickles are very good - very thin dill pickle chips with a light crispy batter, they have a lot of crunch and a nice, salty bite. We downed an entire batch on our latest order; made us (almost) unable to eat all our fries!

Is it sad that I'm hoping my wife ends up in Northwestern's sociology Ph.D. program just so I can have tons of excuses to go to WaSC?

No, no it's not.

gleam wrote:Is it sad that I'm hoping my wife ends up in Northwestern's sociology Ph.D. program just so I can have tons of excuses to go to WaSC?

No, no it's not.

Congratulations on the new possible excuse to move or commute to Evanston! The North Side's not so bad, right?

Mhays wrote:New reason to visit: Country Fried Bacon and now, Fried Pickle Chips are officially on the menu!

Country Fried Bacondebuted at the GNR dinner at WASC; it's battered, cruncy, and deep fried...and it's bacon. 'nuff said (wiping off chin.)

The fried pickles are very good - very thin dill pickle chips with a light crispy batter, they have a lot of crunch and a nice, salty bite. We downed an entire batch on our latest order; made us (almost) unable to eat all our fries!

Here's a picture I took of those delicious pickles while taste-testing some of the prototypes a few weeks ago . . .



I can't wait to try that bacon!

=R=

I had the pickles on Wednesday night alongside my cheddar burger. I thought they were good but the batch I had was a little greasy, an easy fix and Gus was aware of it. I particularly liked that they were not crinkle cut and were very thin. The crinkle cut have an unpleasant texture to me.

I also see an order of the coutry fried bacon in my near future.

I finally made it up to WaSC with the GF yesterday. Gus, you have beaten us...

We started with the fried pickles, which were delicious - sliced thin with a savory light batter, much better flavor than the wedge/spear fried pickles that I've had in the past.

Then came the Chicago dog & fries for the GF, and the cheddar burger (with Merkt's cheddar - yum!) and fries for myself...and a side order of country-fried bacon. Now, it goes without saying that the burger, dog and fries were top-notch, and I had to stop myself from overdoing it on the fries. But that bacon...man. Tasty deliciousness, but man-are-they-oh-so-rich! We were able to finish a single piece each (remember we were chowing on dog & burger post-pickles) and we ended up taking the remainder home, along with some fries, for later snacking. Gus, you should offer half-portions, since that basket of bacon was a meal in itself, or snacking for 4-6 people.

We tried 3 sauces: the curry ketchup (my fav), the spicy aioli (GF's fav) with the fries, and the Argentine herb & garlic (great with the bacon).

Gus, it was great to finally meet you - keep up the great work, and we'll see you again soon!

p.s. didn't take pics, since there is plenty on this thread already

Ok, a bit of a tangent, but I made a great lunch today, with Gus's fries, covered with my lady's exquisite turkey chili that she just made.



I smoked a whole turkey (for 7 hours!) on my char-griller new year's day, along with a bunch of jalapeños.


"I waitz for turkey. I waitz as long as it takes. Want for to have the turkey".

The beans are from Rancho Gordo (purchased at SF Ferry Bldg farmer's market a week ago).



Needless to say, it came together wonderfully!

Mark - you have to caption that immortal cat on the stool next to the turkey picture for the good of the Internets. I can haz LTH?

Santander wrote:Mark - you have to caption that immortal cat on the stool next to the turkey picture for the good of the Internets. I can haz LTH?

I was thinking the same thing.

"I waitz for turkey. I waitz as long as it takes. Want for to have the turkey".

Done and done. Seeing as Kitty lives with us here in Ukrainian Village, it's a good quote from him.

and he definitely went ape-sh*t for the turkey meat when Josefa gave him a piece...that's why he was stationed on that stool so politely for the remainder of the carving!

Sorry, I had to.

The fried pickles are very good - very thin dill pickle chips with a light crispy batter, they have a lot of crunch and a nice, salty bite. We downed an entire batch on our latest order; made us (almost) unable to eat all our fries!

Here's a picture I took of those delicious pickles while taste-testing some of the prototypes a few weeks ago . . .

YAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!! Those fried pickles look EXACTLY like what I was asking about earlier in the winter! (I started a thread either in late Nov or early Dec about fried pickles...don't know how to link/reference here yet. Still new, but I'll learn!). Looks like I'll be heading to Evanston this weekend!! Yea!!
CC

Went to WaSC today....figured I'd better write up a little something now that I'm post-"food coma" but fear that it could be only a matter of moments before my heart explodes! =) That is due to the fact that I had a dippin dog (fried), fries, and fried pickles. Yum, but ugh!

The dippin dog (corn dog) was excellent! Great with the mustard sauce.
The fries were very good. I ordered a "small" but think there must only be one size--the portion was quite generous.

Now...the fried pickles...these were the real reason that I made the drive up to Evanston. The size of the pickles, the batter and the texture were very good and quite similar to the fried pickles of my dreams (which I had at a bbq dive outside of Boston). My only quibble is that they were a little too salty. It didn't seem like there was salt added to the batter, so it must be a function of the brand of pickles used. In a way I'm actually kind-of happy that this was the case, because they are still tasty enough for an occasional jaunt to Evanston, but won't be calling my name every day!! So far they are the front-runners in my Chicago-area fried pickle quest though. And even better dipped in the garlic aioli dipping sauce.

CC

Uberburger (on Church just east of Orrington, also in Evanston) serves very similar-looking fried pickle chips. Also quite salty.

An interesting thing is the curry sauce that came with Thing2's burger combined with the pickles gave the perfect impression of Indian pickles -- the flavor combo was spot-on. They serve them with ranch, but if I get there again, I'll beg for the curry sauce.

Had Uberburger's fried pickle chips and hated them - though salty seems to be the way of the fried pickle, IIRC, Uberburger's breading was much heavier, and the chips were much thicker. I left thinking I didn't like fried pickles....until WASC.

Today's Evanston Round Table noted the Wiener's well-deserved GNR Award. Also mentioned was that Citysearch recently named the Wiener's fries among the four best in Chicagoland.

The story is at the bottom of page 8.

namram,

Could you please reduce your images to no more than 600 pixels wide?

Thank you!

Regards,

I took advantage of the fleeting nice weather recently to pop on over to Weiner and Still Champion a few days ago. What everyone has said about their fries is true and more. Crispy, delicious, skin on. The double-frying really does make a difference. I knocked back a basket of these fries with a cold coke, pretty quickly. I did not try any of the more exotic dipping sauces noted on LTH (garlic aioli and curry ketchup), so now I know I definitely have an excuse to be back.