New Loop Hot Dog Spot -- Conran's Red Hot Underground

New hot dog spot in the lower level of 205 W. Randolph Building (underneath Baci Pizza and the bizzare S. Asian/Middle Eastern fast food place). Had a very decent dog. Natural casing, fresh with the usual condiments. Very well done and superior to any nearby options. Place is a triffle expensive. . . . $3.75 for the dog, but tasty nontheless. Other interesting menu items. Hope it survives in the less than ideal location.

Conran's Red Hot Underground
205 W. Randolph
Chicago

www.conransredhotunderground.com

dan1234 wrote: Place is a triffle expensive. . . . $3.75 for the dog, but tasty nontheless.

Do you get fries with that?

Jamie

Jamieson22 wrote:

dan1234 wrote: Place is a triffle expensive. . . . $3.75 for the dog, but tasty nontheless.

Do you get fries with that?

Jamie

i was thinking the same thing and is that before tax?

Do you get fries with that?

I was wondering the same thing. If so, it's expensive. If not, it's a rip-off.

Big Willi wrote:

Do you get fries with that?

I was wondering the same thing. If so, it's expensive. If not, it's a rip-off.

You'd better get fries for that price. There are only a couple places that serve priceless dogs - and i can safely assume this new place doesn't trump Gene and Jude's.

Nope, that's pre-tax and no fries. . . . must be shooting for about a 15% food cost.

dan1234 wrote:Nope, that's pre-tax and no fries. . . . must be shooting for about a 15% food cost.

Is there a ball game going on? You'd expect at least a little bit of entertaiment for that price.

stevez wrote:

dan1234 wrote:Nope, that's pre-tax and no fries. . . . must be shooting for about a 15% food cost.

Is there a ball game going on? You'd expect at least a little bit of entertaiment for that price.

Sounds like the restaurant is playing hardball. That's a ripoff, even if it is downtown. They're not even on the street. Anyone remember Shmendl's?

Harry's is less than a block away and in a street-level corner space at Randolph and Franklin - and when I was there last week for a hot dog and fries I think the price (for both) was about the same as this place (for the dog only). I don't like Harry's dogs much (what do they do to remove the flavor?), but I know that other's here do. I'm less than a 10-minute walk away from this new place at lunch time - but at this price point I won't even sample the fare. The Gold Coast Hot Dog outlet at 500 W. Madison St. serves-up a good dog, but my current favorite in the area (W. of the River) is still Fast Track, on Jefferson at Lake St.

Bill wrote:Harry's is less than a block away and in a street-level corner space at Randolph and Franklin - and when I was there last week for a hot dog and fries I think the price (for both) was about the same as this place (for the dog only). I don't like Harry's dogs much (what do they do to remove the flavor?), but I know that other's here do. I'm less than a 10-minute walk away from this new place at lunch time - but at this price point I won't even sample the fare. The Gold Coast Hot Dog outlet at 500 W. Madison St. serves-up a good dog, but my current favorite in the area (W. of the River) is still Fast Track, on Jefferson at Lake St.

Two dogs, fries, and a large coke at Harry's is $10.00.
Expensive, but it fills the need for a greasy lunch at times.
The City has talked about leveling the building where Harry's stands in order to put a park into the loop. I'm not sure on the time frame or whether it has gotten past the vague discussion stage.

Harvey Bernstein, the original owner of Poochie's, had his motto posted on the wall: "I don't care what the other man sell his merchandise for, he knows what it's worth." Foodservice cost of hot dogs and buns have gone through two price increases this year. Tino's in Racine, WI sells 2 Vienna Beef 8/1 dogs with an order of fries and a Coke for $4.50+tax. WI sales tax is 5.5%.

DML wrote:
Two dogs, fries, and a large coke at Harry's is $10.00.

Heresy. Wrong. Pure and simple. And I though I had it bad working in Northbrook.

I will also agree that Fast Track on Jefferson & Lake is the best local option in the area. I practically work on top of Harry's and everytime I get something there I kick myself. I was simply posting to let folks know the existance of this place, butI agree the pricing is to the extreme.

What are some of the "other interesting menu items"?

dan1234 wrote:I will also agree that Fast Track on Jefferson & Lake is the best local option in the area. I practically work on top of Harry's and everytime I get something there I kick myself. I was simply posting to let folks know the existance of this place, butI agree the pricing is to the extreme.

I don't know, when I want hot dog stand type food I head to Off The Tracks Grill (which happens to be about a block north of Conran's on Wells). They do a pretty good gyro, burger, etc and if I am not mistaken they have a Hot Dog + Fries + Coke for under $5.

Jamie

I enjoy Fast Track not only for the food but because I'm a train nut too.

http://www.fasttrackonlake.com/

Do you ever wonder why you're charged extra to have your hot dog char broiled? The going rate in Chicago seems to be a dime. Hot dogs are already pre-cooked and just need to be brought to temperature before serving. Some places boil them, some places steam them, and some places deep fry them(Polish). But there are places that char them and charge extra. Does really it require that much more work or energy to charge ten cents? The char grill is on any way. If you think about it, you're required to pay extra so you can wait longer for your order. Is this a punishment for requesting a char broiled dog? Makes no sense to me at all. Places don't charge extra to char broil a burger, so why a hot dog? Just my .02

i've never ordered a dog charred intentionally, so i didn't know about the standard upcharge.

the only place i've had a char dog was at Wiener Circle and it was horrid.

I was once a big char dog fan. A char cheddar Polish with grilled onions from Poochie's got my tail wagging. These days, I prefer my dogs boiled and my Polish, deep fried. Deep frying a skinless Polish or a hot dog will give it a natural casing "snap." Deep frying a natural casing is even better.

Wow, Fast Track. That's a place I'd never thought would be covered on LTH. Two interesting notes: a big sign proclaims "best gyros in town or it's free," which I always thought was bold given their proximity to Greektown and the fact that they re-griddle everything. Also, the owner greets everyone as "my friend" in a ridiculous John Rhys-Davies basso, and pretends to remember all repeat customers' orders, with a much higher failure rate than people that usually try this. The hot dogs are good and relatively inexpensive, but I do not like the simultaneously burned and over-moist fries or anything else on the menu.

The link below will take you to an ongoing discussion of Fast Track on Lake St.:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.ph ... fast+track

Thanks, Bill. Like searching for the restaurants "Flavor" and "Butter," a cursory search on such common words as Fast and Track didn't immediately turn up a dedicated thread (though I see it now in the results list). Interestingly, a few of my old building-mates are in your line picture. I agree that McDonald's serves better fries (not always a bad thing; as Cathy2 stated on Chicago Tonight, we don't have anything against McD's).

Phil wrote:I enjoy Fast Track not only for the food but because I'm a train nut too.

http://www.fasttrackonlake.com/

Footlong Hot Dog $3.39

Geez, when was the last time you saw a footlong for sale in Chicago? Even in stores?

Makes no sense to me at all. Places don't charge extra to char broil a burger, so why a hot dog? Just my .02

Maybe this is why: With the steamed/boiled dog the dog sits until it's sold and the only thing the counterperson needs to do is to place the dog in the bun and dress it. Preparation of a char dog, however, requires extra labor - extra steps in the process: the counterperson takes the already cooked dog from the holding bin and places it on the grill/griddle, watches it and turns it over, etc. With a hamburger - an uncooked meat patty is typically tossed onto the grill/griddle to cook (it’s not usually pre-cooked, is it?). The grillman has to keep an eye on it anyway - and the additional time to char it as compared to serving it the “regular” way is probably not a significant increase in labor/steps in the process. The extra steps/labor to produce the char dog is probably why there's a price differential between the two.

The "other interesting items" are plentiful. I went with a group and had the curry chicken wrap, the bacon and bluecheese burger, shrimp po boy, a char-grilled salmon ceasar salad, tomoato basil soup and cuban black bean soup. You can't usually find these items in the same place as a dog. And these items are well priced. AND it's clean! There are also big screen TVs - I don't know if they are on yet. This is a gem - I hope it survives too! If people try it once they will go back!

I gave Conran's a shot last Friday for lunch. I'm not sure if this place can make it. I had the Cajun chicken sandwich, which was a spicy chicken breast with pepper jack cheese on a roll. Certainly not the most exciting lunch order in the world, it was fine. My lunch companions both had hot dogs which they pronounced to be "ok".

Given Conran's location, there will have to be something major to distinguish it from other loop lunch options. Right now, I just don't see it.

I ate here last week and thought it was great. I wouldn't necessarily consider it a "hot dog spot" It had so many other things to choose from. I had the curried chicken salad which was wonderful. Hubby had the fire roasted chicken tender and said it was awesome. Like mhunter said it was really clean. That says alot about how the kitchen is kept. The prices were pretty reasonable too. I'll be trying it again when some friends are in town. Will write more after that.

kays65 wrote:I ate here last week and thought it was great. I wouldn't necessarily consider it a "hot dog spot" It had so many other things to choose from. I had the curried chicken salad which was wonderful. Hubby had the fire roasted chicken tender and said it was awesome. Like mhunter said it was really clean. That says alot about how the kitchen is kept. The prices were pretty reasonable too. I'll be trying it again when some friends are in town. Will write more after that.

Sigh...

Does anyone else smell an odor in here?

kays65 wrote:I ate here last week and thought it was great. I wouldn't necessarily consider it a "hot dog spot" It had so many other things to choose from. I had the curried chicken salad which was wonderful. Hubby had the fire roasted chicken tender and said it was awesome. Like mhunter said it was really clean. That says alot about how the kitchen is kept. The prices were pretty reasonable too. I'll be trying it again when some friends are in town. Will write more after that.

Yes. the perfect place to bring out of town guests! What a great example of the fabulous eating options our city has to offer! Yum-o!

[/shill]