saluki9 wrote: I can't see why I would be back when cookers is only a few minutes drive and Fredhots only a few more than that. Two much better options.

I don't disagree, but one reason to go back to Wolfy's over Cookers for me would be that Wolfy's uses Vienna products.

I hit Wolfy's on the way back from an errand.

High points:
Nice dog. Textures all just right, great pickle, and radioactive-green relish.
Barq's Red Cream Soda on the fountain. Never seen it before, it's a good version of cream soda.
Special today was BBQ Brisket, but I didn't try it.

Low points: Battered fries. While tasty and crisp, I'd so much rather have a fresh-cut.

None of the cleanliness issues reported upthread could be detected.

DirtyDuckInn wrote:Also ordered what was called a Triple Stack Fries ( I dont know if they have that at the original sine Ive never been there). It was fries with Merkts cheese, sour cream and bacon. Now when I say bacon, Im not talking about precooked, prechopped stuff but bacon that was put in the griddle and cooked and cut right there. Absolutely sinful.

Agreed.

JoelF wrote:Barq's Red Cream Soda on the fountain. Never seen it before, it's a good version of cream soda.

Now you've ensured that--no matter the pros and cons of the food--I have to make a stop at Wolfy's. I grew up drinking Barq's red cream soda in Cincinnati and haven't seen it in years (and it's not just a good version--it's the best!). It provided the base for one of my childhood favorites: the Pink Cow. Like a Black Cow, but instead of root beer, red cream soda and milk (and maybe some vanilla ice cream for a special treat). Voila--pink!

Barq's Red Cream Soda on the fountain. Never seen it before, it's a good version of cream soda.

I love the Red Cream Soda, and the only other place I knew to find it was Happy House Hot Dogs in West Chicago. Good to know there's another alternative.

I also made a maiden voyage to Wolfy's last night. Full Disclosure, my brother is friends with the owner Josh.

Sampled a variety of items, chicago dog was spot on, house made italian beef was great but would suffer if travelling due to foil wrapper. I pointed out to the owner that no self respecting beef joint serves beef in foil. He never had considered that fact. Fries are typical food service but cooked to crispy perfection, josh claims his market research showed his customers wouldn't like the inconsistentcy of fresh cut--dont know that I agree but these were top of the line food service fries--didnt notice any batter on mine.

The absolute star of the menu is the char-grilled salami sandwich. Josh described it to me as a loving homage (read between the lines, copy) of Poochies. He brought one out for me and I am going to throw this out there--this sandwich was better then Poochies original version. Perfectly executed, perfectly dressed with a superior roll. LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT. let the flames begin.

whiskeybent wrote:

I love the Red Cream Soda, and the only other place I knew to find it was Happy House Hot Dogs in West Chicago. Good to know there's another alternative.

BTW Pompei also serves red cream soda out of the fountain, all locations

While channel surfing, I just stumbled on Kevin Pang's cheeseburger show, in which he reviewed the Northbrook Wolfy's version. Holy crap did that come across as a fantastic cheeseburger! 50% brisket, 50% chuck, well salted, loose grind. I think I'm moving to Northbrook.

Vie's burger looked like one of the best things on earth too. They top it with beef bacon made from the belly of the side of cow they bring in!

Can I have Kevin Pang's job?

Kennyz wrote: Can I have Kevin Pang's job?

Hey, Kenny! Not exactly Kevin Pang's actual job--but look at this:

>>The blog -- the burgers -- the restaurants --
Here's your chance to join Kevin Pang, host of "The Cheeseburger Show," as he travels the Chicago area in search of the best cheeseburgers. One (1) lucky winner will be part of the crew for a taping of "The Cheeseburger Show," sampling cheeseburgers and getting a first hand look at how it all comes together. On a mutually agreed upon date, the winner will receive transportation to and from the filming location and all the cheeseburgers he or she can eat!
Catch Kevin’s cheeseburger stories every Thursday in the PLAY section or watch "The Cheeseburger Show" at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays on CLTV, or online in HD at http://www.cheeseburgershow.com. <<

The contest is sponsored by the Trib and CLTV. I think this link should work:
http://tribads.chicagotribune.com/chica ... urger.html

Kennyz wrote:Holy crap did that come across as a fantastic cheeseburger!

I would say that "fantastic" is a bit much, but it's a potentially good version of a fast food burger.

Found myself in Northbrook this afternoon, so I headed in to Wolfy's to give them a try. Had a 6 ounce, machine formed burger patty, char grilled, on nice bun, but way over-topped. (I did agree to "everything on it.") The meat itself had nice flavor, but it disappeared into the gobs of cheese, salad-sized portion of lettuce, and tomato, pickles, and grilled onions. If requested as lightly topped, their burger could be pretty good.


The fries were standard food service. Hot, crispy, completely unsalted, and nothing to write home about. (I ate them all anyway.) Wolfy's really needs a fresh-cut fry potato ka-chunker gizmo.

Vienna Char-dogs and char-Polish looked good, so I'll likely go that direction if I find myself hungry in Wolfy's neighborhood again.

--Rich

RAB wrote: Wolfy's really needs a fresh-cut fry potato ka-chunker gizmo.

I asked the owner why he didnt do fresh cut fries and he said that based upon his research, much to his suprise, his demographic didnt care for what they felt were inconsistentcies in fresh cut fries. So it is unlikely that they will switch anytime soon.

RAB wrote:Vienna Char-dogs and char-Polish looked good, so I'll likely go that direction if I find myself hungry in Wolfy's neighborhood again.

--Rich

Although I haven't tried one in Northbrook, the Wolfy's polish served at the Peterson Ave. flagship is my favorite polish in town.

Edited to fix link

The Vienna Beef Factory Deli & Cafe' offers self-serve Barq's Red Cream Soda.

Stopped in tonight for the first time for dinner and thought the food was notably good and nothing short of textbook for the genre. Charred salami sandwich ordered by my son, with mustard and grilled onions, was delicious. The grilled french bread on which it was served was sturdy but tugged away at the bite just right. Salami itself was juicy and had a very nice char. Grilled Chicken sandwich on pita was enjoyable, too. The pita was prepared with great care and had a wonderful lightness and crust to it. Cooked-to-order chicken was tasty and moist, and I think I understand why it had to be cut into strips (sandwich logistics) but I still would have preferred it whole. Cheddar Burger was excellent. It was PIPING hot, had a beautiful, charry crispiness on the outside and was moist and juicy inside. The bun was fresh as could be and the Merkts was creamy and without any grit or evidence of breaking at all. French fries, as others have posted, are made with frozen pre-cuts but they were taken to their pinnacle, as far as the cooking went -- very crispy, some to the delectable point of translucence.

We were there at about 7 pm and a few tables were occupied, including one by none other than Bob Schwartz himself. This hour, I believe, is an optimal time to hit Wolfy's because the crowd was light and I think the staff behind the counter outnumbered us customers. The food could not have been prepared more rapidly or served any hotter. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever had a restaurant burger served so hot before, and eating it was a truly delightful experience.

Proprietor Josh Kaplan may not do everything exactly way I would personally prefer it but it's so obvious, even on a first visit, how much he cares about the food he serves. He asked every single customer in the place how what they thought of their food and how they liked it. He takes a lot of pride in what he does and given the assembly-line feel at a lot of other north suburban hot dog joints, this made the experience particularly enjoyable. I will definitely be back.

=R=

Just had the Grilled Salami at lunch (note: menu says "grilled"), and can't really add to Ronnie's drool-fest above.

Simply wonderful, a contender for best sandwich in (extended) Chicago.

Straight up noon the crowd (mostly) moved along, double dog hit the mark, snappy natural casing Vienna, steamed poppy seed bun, slash of yellow mustard, punchy sport peppers and fresh cut onions. If ever again in the wilds of Northbrook I won't hesitate to stop at Wolfy's.

Ram4 on June 5, 2009 wrote:I'm hoping and praying this new location will be one of my lunch spots soon, because that means I'll be working at a new job around the corner.

Well, my prayers were answered! I now work in Northbrook, near Dundee and Landwehr. I've been to Wolfy's a handful of times already, and the hot dogs have been great just like the Peterson location.

Today I finally tried the burger that I've heard about. I am so glad I did. It was easily one of the best burgers I've had at a hot dog type joint. Fresh and hot, loose grind, tasty, tender, just wonderful. I'm in the camp that doesn't care for a "salad" on a burger anymore, so I usually avoid lettuce, tomato and things like that. Man, the taste of the meat really stands on it's own. I don't know if I'll order hot dogs there anymore! One of the owners (Pete) said only the Northbrook location has this burger (due to the location of the butcher), so don't go looking for it in the city.

Now I'm curious about their Italian Beef, but I am not expecting much. I can't really think of any top tier Beef joints in the North Shore. The best I can think of are Portillo's in Skokie and Al's in Niles or Evanston (and those Al's are not as good as the Taylor St. location but to be honest, I'd take an Al's out here in Northbrook anyway)

Glad to have this in my lunch rotation, only 2 minutes away from work, and they always have the Sun-Times for me to read.

congrats on the new job!

elakin wrote:congrats on the new job!

Thanks Eddie. Now you (and Gus) know where I've been lately.

I finally had the Italian Beef at Wolfy's today and I don't like to jump the gun on this, but I do want some of you to check it out as well. I thought it was great and I'm kind of excited to find a great beef sandwich in the area. It was really tender, with lots of oregano and spices visible, good gravy, not too salty, and it was a big sandwich. The giardiniera is not homemade, but it's of the classic Chicago variety, nice and hot too. I was talking to Pete, one of the owners and he said they make the beef in house, sliced as thin as possible (yay!).

I'm not a big fan of beef sandwiches at hot dog joints, they are usually too salty, dry, tough, and the meat is cut too thick. I had one of the worst beefs ever at Dear Franks in Glenview recently.

I also asked Pete why they don't do fresh cut fries and he said they just don't have the room to do it. He would like to someday, he knows they can be great.

Ram4 wrote: I also asked Pete why they don't do fresh cut fries and he said they just don't have the room to do it. He would like to someday, he knows they can be great.

Is it just me or does that sound really fishy?

Just a few miles away Fredhots manages some terrific fresh cut fries with much less space.

saluki9 wrote:

Ram4 wrote: I also asked Pete why they don't do fresh cut fries and he said they just don't have the room to do it. He would like to someday, he knows they can be great.

Is it just me or does that sound really fishy?

Just a few miles away Fredhots manages some terrific fresh cut fries with much less space.

WaSC is small too. I don't really know, but I'm going to keep bugging them about it.

Just a few miles away Fredhots manages some terrific fresh cut fries with much less space.

Fred has a prep kitchen in the basement of the building.

pizano345 wrote:

Just a few miles away Fredhots manages some terrific fresh cut fries with much less space.

Fred has a prep kitchen in the basement of the building.

A-HA!!!

pizano345 wrote:

Just a few miles away Fredhots manages some terrific fresh cut fries with much less space.

Fred has a prep kitchen in the basement of the building.

Ok, then how about Cookers in Deerfield.

IIRC from my time in the kitchen from a previous life we didn't have to allocate all that much space to cutting potatoes for fries.

Not to beat a dead horse, but it's a big issue for me in choosing where to get a hotdog and is what keeps me from going to Wolfy's despite it being the closest place to my house.

saluki9 wrote:Not to beat a dead horse,

It's a little too late to worry about that.

Did you ever think he just doesn't want the bother, and doesn't want to argue with his customers? Frozen fries are much easier to deal with, from both the prep side and the cooking side.

Cogito wrote:Did you ever think he just doesn't want the bother, and doesn't want to argue with his customers? Frozen fries are much easier to deal with, from both the prep side and the cooking side.

Thank you, for this. It was getting a little



in here.

=R=

Ram4 wrote:I finally had the Italian Beef at Wolfy's today and I don't like to jump the gun on this, but I do want some of you to check it out as well. I thought it was great and I'm kind of excited to find a great beef sandwich in the area. It was really tender, with lots of oregano and spices visible, good gravy, not too salty, and it was a big sandwich. The giardiniera is not homemade, but it's of the classic Chicago variety, nice and hot too. I was talking to Pete, one of the owners and he said they make the beef in house, sliced as thin as possible (yay!)...

Ram4, I owe you one. Thanks for reporting on this, or I'm pretty sure I would have never tried one. Really good beef imo as well. The price tag is, well, what it is, but the product is really decent. If they would just work on those fries...but the beef is serious. Thanks again!

Ram4, my thanks as well. Wolfy's Beef (Beef/Sausage Combo actually) is fantastic.

Thanks guys. A couple of co-workers got it today and it was a little off, but part of that was that their sandwiches were a bit dry. They asked for them dipped, but I know of one worker there who doesn't understand "dipped" and barely puts it in the gravy. So if you like it dipped, make sure you are clear about it. I know it's annoying to have to make sure, but you know how it can be when you have to trust someone else to do it for you.