U.B. Dogs

I know there were brief mentions in the openings thread but could not find a dedicated one so I gave it a shot.
I've always found this corner of the loop lacking in great lunch options and my first visit to UB Dogs (opening day maybe?)was underwhelming, acceptable but nothing special Chicago style dog and hand cut fries that were simultaneously burnt but soggy. On the plus side, the owner/employees were warm and seemed determined to turn out a good product.

They have since expanded on their limited opening menu adding beef, burgers and what not.

The char burger was great, hand formed, great beefy flavor, properly cooked to order with pink center and topped in Merkts. Hand cut fries were also much improved. If you work in this corner of the loop and are too lazy/short on time to head up to Big and Littles, give their burger a shot, you could do much worse.

U.B. Dogs
185 N Franklin St
(between Monroe St & Couch Pl)
Chicago, IL 60606

That address isn't quite right, blame Yelp.

Should be between Lake and Couch

OK. Just had the char burger with merkt's and a big bag of fries. $6.30.

Pretty damn good, especially around this neck of the woods...or really any neck of the woods. My hand-formed, never frozen patty was RED inside. Oh the horror...i'm gonna die..

Thanks for the heads up Alek.

Co-sign. Only been once (bit of a hike from my neck of the loop) but went basic with a two dog combo with fries and a pop for about $6.50, I believe. The dogs were a good rendition of the more-topping'd style of chicago dogs. Good snap on the VB. Fries were potatoey and yes, hand-cut (they gave me a dipping sauce to try - believe it was Chipotle - that was nice but not needed). The fries steamed up on my walk over to Daley Plaza where I took a seat and watched some of the Lithuania Day festivities (do each of the baltics get a single day? I would have thought Lithuania would have qualified for at least two days) and were a little soggy, but looked great coming out of the fryer/salt basin. Agreed about the staff - very helpful and enthusiastic - I hope they succeed. Next time I will try the burger for sure.

They have made improvements in the fries since first opening. I also agree that the service is fast and friendly.

Oh man, that was a tasty burger - and I can't begin to tell you how grateful that it came pink and juicy, as promised. I think I'll wait before I trust them with a medium-rare, but for now, the medium is just plain delicious.

The fries are exactly as others have described - great potato flavor, well seasoned, and generously portioned, but, unfortunately, also limp and soggy. My guess is they're cooking them with a single, low-temperature dunk, instead of the traditional two-stage method. That's probably a necessity given the small size and high demand, but the end result is not ideal. Nevertheless, I'll take the trade-off - it tastes much better than the typical par-cooked & frozen varieties most places use, and I'll take it over the bland crap they serve at BK any day of the week. It hurts more because it's such a near-miss.

I'll also agree with the sentiment that the dipping sauces (chipotle, garlic-wasabi, and sun-dried tomato aioli) were good, but largely superfluous - probably because of the limp fries. I appreciate the effort, but the mayo-type sauces really need that crisp texture to work against. I suspect the same will hold true for the cheese or chilli fries, but I haven't tried them yet and can't say for certain.

The hot dogs were good, but not great. I just got their regular dogs to try them out, but I think they'll be much better if I ask for them to be grilled. This may be sacrilege, but I've always thought the tomato on a Chicago dog was superfluous, so its absence was actually a plus for me.

Service was friendly and attentive, but they look like they're still working out the kinks.

Anyway, to sum up, they've got a wonderful, juicy burger, decent fries that could be great, and a decent hot dog. They're still working things out, but I'd say this place is promising. I'll likely be a regular once I refill my Lipitor.

Here's a link to their wobsite.

Oh, and one more thing: they've got really good napkins for take-out orders. It's a small thing, and maybe not a permanent one, but it's very much appreciated.

Wow, just came back from my return trip, and I am in salty, deep fat fried bliss right now. I'm not sure if it's a case of the early hiccups being gone, or if my late (1-ish) lunch resulted in a better product, but the fries were perfect this time. The burger is as pink and juicy as I remembered it, the staff is just as friendly, and the now crispy fries provided just the right textural contrast to the dipping sauce, exactly as I had hoped it would.

I suppose I'll go back to give the hot dogs another try, and then report in. Really, though, the portions on the fries are so generous that I could make a meal of that by itself.

And, let me repeat once more, the napkins are awesome.

I had the chili chees fries with Merkt's sharp cheddar. I got it with gardinere.

It was a sloppy mess. It was awesome.
Nice spice to the chili covered all over with cheese.
I'd definitely do that again.

took the 5-6 block walk over this afternoon for a very nice char burger cooked perfectly to medium rare. Could have used a bit more salt, however.

Fries were good but there were some soggy ones -- perhaps 2 different batches were mixed.

Stopped in for a chili dog with Merkts on it. The fries were excellent.

This place is great. Hot Dogs are Vienna Beef, fries are ridiculous. The burger is not frozen and you can get it cooked medium rare.

I highly recommend this place.

BTW, I was in there a few weeks ago and the lady behind me ordered a deep fried polish. Oh boy, it's not on the menu, but they'll do it.

dondrake wrote:BTW, I was in there a few weeks ago and the lady behind me ordered a deep fried polish. Oh boy, it's not on the menu, but they'll do it.

A lot of places cook them that way as a shortcut. I am not a fan.

U.B. Dogs continues to deliver great burgers at a reasonable price, todays double with pepper jack and bacon really hit the spot. Seemed like they were doing a brisk business at 11 this morning, so hopefully they'll be sticking around.

they had a paleta cart out front too.

Just had my first UB Charburger and yes! Delicious and cooked medium. Loved the Merk's. I think the bun spent a little too much time on the griddle and fell apart within moments, but I didn't mind losing a few carbs. The fries were soggy and as mentioned before, could benefit from the 2-step frying process. I'll be back for the dogs soon!

Hey guys,

Thanks for the feedback. We are constantly trying to tweak our operation and better our food and guest experience. Any one else out there with 2 cents? We continue to put out 1/3-lb fresh-pressed burgers, though have changed our process to ensure cooking it the way you'd like (and there's Nothing wrong with medium-rare, if that's your flavor).

We're a true mom and pop, as I own the place and the young lady on condiments (Mollie) is my lovely girlfriend. Were doing our damndest to put out great food, so any criticism that can help us improve is always welcomed.

Been an LTH Lurker for years, though I'm hoping to tap into this wealth of knowledge and experience of my fellow foodies, and see if I can't get this joint to be the stand I know it can be. I just want to extend a warm welcome on behalf of my self and staff, and ask that you folks let your people know we're here.. it'd be a huge help!

stevez wrote:

dondrake wrote:BTW, I was in there a few weeks ago and the lady behind me ordered a deep fried polish. Oh boy, it's not on the menu, but they'll do it.

A lot of places cook them that way as a shortcut. I am not a fan.

Hi Steve
I use natural-cased Vienna polishes which we char, though I'm always game to accomidate special requests

We have our full menu displayed at www.ubdogs.com

This place is great! Our office is pretty much across the street (333 w wacker) and it's dangerous being this close to such a great burger. Definitely try to hit it once every couple of weeks (anything more and I'm a fat pig!)

On the short walk back the fries are still great too. Their blackened chicken is good too!

I know trs23, I'm at 225 W. Randolph (Randolph and Franklin) and I have to plan my day around a visit to UB.
Meetings this afternoon? No way - I'll be in a coma.
Need to watch a 3 hour training video? Perfect! I'll just veg in front of my computer with my headphones on all afternoon

trs23 wrote:This place is great! Our office is pretty much across the street (333 w wacker) and it's dangerous being this close to such a great burger. Definitely try to hit it once every couple of weeks (anything more and I'm a fat pig!)

On the short walk back the fries are still great too. Their blackened chicken is good too!

Well, to make you feel a smidge better, we do use a 90/10 blend of ground beef and all fresh produce.. Nutritionally speaking, you could do a Lot worse. There's no justifying the fries (lol), though we have been selling a bunch of our homemade tomato salad as a side.. an 8oz bowl of diced up fresh tomatos, mozzarella, basil, balsamic and giardiniera peppers. If you haven't already tried, please ask us for a sample on your next trip.. I keep dozens in the condiment table for folks to try.

I think I'm gonna have to drop by soon to try the tomato salad.
Do us one favor if you can, if you've read the thread you'll notice we really like the napkins
Any chance you can keep those? I hope they're not too expensive 'cause I have to agree I really like 'em.

zoid wrote:I think I'm gonna have to drop by soon to try the tomato salad.
Do us one favor if you can, if you've read the thread you'll notice we really like the napkins
Any chance you can keep those? I hope they're not too expensive 'cause I have to agree I really like 'em.

During last month's P&L, I found I spend over $250 on the dinner napkins. Considering we have a 22 work-day month, I spend waaaaaayy too much on them (over $10 a day). However, instead of ridding them, I've just cut them back to about 2-3 napkins per bag. It's definitely helped, since everyong still takes a stack of trifold napkins after I throw the good ones in, lol.

Don't worry, they're here for good. If 2-3 isn't enough, I like to think I'm approachable enough to ask for a couple more

zoid wrote:I think I'm gonna have to drop by soon to try the tomato salad.
Do us one favor if you can, if you've read the thread you'll notice we really like the napkins
Any chance you can keep those? I hope they're not too expensive 'cause I have to agree I really like 'em.

Joe, it was nice to formally meet you. Hope the meal hit the spot.

JoeyHotdogs wrote:

zoid wrote:I think I'm gonna have to drop by soon to try the tomato salad.
Do us one favor if you can, if you've read the thread you'll notice we really like the napkins
Any chance you can keep those? I hope they're not too expensive 'cause I have to agree I really like 'em.

Joe, it was nice to formally meet you. Hope the meal hit the spot.

Thanks Joe, it was nice to meet you too.
I'm gonna have to try the Joey Dog again - that had a real nice kick!

The fries need some work - limp, soggy, and, in some places, not quite cooked all the way. But, the rest of the stuff is fantastic. I'm perfectly happy skipping the fries and just adding a hot dog to my order.

@stevez,

It was a real pleasure to meet you last week, Steve . I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to chat longer, but I hope you had a nice experience over by us.

JoeyHotdogs wrote:@stevez,

It was a real pleasure to meet you last week, Steve . I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to chat longer, but I hope you had a nice experience over by us.

Joey,

Nice meeting you, too. UB. Dogs is a great addition to the downtown fast food scene. Finally, there is another place, in addition to Fast Track, to get a decent natural casing dog without having to travel out of the area.

After living in London for 6 months I just got back a week and a half ago and have been dying for a dog. I now live with the "future" wife which happens to live right around the corner from UB. Before I left it wasn't open yet so I was excited to see postings about it and decided to try it for a quick dog today. My first back in Sweet Home Chicago.

Unfortunately, it was just ok. The bun was over steamed and and semi wet, the tomato was really mealy and pinkish color instead of red, very unripe. Although I know this isn't the best time for tomatoes, it coulda been a tad better. It was a decent dog, not horrible, just really didn't fix my craving for a dog. I was hoping it would be great cause it's so close, but it was just ok. Granted, it was the end of the day, around 3ish, so maybe if I went earlier it'd be better.

That being said I do want to try a beef and a charburger. One thing that scared me a bit about the burger was I saw a couple patties sitting in a pan next to the grill. I know everyone said they cook them to order and even the owner posts state that, but was a bit disconcerting. Again, maybe this is an end of day thing.

I don't write things off too easily, so I'll def be back to try again. Hopefully with better results. I really want to like it cause it's so close.

Another very successful lunch at UB Dogs today.
The char burger with Merkt’s really scratches an itch. Nice char on the burger and plenty of cheese plus piping hot fries made me very happy.

Now excuse me while I go put my head down and close my eyes for a bit.

Just posting to say that U.B. Dogs seems to have fixed whatever problems they were having with their french fries. Unlike the first couple of times I went, the fries I had today were very crispy and not at all under-cooked on the inside. I'm not sure if they went to a two-step method, but whatever they're doing, it is working. These have definitely become my favorite fries in the Loop.

I also had the Joey Dog, with sport peppers added on. The peppers with the tabasco sauce made this a nicely spicy dog. My wife had the polish and really liked it. Even though it is few blocks from my office, I find U.B. Dogs is becoming my go-to spot when I manage to eat somewhere other than my desk.

DJH wrote:Just posting to say that U.B. Dogs seems to have fixed whatever problems they were having with their french fries. Unlike the first couple of times I went, the fries I had today were very crispy and not at all under-cooked on the inside. I'm not sure if they went to a two-step method, but whatever they're doing, it is working. These have definitely become my favorite fries in the Loop.

I'm glad you've noticed, DJH! We've tweaked our process by blanching a full minute longer in the morning. It really has made a huge difference.