Allium - Surprising Contender for Best Hot Dog in Chicago

A little over 3 years ago, the Four Seasons opened Allium to replace the much higher end Seasons restaurant. The chef at the time, Kevin Hickey (since moved on to the Rockit Family), publicly acknowledged that the bar and room-service food was doing much better than the high end stuff so the hotel made the switch. I went to Allium a couple of times when Hickey was still in the kitchen. I found everything to have a fun elevated approach to otherwise familiar flavors and always thought the restaurant would be hugely popular if it weren't hidden away on the 7th floor of a hotel. I even had a long draft post almost done and was going to start a thread but when Hickey left most of what I'd written became moot.

The dinner menu at Allium has inched towards higher end dining and I haven't tried any of it. However, thanks to two holdovers from Hickey's tenure, I still make it back from time to time.



The hot dog is a work of art. Every element is made in house including the dog, bun, pickle, ketchup, mustard, and relish. The sausage itself is a well-seasoned beefy delight in a snappy casing. As should be the case, it's absolutely the star, but the other components certainly do their part as well. It costs $16, but it's in a hotel restaurant and it's half a pound of meat. Also, and this is the most important thing, I think it's the best hot dog in the city.

The hot dog is on the lunch menu and not the dinner one, but if you sit in the lounge area rather than inside the restaurant, you can get it any time.


The other highlight that's been on the menu for ages is the butterscotch miso shake. Appropriately thick and sporting a unique burst of sweet umami, it's really worth a trip downtown to check out. There are other places with great milkshakes but I'm not sure there's one I'd call better than this one.

Allium
120 E Delaware Place, 7th Floor
Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 799-4900

The one and only time I was at The Duck Inn, this excellent tube steak (or a really similar one) was also on the menu there. I don't recall if the accoutrements were quite as elaborate but the dog itself was a winner. I guess it's something chef Hickey brought with him. Fwiw, Duck Inn's current online menu lists the Duck Fat Dog at $10.

=R=

Duck Inn
2701 S Eleanor St
Chicago, IL 60608
(312) 724-8811

I've had both--at Allium a couple years back and several times at the Duck Inn, as I live quite close by. They aren't the same, but substantially similar, and it's one of the best items on the bar menu at the Duck Inn. I've only eaten in the dining room there once, which was good but pricey. The bar menu, however, with this sausage, the hamburger sandwich, and the cheese curds, offers up an unholy trinity of cholesterol, in communion with which I unabashedly partake.

mtgl wrote:The bar menu, however, with this sausage, the hamburger sandwich, and the cheese curds, offers up an unholy trinity of cholesterol, in communion with which I unabashedly partake.

Fried Cheese Curds with Bloody Mary Ketchup (containing, Hickey told me, most of the ingredients in a Bloody Mary, including vodka) and Hoppy Mayo (because he, and others who have spent time in Wisconsin, expect a beer back with their Bloodies) are spectacular. Unlike the breaded versions, the light tempura treatment of these curds is a beautiful thing. I like that Hickey shows respect to foods that don't get much (and, in the case of most fried cheese curds, don't deserve much). Doing a fancy version of humble foods can be gimmicky, but this starter/side did not feel gimmicky; it was just a very well thought-out and evocative presentation -- and very tasty.