I finally made it to Hot Doug's...

...today, at Roscoe and California, not too far from Gordon Tech. It's subtitled, the "Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium," and it's not hard to see why. Besides the usual Chicago-style hot dogs with all the trimmings and Polish sausages with grilled onions, Hot Doug's offers daily specials, such as "Cognac-infused pheasant sausage with dijon goat butter and walnut-studded gouda cheese," "Cherry and apple pork sausage with Sir William Pear mustard and vosges bacon chocolate," and even a "Ribeye steak sausage with chimichurri, St. Angel triple creme cheese and crispy fried onions."

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

After waiting in line outside for (several) minutes (and in the cold; no one was wearing shorts or T-shirts like in the picture above), my nephew, James, and I made it up to the counter and placed our order from the owner himself, Doug Sohn.

While James opted for the "Hot sauce chicken sausage with 'Buffalo' mustard and smoked moody blue cheese," I took advantage of the recent lifting of the city's foie gras ban and jumped all over the "Foie gras and Sauternes duck sausage with truffle aioli, foie gras mousse and fleur de sel," above. Delicious.

We splurged and spent $3.50 on the "duck fat fries," which are only available on Fridays and Saturdays. And, yes, that means I had an All Mallard Meal. (Hey, you only go around once.) Wash it down with a couple of ice cold root beers, and life is good.

Next time you come to town, remind me, and I'll take you to Hot Doug's. You won't be disappointed.