I’m a gourmand when it comes to hot dogs and their crustier cousin, the corn dog. When I went to a Chicago Dogs baseball game on $1 hot dog night last summer, I took the special promotion as a challenge and consumed an irresponsible number of wieners. But I also recognize a special tubular meat product when I see one, and the Korean corn dogs served at what was then called Eggsum Holycow in Glenview are one such delicacy. (The name has since changed to Kong Dog.) In the fall, I planned my inaugural trek to a restaurant whose dishes have become a TikTok curiosity partly because of the variety of eye-popping toppings on the menu; you can get your deep-fried dog-on-a-stick coated in a rainbow-colored rice puff cereal, or Cheetos that have been ground into dust, or spaghetti. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want to visit this place because I had trouble processing the concept of a salty, savory meat stick adorned with a sugary cereal forbidden to me for most of my childhood. And all that was before I realized the “dog” options weren’t strictly meat—you can get a whole stick of mozzarella instead of sausage, or go halfsies on the meat and cheese. I suppose I’m a simple guy, because I’ve only ever tried the meat-based treats, and I still savor the memory. The Fruity Pop dog worked better than I could’ve predicted; the sausage’s spicy kick played well against the sweetness of the brightly colored toppings and battered crust. I suppose I don’t need to trek all the way out to Glenview since a Kong Dog recently opened in Little Italy, but the experience was worth another trip.
Eds. Note: We learned of the name change to Kong Dog after print publication. Our appreciation of the suburban savory sweetness remains the same.
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