QT Chicago Dogs: The Closest To Chi-Town We've Found

This doggery is currently in the doghouse.
Please read the updates at the bottom of the review.

QT CHICAGO DOGS
4344 Woodman Av, Sherman Oaks
818.368.0111
Click for a Map to QT Chicago Dogs

PARTICULARS:
Vienna Beef Standard Hot Dog, Mild Polish,
Fire Dog, Natural Casing Dog, Italian Sausage,
Corn Dog, Veggie and Turkey Dogs for Sissies,
Onions, Tomato, Yellow Pepper, Electric Green
Relish, Celery Salt, Side Pickles, Shredded
Cheese, Fries, Onion Rings, Chili, Roast Beef,
Pastrami and a variety of other Sandwiches,
Gyro, Fish n' Chips, Chicken Breast Strips,
Italian Sausage Sandwich, Burgers, Veggie
Burgers, Chicken Nuggets, Buffalo Chicken
Fingers (whatever the hell that is!)
Health Department Rating: A

DISTINCTIONS:
Authentic Chicago Dogs with Natural Casings



We read in the Los Angeles Chowhound Message Board that the best place to find an "authentic" Chicago Dog was QT Chicago Dogs, with stands in Sherman Oaks, Reseda and Northridge. The Sherman Oaks branch was just a hop, skip and a jump away, but even though we knew the neighborhood like the backs of our hands, we couldn't picture in our mind where the heck the QT stand was. So we ventured out with an address in our sweaty little mitts to track it down. We were surprised to discover that QT was in the same mini-mall as our favorite Middle Eastern restaurant, Carnival. (The best tabouli in town!) The reason we had never noticed it was because the place didn't look at all like a hot dog stand. The Short Stop Market must have been having problems doing enough business to pay the rent. They divided the market in half, added a door on the sidewalk, and leased half the space out to QT.



Walking into the Sherman Oaks QT Chicago Dogs is a bit disorienting. There's no wall between the market next door and the hot dog stand, and the flourescent lights above are as bright as high noon in the Mojave desert. A huge eating area full of tables stands just a little way away from the checkout lines of the market. As you munch on your doggie dinner you can watch the local drunks stop by for a sixer or a shorty of gin to tide them over till the daylight breaks. The walls were festooned with Chicago travel posters and the exact same Vienna Beef posters we saw at Taste Chicago. Based on our experience at that particular doggery, the posters didn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence... But there was one homemade sign on the wall that made our hearts skip a beat... "Natural Casing Dogs- $1 extra"



Yes Sir! This place had the goods! We brushed right past the Gyros, Pastrami and Buffalo Chicken Finger Sandwiches (What's a buffalo chicken, and why does it have fingers?!) and went straight for the dogs. QT has a variety of dogs... the Standard Dog and Mild Maxwell Street Polish are the same as the uninspiring ones at Taste Chicago, so we gave those a pass. Jon the Food Slob ordered a Fire Dog (split and grilled with onions) and an Italian Sausage with grilled onions and green peppers. Steve Doggie-Dogg went dog-crazy with two Natural Casing Dogs Chicago Style (Brown Mustard, Onions, Electric Green Relish, Tomato, Celery Salt, Side Pickle and Hot Yellow Pepper on a Sesame Seed Bun), a Chili Cheese Natural Casing Dog and his regular... a Natural Casing Dog with Brown Mustard, Onions, Cheese and Tomato. We decided to split an order of fries.

As we sat and waited for the dogs (and for our eyes to adjust to the blinding glare of the flourescent lighting) we asked the fellas behind the counter a few questions. They claimed that all of their dogs were Vienna Beef, even the pork ones. (We tend to doubt that...) Steve asked how many people specify the natural casings... "Very few" was the answer. Well, these two particular dog lovers certainly appreciate a good snappy skin, even if the average Sherman Oakian doesn't! In three shakes of a doggy's tail we had our meal...



The dogmeat was very good. John the Food Slob's quarter pound Fire Dog wasn't hot at all, but it was beautifully spiced with the kind of garlicy goodness that seeps through your pores for days after eating it. It had no snap, but split and grilled it was a mouthwatering treat nonetheless. The Italian Sausage was a real surprise. It had no skin, and the texture of the meat was the same as Breakfast Sausage. But this was a lot better than your average Farmer's Patty... It was infused with delicious Italian spices and herbs. The Grilled Onions and Green Peppers that bedecked it were the perfect complement. Steve's Chicago Dogs were excellent, with a snappy skin and pretty good spices. They even squirted nicely when you bit into them. The relish was the same shamrock green as at Rubin's Red Hot, but it wasn't piled on quite as thick, so the sweetness wasn't too overpowering. The tomatoes were pretty blah compared to the beautiful red, meaty, juicy ones at Carney's, but the onions were nice and fresh. The side pickle was fine, but the yellow hot pepper (the same kind you get at Tommy's Burgers) couldn't hold a candle to a real Chicago sport pepper, like the ones at Taste Chicago. The fries were pretty good... very similar to the ones at In-N-Out... clean and potatoey, not too overcooked. The only real disappointment of the evening was the chili, though. It was a horrible, fluffy nasty tasting mess. We won't make the mistake of ordering it again. The cheese was pretty bland and tasteless too. It's obvious that it's best to avoid non-Chicago condiments like kraut, chili and cheese. And for God's sake... NO KETCHUP!



Well, we gobbled down the grub and went back for another Italian Sausage. Even though we had no Chicago native with us to authenticate the dogs, we felt confident in awarding QT the prize for best Chicago Dog, edging out Rubin's Red Hot and Taste Chicago. Jon the Food Slob and Steve Doggie-Dogg both felt that QT Chicago Dogs deserved a solid Three And A Half Dog rating, putting it halfway between Papoo's Hot Dog Show and The Stand.

When Chicago Mike found out that we were about to give a good review to a Chicago Dog stand, he expressed his doubts. "In Chicago, you'd have to extend your Dog Rating Scale to SEVEN or EIGHT dogs! A Thee And A Half Dog Chicago Dog?! Pshaw! You're going to have to convince me." L.J. Dawgg concurred. "I want to try this QT place... It CAN'T be as good as home!" Well folks, it sounds like we'll be heading back to QT soon with some skeptical Chicagoans in tow. We'll post an update.

UPDATE: June 27th, 2004

Vic Swarthydogg and his ol' pal Cigarettes the Pup read our review of QT and demanded to be formally introduced to the QT bill of fare. So Steve Doggie-Dogg and Jon the Food Slob took the boys down for a follow-up. Even though we had to step over a drunken bum at the door who looked just like Fred Flintstone on the skids, and the flourescent glare was just as blinding as before, both Vic and Cigs were impressed with QT Chicago Dogs. They concurred with the accuracy of our previous dog rating, and pointed out that the Chicago Natural Casing Dog is top notch.

Over on the Los Angeles Chowhound Message Board it was revealed that there is indeed a natural casing Vienna Beef dog, and it can be ordered in bulk by mail. The Fire Dog is also available the same way. So it appears that all Vienna Beef is not created equal... The Standard Vienna Beef dog and Mild Polish is what we sampled at Taste Chicago and found to be uninspiring. The best Vienna Beef dogs are the Natural Casing Dog and the Fire Dog, which we've only found at QT so far.

More info when we can wrangle Chicago Mike and L.J. into giving QT a taste...

STRIKE ONE: July 22nd, 2004

Last night, Jon the Food Slob, Steve Doggie-Dogg, L.J. Dawgg and Vic Swarthydogg went down to QT's to discuss the upcoming DOGOFF with the lads from Hot Dog Tour. THEY RAN OUT OF NATURAL CASING DOGS. Yes, you heard us right. They only had three natural casing dogs in the whole joint. Now, that's inexcusable... but we'll let it pass if it's a one time thing. If you plan to sample QT, you might want to phone ahead to make sure you don't make the trip down there for nothing.

STRIKE TWO: August 5th, 2004

Yesterday, Chicago Mike and Steve Doggie-Dogg visited QT's again... and AGAIN they had run out of natural casing dogs. They apologized profusely, but it's still totally unacceptable. They get one more chance. If they don't have the natural casing dogs next time we drop in, we will be forced to drop their Dog Rating a full pooch.