Hoppin Hots

Also bummed it closed! It was soooo delicious!

I am still very bummed out that his place closed. It was relish. Bit pricey, but completely worth it. Dang you, Chicagoans.
This place could have became really popular. Le Sigh.

Why, why, why did this place close??? It was great. Much better than anything I ever had at Hot Doug’s. This location must be cursed. First Great Lakes Pizza and then Hoppin Hots. Two amazing restaurants for the neighborhood that are now both history. I just don’t understand why great restaurants go out of business when craptacular ones around them thrive.

Still can’t believe it closed, and I didn’t initially believe the closing report I read online till I walked by to see for myself. :(It looked like it was getting good enough business, for the most part whenever I passed by! I hope Over Easy decides to serve the poutine at their location on Damen?
RIP, Hoppin Hots.

So I’m not on board with any other hot dog joint charging $ 7 for a hotdog… but this place gets away with it.
To say that they just serve hot dogs (if you can even call them that) is an understatement. Each time I’ve indulged here, I’ve walked away saying «God damnit that was good.»
Ooh La La Hot is so good, words just don’t do it justice.
Just try it once…

Let’s talk about the veggie-​dog!
I have never believed that there would be a satisfactory veggie-​dog but this is by far the best one I’ve ever had!
I ordered the Modern and cheese fries and it was delicious!
The service was incredibly friendly and attentive.
You can have any of the hot dogs veggie style with very few things you would have to leave off. This is my vegetarian dream spot this summer.
I would have tried more of the offerings had I had enough room after the first hot dog. They are very filling and they give you a more than shareable amount of french fries.
If they only had a restroom and ice it would be perfect, but even so, if you are thinking about it… yes, you should eat here!

Sooo good, my first time here and not the last one believe me…
The people who work here are so hospitable and nice, awesome work guyz :)

I LOVE Hoppin Hots! If you’re looking for high quality gourmet dogs with a delicious bun (seriously – the bun makes a big difference!), give them a shot! On top of their pretty diverse menu, they always have a «specials» menu with unique options to try — the hardest part is deciding which one! They have vegetarian options and also have sausages – I’ve never tried anything I didn’t like. The space is small but they keep things moving so I’ve never not been able to get a table. Friendly staff, clean tables, reasonable prices for the quality, and delicious variety – check them out for a new adventure of the hot dog kind!

I have been waiting to go to hoppin hots for a long time and there was no better day to go than Canada Day! It is the cutest little restaurant and has a very cozy yet fastfood feel. I got the poutine and let me tell you it was no disappointment. The poutine was absolutely delicious and the fried cheese curds isn’t something I am used to but they were definitely a treat. The portion is big and I barely got through even half and I was full! What tops it off is that the people that work there are so great! I felt so comfortable coming in and the man working in the front (I wish I would have gotten his name) was so nice, he told me as soon as I walked in that if I had any questions to ask him-​which has never happened in my history of eating/​buying food anywhere! He even wished me a happy Canada day! Without a doubt, I will be recommending this place to everyone and will definitely be back myself:)

I’ll be honest, I didn’t know I was headed to a fancy, kick-​ass hot dog joint when my fiancé’ suggested this place for our lunch date. He’s a vegetarian and rarely gives veggie hot dogs a try but he read some amazing things about Hoppin Hots so we gave it a shot. I got the Umami Hot (a special of the day with pork belly and tomato jam and more amazingness that I can’t recall right now), and I said «this is so good it makes me want to punch something cute!» The owner asked if he could quote me for a review and I told him to have at it!
The fiancé said his veggie hot was the best that he’s had and was so incredibly happy he found this place.
The hotdogs have that really good, (and important) snap to them, and every ingredient on the dog was fresh and just so delicious. The bun was a perfect texture so that it wasn’t so soft that it fell apart underneath all of the stuff, and it wasn’t so dense that it was hard to chew. Just perfect.
The owner and one other employee were so friendly and nice and very helpful. I really appreciated the hospitality and customer service.
There are so many unique and interesting things going on with this menu that I guarantee we will be back.
Really great place, really great location and really REALLY great hot dogs!!!

Got the Poutine dog today. There are literally french fries, huge chunks of fried cheese, gravy, lightly pickled onions, and Amazingness dusted on top. Holy crap. So good.
Why isn’t this place packed? This dog was an equal to any I had at Hot Dougs. And I know that’s sayin’ something.

This is really 3.5 stars, but I’m bumping it up for the great service and atmosphere. We loved the sides: the poutin fries were phenomenal and a phenomenal value. We also enjoyed the chocolate milkshake. The hot dogs (one duck special, one bacon special) were good but not out of the ordinary for specialty hot dog shops. I do like that they let you put a beef, duck, or veggie dog in almost any of their flavors.

Amazing. And the staff is super cool and nice. Tiny, no bathroom, but oh my goodness, so delicious! And the milkshakes! Mmmmmm.

What what?! I seriously never gave this place a second thought as I’d pass by every time I’m in A-​ville. But, so glad I looked it up here on Unilocal,and decided to try it.
HERE’S WHAT I LIKE:
**The hot dogs! They were big enough so that I was full off of one and some fries. They were messy enough to make me feel like I was eating a mess of a meal (and loved it).
**Customer Service
HERE’S WHAT I DIDN’T APPRECIATE:
** Way too salty fries
**Odd layout of the space which prevented more seating to be had
**No restroom
Buuutttt, I like the dogs and if that’s what I’m going for, the other things are sidelined.
Hot dog + In my mouth = Extreme goodness

Great food great service great people serving you what more can you ask for I highly recommend trying there hotdogs

Stopped in for lunch and boy am I glad we did! This is how hotdogs should be. I had the elotero hot and my beau had a special dog — the mo’bay hot. Both were spectacular. We added a perfect order of fries (just the right crispiness) for a complete lunch. The service was also pretty great. The server was very friendly and even came to check on how everything was — in a fast-​food hotdog joint. We will definitely be back.

I had Hoppin’ Hots bookmarked for ages and ages… years and years… centuries. I finally got to this hot dog shop on the main strip in Andersonville and was met with a much smaller shop than I expected. And much more empty! There was only one other guy who came in while we were there & he just picked up poutine, no sausages.
That being said, you must get their $ 5 poutine. Though not the signature item at this hot dog stand, it’s a huge dish. Huge dish smothered in the classic poutine gravy with a healthy serving of cheese curds over the soggy fries. I absolutely loved everything about the poutine and would go back for that alone.
Their cheese fries — meh. The cheese sauce was grainy which made for an unpleasing sensation in my mouth. My friend told the worker and she said she’d let the kitchen know. The lady working the cash register was very friendly and I appreciated her positive attitude.
Many of the hot dog combos sounded great but in the end I went with the Carbonara — Deep-​fried sous vide pork belly, garlic aioli, & parmigiano ciccioli. You also get to pick if you want a duck dog, classic dog or veggie dog so of course I picked duck! Always duck! Quack! The combination of ingredients was quite good but it was an overwhelming amount of bun. I ended up tearing a bunch off so I could focus on the task at hand. In the end, I liked the dog but it has a ways to go before knocking my socks off and being in the ranks with Franks N Dawgs.
Short Version —
Poutine — Yes.
Cheese Fries — No.
Hot Dogs — Good Topping Combos, too much bun, A-​OK.

Stopped in to feed the hot dog craving yesterday, and shared a beef Modern Chicago Hot, which showed up piping hot with a fried pickle on top.
It was awesome and was neat twist on the «throw every topping imaginable on there» Chicago dog that I usually stay away from. I’d have happily given this place a five star review except for my hangup on spending more than $ 7 on a hot dog, no matter how gourmet it is.
For that kind of price, if I return I will try something off their specials menu and/​or some kind of duck hot dog.

My journey here started with an attempt to try Hot Doug’s before they close next week. Since Hot Doug’s closed 30 minutes before they opened today, I searched online for another great hot dog and landed on Hoppin Hots. I have to say I’m lucky Hot Dougs was closed. Hoppin Hots was perfect for me.
The service was great, the staff was very inviting, and they do whatever they can to help you out! They have gluten free buns and all their dogs are gluten free which was great because I’m tired of eating hot dogs with no bun.
I had the sassy hot and the carbonara hot and both were delicious. Great quality beef and duck dogs and the toppings are simply awesome. This is now my new favorite hot dog joint!

Hoppin Hots is a premium hot dog restaurant. These aren’t skinny, typical over charred dogs, thrown on a bun with boring Chicago style fixins (there is a time and a place for that though). The hot dogs at HH are REALLY really good. I am not going to list off all the ingredients on the various hot dogs because they are plentiful but I assure you all the dogs are delicious and all their topping combinations are delicious. Just look at their menu to see how creative and delicious all their hot dogs are.
It’s very hard to choose your dog (s), let me tell you. Some of my stand out favorites are the Poutin Hot, The Elotero Hot and the Carbonara Hot. But I’ve tried a few more than that from their menu and they are all absolutely delicious. They also always have a Specials menu going with more creative, mouthwatering hot dogs to choose from. I’ve had some really remarkably delicious dogs from their specials menu. Their buns are soft, they salt, sauce, and flavor well, dogs are juicy and dressed to the nines. You can get duck, beef or veggie. These are decadent dogs. Their fries are also very good, thin, crispy and well seasoned. Even better are their poutin fries. Stop. STOP. Yeah. It’s that good.
To top it off they have milkshakes and shakes de jour. Boyfriend and I have split a peanut butter shake once. Of course it was delicious. It’s hard to resist always getting a shake but we’ve managed to control ourselves.
I wont say this place is over-​priced but I will say it’s a little expensive. It’s more expensive than «generic chicago hot dog shack» but I think rightly so. They use seriously premium ingredients that you wont see at most hot dog shops; duck confit, chanterelles, pork belly, pulled pork, goat cheese, cheese curds, aioli, etc. Not necessarily all super expensive ingredients but certainly fancier than neon relish and chopped raw onion. Their hours are also a little limited. I wont even try to tell you what they are because they have changed several times but they are NOT open late. I wish they were but I assume the owners have a life and I’m glad they are open at all to serve me up the best hot dogs I’ve ever had.
I really think Hoppin Hots deserves to be a must-​visit attraction in Chicago.