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| - Last week I had the opportunity to meet the owners, managers and staff at JJ's and to sample a good portion of the menu. JJ's is in the space occupied by The Drum restaurant, which operated from 1948 - 1995. Following the end of The Drum's operation several restaurants have opened and failed in this space. Judging from the new design, the level of enthusiasm and the quality of the food I think JJ's is here to stay!
We tried sample portions of most of the offerings and all were well-executed and tasty. JJ's uses smokehouse hot dogs from Sahlen's Packing Company in Buffalo, NY and the dogs are chargrilled over an open flame - yay for that charred smoky taste! Then come the toppings. There are eight signature hot dogs like the Char Heel (house-made chili, house-made slaw, diced onions and mustard) and my favorite: the Joliet Jake (Chicago style with tomatoes, sport peppers, diced onions, pickle relish, deli mustard, celery salt and pickle spear). You can also build your own with a long list of toppings, some of which are made in-house. House-made picked jalepenos and pickled vegetables are available at a self-serve bar near the soda fountain to top things off. I didn't try these during my visit but next time I'm definitely going to load up!
JJ's also serves several specialty sausages including house-made smoked salmon sausage with quick-pickled cucumber, red onion and herb aioli - so tasty and a good option for the non-pork eating crowd. The chicken sausage with grilled onions and bell pepper was another favorite of mine but the andouille sausage sliders take the cake with delicious cole slaw on top. Bratwurst, Italian sausage and a Polish round out the sausage menu. Salads and homemade chili are also offered so yes, you could even take a vegetarian here - the onion rings and desserts are great too!
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