rev:text
| - Die hard Chicagoan here....so my expectations are somewhat "elevated" when it comes to food from my beloved hometown. Like Nicole said, is it the best Chicago dog I've ever had? Not even close. Is it the best Chicago dog in Charlotte? I say YES. They've got the traditional ingredients down pat, the Vienna beef sausage (yes, that's what a "hot dog" is.....an encased meat sausage), the neon green relish, the steamed poppy seed bun (which is the quintessential defining part of a Chicago dog), sport peppers, tomato, a pickle and MUSTARD (Chicago dogs NEVER, repeat, NEVER EVER use Ketchup!).
So I got a Chicago Dog and a special called the Fire Dog today which was a spicy Polish sausage with grilled onions, brown mustard and I opted for the sauerkraut. It was a good dog, with all the flavors expected. Fries are usually good here, but my criticism is that they lack some seasonings.....hell use Lawry's Seasoned Salt or something and fry them a tad longer to get more of a crisp on them. They're not bad but certainly CAN be better!
Being a lover of Portillos, Mr. Beef and Al's in Chicago, Matt's version of Chicago Beef is just meh.....sausage isn't bad but their beef just isn't flavorful enough for my tastes. I mean it's not bad, just not up to my expectation from what I remember from back home. OK now I'm being picky and critical.....me bad.
For first time visitors, just know that the portions are NOT very big (at least for the dogs). Recommend getting a combo with 2 Chicago Dogs or a combo Beef/Sausage. Even the females in my group complained that one dog wasn't quite enough. Jumbo dog is also an option. They should offer a TWO DOG JUMBO combo for us bigger eaters.
So overall I love Matt's as it does provide me with a LITTLE taste of home. I can only hope that SOMEONE opens up a REAL CHICAGO PIZZA place here in Charlotte....while I love thin pizza, there IS MUCH BETTER out there so please someone, open a Giordano's here! PLEASE! :-)
|