Michiganders Windy City Dawghouse
8712 Portage RoadThe struggle is real. You can’t just slap the words “Chicago-style” on something, half-ass it then think Chicago transplants are going to show up. It’s been tried several times in West Michigan.
A few places have had some success. Chicago Taste was a twice a week visit for me until they got busted by the health department. Ray Ray’s has been a pretty solid staple over the years as well. Hell, even the short lived Pop’s Italian Beef was a welcome addition even though it’s probably my least favorite Chicagoland chain.
The point is, it’s not easy to do Chicago style outside of Chicago unless you make a commitment to doing it the right way.
A place in Portage that just opened up is doing it the right way.
Michiganders Windy City Dawghouse opened up in early March on Portage Road south of Zylman Avenue in the old D & R’s Daily Grind Cafe. The restaurant was opened by a Chicago transplant who has the same problem I do. There’s a frustration trying to find a place that does it right.
The restaurant isn’t very big but that’s what gives it a Chicago sandwich shop feel. The layout of the place really hasn’t changed from the diner. There’s a lunch counter near the back of the space with menu boards hanging behind the bar. Ordering is done at the cash register on the far end of the counter.
The rest of the space is filled with tables for dine in. I already love the lady who was working the register. The day we were in there a couple came in and literally complained about every thing. The guy was mad he had to get up to order then he was mad all the food came “to-go.” The lady who brought the bags out told him he was lucky they even had tables….to which J chimed in that if this place were in Chicago you’d probably only have the option of standing at a rail to eat. So the tables and chairs are kind of seen as a luxury.
The decor moves away from the typical Chicago sports teams memorabilia and goes instead with movie posters from movies shot or set in Chicago. We happened to sit down right next to a poster from my all-time favorite movie and, in my humble opinion, the best movie every shot in and set in Chicago, The Blues Brothers.
The menu is spot on Chicago. There’s an Italian beef. There’s sausage. There’s a polish. There’s the Chicago hot dog…made with Vienna beef hot dogs…the only way to make it truly Chicago Style. There are also some things people outside of Chicago might not be familiar with but they’re super popular at sandwich shops in the city. Those things are bone-in pork chop sandwiches and pizza puffs. A bone-in pork chop sandwich just sounds absolutely ridiculous but it’s such a staple in Chicago and it’s actually really delicious.
There was absolutely no decision I had to make when ordering. I went straight for the Italian Beef and Sausage Combo. Baptized and with hot peppers. I don’t even know where to start here. This Italian beef is spot on and exactly the way it should be. The beef is made in house. It doesn’t come from a kit shipped in from the city. The meat is piled on a French roll, topped with a grilled Italian sausage and a heap of hot giardiniera. I can not emphasize enough how much this beef tasted like I was sitting in some run down sandwich shop underneath The El on my lunch break. Everything about this sandwich was spot on. The beef was hard to pick up, just the way it should be, because of the immense amount of gravy the bun soaked up. The grilled Italian sausage added a little more heat to the sandwich and a little bit of solidness to the pile of beef and bread that was quickly disintegrating in to a mess of Chicagoness.
The biggest debate I have with people about the best Chicago beef/hot dog joint usually comes down to two places. I love Al’s Beef. Most people go straight to Portillo’s. Not only does Al’s have better beef but the thing that really sends me over the top is the fries. I hate Portillo’s frozen, out of the bag crinkle cut fries. Al’s, on the other hand, has the delicious fresh cut crispy yet soft greasy fries I associate with Chicago sandwich joints.
Guess which one Michiganders Windy City Dawghouse is more like.
It’s Al’s. We got two orders of fries to split between the four of us. We knew the kids weren’t going to eat anything off the menu and that’s fine. We went here for J and I. We did offer up some fries though and these fries are amazingly good. They’re the thin, fresh cut fries that are a deep golden brown on the outside, light and fluffy on the inside and somehow still greasy and delicious. They’re even served in the same tall skinny paper bag you’d find at many places in the city.
J went with the Chicago Vienna Beef dog. This thing is a true Chicago dog because they use Vienna beef dogs. As the kids say, the Vienna Beef just hits different. The Chicago dog is topped with yellow mustard, neon green sweet relish, raw white onions, tomatoes, a dill pickle spear, sport peppers and celery salt then served on a steamed poppy seed bun. There’s not much more I can add to this. This is the way Chicago dogs are meant to be. It’s a work of art.
So you’re not from Chicago and you have the palette of a 10 year old? Good luck with that. You *can* ask for ketchup, but you’re going to be shamed for it. We didn’t get to see it in action, but there’s a “blasphemy bell” that gets rung if you ask for ketchup on your hot dog. Because Rule #1 is NO KETCHUP.
To finish off the meal, we also got a slice of chocolate cake for the four of us to share. We probably should have gotten two. This is the one thing the kids ate. It’s very reminiscent of Portillo’s chocolate cake. Very rich. Very delicious.
Our bill for lunch, with four drinks, was right around $40.
How do I best describe Michiganders Windy City Dawghouse?
Nailed it. Nailed it. (Stealing a phrase from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off) Pardon my French, but FUCKING NAILED IT.
The only downside to this place is it’s so far from my house. Doing something true to a Chicago sandwich shop takes effort. This place has put in the effort and they succeeded in creating a place that would feel right at home in Bridgeport
SW Michigan Dining 