Mike’s Hot Dogs (sometimes referred to as Mike’s Chicago Dog Haus) is a small hot dog eatery found almost exactly at the corner of the Whole Foods shopping center on Hammond and Roswell Road, a minute’s walk from Canton Cooks and Hearth Pizza Tavern. You can’t see it from Roswell Road, so if you see the Whole Foods, just turn. Once you’re near it, it can be partly obscured by trees, so just keep heading towards the corner of the ‘L’, you’ll get there.

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Inside, there are booths, and lots of posters and Chicago memorabilia on the walls, and a small counter where you can order food. A regular Chicago dog runs about 2.49, so I ended up ordering a Polish combo and a dog to go for a friend.

Now, I have very little Chicago experience in dogs. I’ve been to the Windy City, but mostly to see the sights, get into Chicago’s excellent museums, take a gander from the Sears Tower, and eat pizza. I don’t have any preconceived notions of what a Chicago dog is supposed to be, and any “Yankee Dog” experiences I’ve had have come from the street carts of Philadelphia.

Soon after ordering, though, one Polish dog was delivered to my table.

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delicious!

Nice.  Carmelized onions, mustard, a spear of pickle, and peppers along with a decent looking tube of meat. Mike’s web site emphasizes their use of Vienna Beef sausage and Gonella bread in their dogs. They order most of their ingredients from Chicago, in order to get the taste and feel down right. In the blogging community, Manda Panda has a review of Mike’s Dogs. There is also a fine review by Wayne Wolf.

My impression? Well, I’m a sucker for peppers on meat. When I’d order cheese steaks in Philadelphia, I’d always get the fiery hot cherry peppers with my steaks when I could. This was a delicious dog, hot and tasty. The onions added a nice dose of flavor and the Polish dog brought back memories of freezing in front of a silver cart on a cloudy March day. Thankfully in Mike’s, freezing isn’t required.

Verdict: A bit of Chicago in Atlanta. Tasty, inexpensive dogs. Highly Recommended.

Mike’s Hot Dogs
5948 Roswell Road
Atlanta, GA 30328
(404) 252-8484

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