One of the most highly anticipated meals on my recent jaunt to Chicago was at Hot Doug’s, a “Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium.” Here, Doug Sohn serves a bevy of traditional and exotic wieners topped every which way. The path to Doug’s is a well-beaten one due to loyal locals and tenacious tourists. The wait was well over an hour on this chilly Friday afternoon in March.
Joining The Astronomer and me for lunch was one of my oldest and bestest friends Kellie, a Chicago resident. While The Astronomer and I are accustomed to waiting in tortuously long lines for food [see: here, here, and here], such absurdity wasn’t a part of our companion’s day to day. I prayed that Doug’s dogs would be well worth the wait.
The primary reason for the line moving at a snail’s pace was the limited seating available inside the restaurant. To ensure that everyone had a proper place to sit, orders were only taken when a table was vacated.
Fortunately, the time between placing an order and food arriving was impressively fast. We were seated and eating within five minutes.
