Rockstar Dogs

We many never know for sure, but I’m guessing that this mediocre Rockstar must have died of an overdose. Lots of flash, debatable talent, long live the Spinal Tap of Chicago hot dog stands.
As long as there’s, you know, sex and drugs, I can do without the rock and roll. — Mick Shrimpton

* Sayonara, suckas!
This place is now closed.
And apparently Duk’s has a For Rent sign in the window. WTF? Where am I going to get hot dogs in the neighborhood at 2am this summer?

If I had to describe the food here in one (sort of) word, it would be: Meh.
Nothing special besides that you can get an $ 8 hot dog here. I don’t know if they still have this rule but at one point, if you danced on the stripper pole after 10:00 you would supposedly get your dog for free. I never tried this as I had only gone once during the day and never felt even mildly compelled to go back. I can tell you that I drove by there around 9:45 on a week night and it was closed already.
I was going to say that I could have microwaved a hot dog like this on my own but that’s false. I could have microwaved a much, MUCH TASTIER dog on my own.
Oh, I don’t want to leave out that I went with 2 other people, we were the only ones there besides the 2 employees and yet all our hot dogs took between 15 and 20 minutes.
Skip it unless you feel compelled to dance on a stripper pole at a hot dog joint.

Tried to call ahead this time to ask if they have veggie dogs in… but their phone line has been disconnected. My boyfriend drove up to see in person, and they are closed with a poorly scribbled sign on the door: Store Closed, Grill is Broken.
How hard is it to run a hot dog stand?

I should preface by saying that I don’t really like hot dogs. Nor do I understand how there can really be a «good» hot dog vs. a «bad» hot dog. An emulsion of processed and blended meat guts squeezed into a synthetic cellulose casing that is then tucked into a bleached white bun just is what it is… so I’m not really going to judge Rockstar Dogs by the «quality» of their dogs.
With that said, I can’t really complain about Rockstar Dogs. It’s a block away from all the bars/​clubs in the Noble Square vicinity and open late on the weekends, and their tolerance for the drunken crowd is above and beyond graciousness. I wandered in close to 2 am on a snowy cold day and sloppily ordered some fries, paid $ 2, and, within seconds, received a huge bag hot crispy fries, fresh off the deep-​fryer. Tasted wonderful given the circumstances of my visit — an escape from a blizzard-​stricken night and too many High Life’s.
I don’t think this place is that expensive — let’s not forget that the $ 6 – 8 price tag for hot dog, fries and drink also includes the heinous Chicago tax rate. Yes, more expensive than Hot Doug’s, but you can get drunk service, and you don’t have to wait 30 minutes in the cold for it. They also have veggie dogs and corn dogs available should I ever desire one. I now designate Rockstar Dogs my reliable post-​Sonotheque spot.

Not so rockstar…
I’ve been on a roll writing 4 and 5 star reviews for awhile, so it makes sense that I’d have an abysmal experience sooner or later :)
I get the whole schtick. A «rockstar» spin on Hot Doug’s, basically. But, Doug does it so much, much better.
My Zeppelin dog was kinda soggy. Fries were sort of… blah. Out of Diet Coke. And Dr. Pepper. If you are going to include a drink in all of the meals, best have Diet Coke. For serious!
To top things off, when their oven or something is on, their door pops open a bit. Super fun with 4 stools right along the window, right in front of the frigid air!
So, in short… it’s OK. Not awesome, not terrible. Service was fine, it’s super small, but well done on the inside. A bit pricey for dogs, but hey… they include a drink, even if its not one you want!

MR says… could this be the real «chicago dog»?
MRS says… the TOMMY LEE dog was longer than a usual hotdog and that’s about it. i had it cooked chardbroiled and it tasted good. unlike MURPHYs, the bun does not have any sesame or poppy seeds.

Went with the Flaming Lip which is a nice (they said «jumbo» but it was a standard size dog, tbh) char grilled dog with Merkt’s cheddar cheese, hot Giardiniera and Jalepenos. It was pretty tasty, as were the beer battered Onion Rings which completed this 100% health-​free lunch.
Didn’t even see the stripper pole (i wasn’t really looking for it, but later saw MattL’s mention of it)…the place is basically a small, narrow hallway with bar stool seating along the windows that look out to Ashland ave… numerous framed pics of its namesake and a few electric guitars adorn the opposite wall.

if I had done my review 4 weeks ago they would have gotten 4 stars. since then they got rid of the merkts cheddar they are just an expensive hot dog place. a single tear rolls down my cheek…
Get the cheddar!
It’s what made the Flaming lip Delicious!

Went into Rockstar Dogs after casting my early presidential vote for Barack Obama & Joe Biden. I have heard and read mixed reviews about Rockstar dogs for awhile but I still wanted to give them a try. I ordered the Ramones dog. All the dogs come with fries and a drink and cost $ 6 — $ 8. A little on the pricey side but not too bad. The fries were hands down way better than the dog.
Overall decent but nothing too amazing.

3 out of 5 times that I’ve visited Rockstar Dogs, the owner was in there screaming at his employees. Pleasant.
All 5 times, something about my order was wrong. Annoying.
The photos of stars and the stripper pole does not make up for the fact that they’re just hot dogs. Expensive hot dogs with way too much packaging around them.
For band-​themed heart-​attack food, I’ll stick with Kuma’s.

Meh is the exact word I would use for this place.
It’s red, it has little wieners with rock star names to eat, a stripper pole for no reason, and blaring pretentious music coming from someone’s IPod. The only thing I liked is that they had Orange Crush in a can to drink.
I’d rather have gone to the Jewel and pick up some Kosher’s Best and grilled them my damn self. And don’t even get me going about the ketchup thing.

I was excited for a new corner of Ashland not being turned into a bank or dry cleaners.
Unfortunately, Rockstar Dogs isn’t much more exciting than a new Bank of America.
Yes, it’s great to see a veggie dog combo on the menu at a place like this, but for $ 7? A boring Tofu Pup w/​a small bag of fries and a soda at a dive on Ashland should not be $ 7 (plus tax). Oh-​and to add insult to injury, the name of the veggie dog is «The Sting». I don’t want to remember Sting and I have something in common… or think about him and his wife having Tantric sex over my veg dog. (which is what I did)
I did not find their décor fun or ironic, just boring. Oh, wow-​old photos of The Beatles and The Stones. Out there!

Again, that third star is for being within walking distance.
One star is for being a hot dog place and the other star is for… hm.
Make that *two* stars for being within walking distance.
(The first time I came here I was just finishing a crispy tater tot when an adorable little girl, attached to an adorable little yuppie family in line, made a noise of distress then vomited into the trashcan next to me. Chicago, y’know?)
Anyway, the dogs aren’t bad. They’re cutely named, they’re tasty and, if you’re drunk enough (the way I was) the Los Lobos will burn off the flesh inside your mouth and you’ll barely notice. Or maybe you’ll be too busy cramming your maw with tots and slurping down a chill can of soda.
In any case, you’ll wake up the next morning with barely a memory of it.

Any place where there is a menu item called the «Skinny Puppy» is the place for me.
We each paid ~$ 6 for a hot dog, tater tots and a pop which is a pretty damn good deal, if you ask me. The fries were a bit saltier than I usually prefer but the tots were the hit of the party. I literally shared them w/​everyone in the place and they too agreed — tots pwn face.
The place is a bit small but that’s ok. Everyone seemed very nice and friendly (maybe the alcohol helped a bit) and there’s a stripper pole (!!!) right as you walk in. There are pictures of rock heroes (I’ll let you decide if that moniker is appropriate) that adorn the one wall for you to appreciate while your meal is being prepared and the bumpin’ soundsystem throwing down the electro goodness (+1) for the entire place to enjoy.
I’ll definitely be back.

Cool rocker atmosphere. We came here on a tuesday and apparently it was free extra hotdog day. I think that makes the $ 6 price tag a little bit more easier to swallow. I was lured into getting the los lobos, it was good, not amazing. The hot peppers was so hot I ended up picking them off and I could barely taste the bacon. I think I will choose more wisely next time I order. I was definitely stunned by the great taste of my simple skinny free hot dog though. The fries were some of the best that I had. The layout and location makes a great spot for people watching, or getting watched by people waiting for their bus. My heart still belongs to Hot Doug’s.

While I do agree with the other reviewers that there needs to be an option to just order the hot dog, I think it’s ludacris that people think 6 $ for a hot dog, fries (or tater tots), and a soda WITH TAX INCLUDED is «too expensive.» Especially considering the large amount of fries and/​or tater tots they give you! If you want cheap, go to the store and buy a pack of Oscar Meyer weiners for 1.99 $.
Anyways, I think this place is pretty good. Not the best, but I won’t mind eating here again. The dogs are named after rock bands, so of course the place is plastered with photo frames of bands & a couple guitars. My hot dog was good, fries are well seasoned, and the staff was really friendly.
PS they have a hot dog that is wrapped in bacon. What part of that sounds bad?

Maybe I was really hungry but I thought everything was well worth the dollars. The amount of Tater tots they give you 2 people can eat off of them.
I don’t think it’s too expensive, hot dog + tons of tater tots + can of soda + a sweet prize + all packeted up in a nice little container = 6.00 = sweet deal

If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Hot Doug must feel very happy.
However, the extra cash you are paying apparently goes more to the cute décor and fancy container and stickers than to the quality of the food. I was unimpressed. Not Doug’s indeed!
Of note: For those of you who saw Geoffrey Baer’s Hidden Chicago show on WTTW (and if you didn’t you should) the space that houses this restaurant is featured as one of the smallest in Chicago – it had been a hole in the wall Mexican place.

Now there’s a lot of places in Chicago to get a good dog. This is definitely not on the top of my list.
Let me start off by saying this place is loaded w/​potential. I like the rock-​themed menu and décor (although not too original… hello kuma’s corner) and I think the stripper pole awkwardly placed in the front is pretty funny.
However. Fries had good seasoning but were more soggy and limp than a… ugh well let’s just leave it at that. They offer tots as a side. Sweet! No wait. More like WAAAAAY too salty. And usually I love salty stuff but these were way over the edge. I could almost feel my left arm start to tingle after one of em. Soggy too!
I thought this place was going to be more along the lines of Hot Doug’s, offering different and sometimes exotic encased meats. It’s mostly different toppings on your standard dogs. I got the «White Stripe» which was a brat w/​mustard and onions. It was ok. Edible at least, unlike the fries and tots, but nothing to Unilocal about.
I believe it was the owner who rang me up when I was there. He seemed friendly but left me waiting a smidge too long while he was on the phone to take my order. Not cool. I also felt like I had to wait a smidge too long for my brat to finish. He probably sensed this because I was reassured that it was coming shortly and that the brats sometimes take a little longer. Or maybe I’m just a smidge too impatient.
I’ll take Hot Doug’s (even with all the effort) or even Al’s Beef over this place.
But I gave it two stars cause it’s new and maybe they just need to iron the kinks out. Plus I loved the fact they included a guitar pick with my order… perfect to scrape the mustard crust off my jeans because I didn’t get any napkins!
⁴²⁄₅₂