Chris & Rob’s Chicago’s Taste Authority

We’ve had two visits in the past month. The Chicago Dogs, Corn Dogs, French Fries are good. The chili dog was average, I was interested in the Chili cheese dog, but they don’t carry shredded cheddar cheese, just the liquidy nacho cheese, that was a bummer. Last visit we got a thin crust pizza and it was TERRIBLE, our daughter wouldn’t eat it and she loves pizza. The prices are steeper than what I would have thought, Ketchup is available on the tables, but be prepared to pay an extra .75 or more for any other sauce. We like that you can get a good bottled beer with your meal if you want. Employees are friendly.

I will give Chris and Rob’s 4 stars the food is very good and the staff is very friendly but the only drawback is that it is very expensive

Chris and Robs is great. We’ve only done delivery but it’s fast, convenient and affordable. We are from Chicago so we have rather high standards when someone says they sell a Chicago Dog. The pathetic ones put ketchup on there Chicago Dogs. Not Chris and Ribs. The Chicago dogs are Chicago dogs as we knew them in Chicago. Really delicious. Because they have an extensive menu of dogs and burgers, you might not consider their pizza. It is great as well. Thin crust. Nummy sauce. We haven’t had anything but a stellar meal from Chris and Rob’s. If you are in a hurry or don’t feel like making dinner, this is a super alternative.

When I was house hunting in the area this was the first place I ate in the neighborhood. Now it is my frequent go to for a good, quick, delicious meal. The Italian beef sandwiches are to die for, the pizza is always piping hot, and its in a really cool dining car location.
The staff there is really cool and the food is always a high quality. If you get their dogs, it comes with a neon green «Chicago» relish that is delish.
No frills restaurant, sports is always playing, and just plain ol cozy place to get something to eat.

Amazing food, quick service, at a great price. Real Taylor street shaved beef! Oh and most important nice beer selection at very low prices! You just have to get past the whole bears décor!

AS GOOD AS YOU’LL FIND AT ANY CORNER CONCESSION STAND IN CHICAGO.
Chris and Rob’s offers a remarkable selection of unremarkable concession-​oriented foods: Hot dogs (Chicago dogs, cheese dogs, chili dogs), Polish sausages, Italian beef, Gyros, burgers, and pizza. A self-​proclaimed ‘Chicago taste authority’ the Chicago dogs, italian beef and Maxwell Street Polish dogs served here all pass muster — They are as good as you’ll find at any corner concession stand in Chicago.
THEREIN LIES THE DILEMMA. When I go to Chicago for an Italian beef or Chicago dog, I might SETTLE for a corner concession stand… but I’m really craving the kind of experience you can only get at Gene & Jude’s, Hot Doug’s, Red Hot Ranch, Superdawg, Old Town Social, or Jimmy’s Red Hots.
C&R’s can DEFINITELY serve up a taste of Chicago that is better than you can do for yourself at home — but that isn’t enough to keep me coming back. The menu and the location have a lot of potential, but not a lot of personality. The addition of one or two signature hot dogs that you can only get at C&R’s would go a long way. I want to walk in and order a Minnesota-​inspired Ragnarök Dog that delivers Norse Armageddon on a bun.
The St Paul location of C&R has some great features including a roll-​up garage door with table side dining and a wooden railroad car dining room. I’d love to see what an experienced restaurant designer could do with the space… and the menu.
In the meantime, I’ll seek out destinations such as The Wienery, Snuffy’s and Uncle Frankie’s. However, if I happen to be in the 7^th street neighborhood… I might settle for C&R’s.

Great place to go for Chicago Style Eatery. They do it right, using Vienna Beef brand products, ect. My favorite to order here is the Italian beef & sausage combo, it’ll fill ya up! Service is good, and the atmosphere is cool with the old street car dining area. My favorite place to go if I wanna get my ChiDog fix!!!

Good, greasy Chicago food. Just the way you would want it. The Chicago dog with all of the fixings is hard to beat. The Italian sausage with peppers comes pretty greasy, but its manageable. The even deliver around Saint Paul if you spend $ 10.

I have to say, I was a little surprised that Chris & Rob’s popped up on my Unilocal list — I thought I’d reviewed it before. In all, I would say this is a good place to satisfy your Chicago craving — whether that’s an Italian beef sandwich or a good Vienna beef hot dog. Housed in an old Chicago-​themed diner car, it’s a lot of fun to visit. It’s not fancy, but it’s fun. I love the hot dogs here — when I want a big, sloppy chili cheese dog or a traditional Chicago dog, this place does the trick for me every time. The Italian beef is decent, but not amazing. Still, will satisfy the craving. They do have some beers in bottles available and the pizza is OK too. In general, it won’t stack up to the Chicago food in Chicago, but if you are craving that kind of food, it makes a totally decent and presentable recreation right here in St. Paul. Street parking is usually easy to find. Prices are a bit steep for a hot dog and such, but sometimes you have to pay for the thing you want. Staff is generally friendly and helpful. Oh, and they’ll serve you a basket of tots drowning in cheez wiz. Because that’s awesome.

Fun dive over on W 7^th St in St. Paul. I had the chicago dogs with all the fixings. Nice atmosphere with a couple of TV’s with sports on. My vegetarian friend was able to get a fine salad too. Parking wasn’t great but I found a spot pretty quick.
Didn’t bring the kids but a good spot too bring them.

It’s fine for what it is, a hamburger and hot dog place but, when that’s all that you’re putting on my plate, atmosphere and customer service go a long way.
My Chicago Dog was okay, my son’s Chili Dog was fine. The décor was typical fast food fashion with a few Chicago remnants thrown in for good measure.
I guess I’m jaded because my Chicago Dog craving is usually satisfied at Uncle Franky’s in Plymouth where you feel welcome from the moment you walk in the door. At this place, the employees had placed a mop bucket to block off a third of the restaurant 4 hours before closing time!
So, if all you want is a dog and don’t feel like boiling it up yourself… Head on over but I wouldn’t make a special trip.

We used to eat here a lot before changing our diet for the better. This place serves as a rare treat, especially when the deals are irresistible.
We got Italian Beef sandwiches, though my husband got the one with the sausage also inside (a bit much for me). The boy got two Chicago dogs, which he enjoyed.
The IB sandwiches here are good, just remember to ask for it to be wet. It’s much better, though messier, when dipped in the jous.
We also get the tots to go with our sandwiches and dogs, as we’ve found the fries to be inedibly salty.
If you avoid the fries (my opinion), you’re probably in for a good, filling, meal here.

Easily one of the best chili dog, Chicago dog, and hot dog places in the Twin Cities.
This location is special bc it’s close to The X and all the buzz downtown yet offers ample free parking on West 7^th. Easy to find, easy get into, and comfy once inside.
This location is also special bc it’s inside an old train car, so it’s a one of a kind. Lots of seating for lunch, meeting your group prior to a concert or Wild game, or that post event snack.
Pizza and hot dogs. Chili cheese, plain, or Chicago style. I come here for the hot dogs and come back for the chili cheese memories. This place is the top of the line with fresh buns, fine dogs, and classic and wonderful toppings.

This place has some pretty decent Chicago style food. I tried a chili cheese dog, burger and fries. The chili cheese dog was pretty good. The chili was good, and the onions were awesome. The fries were damn good. The burger was a let down. Chicago has really thin patties but these were thicker. They also had some seasoning on them I didn’t care for.
The service was great. When they found out that my wife was gluten free (they just started to carry a gf crust) they started recommending lots of other places for her to try. We will have to come back to try the pizzas and beef.

My girlfriend and I came here last week to get our wiener fix. We really wanted BJ’s but they were closed so we settled with Chris and Rob’s.
I have a feeling you’re reading into this wrong.
Anyway, the place is located on its own island off of 7^th street. You pull up and park like you’re part of the Italian Job.
The guy who waited on us was nice enough and the grunts in the back looked sanitary enough to be cooking.
We ordered 2 Chicago dogs (One with cheese), A Maxwell street polish, a Chili dog and the breaded mushrooms, all to go.
Our order was completed in good time and we headed home.
We began unwrapping and I took a bite of the Maxwell Street polish, man it was good. Then I realized it was my girlfriends so I gave it up, but not without a fight.
I started on the mushrooms. The only thing more abundant than the blandness was the… oh, nevermind. that was all it had. I don’t think a grain of salt, or mushroom flavor for that matter, had ever grazed those poor fungi.
The Chicago dog wasn’t much better. I hate to admit this, but the ones that I got from Sonic were a 10 compared to these. There was literally nothing special about them. They were covered in stuff but had no real zip to any of the flavors. Nothing to make you go «Damn, I should put this on all of my hotdogs». Nothing to satisfy any part of your palate. I’ve never had a legitimate Chicago Dog (Unless you ask those who say these are legit) but I hope this isn’t a good example of one.
The Chicago cheese dog was even worse. It has all the character of the first Chicago Dog, only with flavorless, watery Cheese. sauce? It hit the trash.
Last up was the Chili dog, but upon removing the wrapper, we discovered they got our order wrong and gave us another Chicago Dog. Because why wouldn’t that happen.
I’m not sure I could stomach giving this place another try. I almost feel like I’m being a bastard after reading the ‘good’ reviews, but this place is a no-​go for me.

Will defintely be back. In the mood for an Italian beef and really didn’t feel like trying to make my own. Too hungry to wait around for imy own to cook.
Ordered the Italian Beef. It was very good especially with the Giardinera peppers which were a bit too hot for me. I thought it would clear my nose out, but just the opposite, it stuffed me up nose and stomach. The bread is a tad too oily for me, but the meat was good and the peppers were too, just a tad too hot.
The cheese curds were very good. I was thinking they would be more like the fair kind, but they were smaller with more of a thicker breading. They were still good.
Lots of options on the menu.
Quick service
Nice option for a quick bite.

I see that several reviewers have listed CRCTA’s use of Vienna brand hot dogs as a good thing. Not hailing from Chicago, I wouldn’t know. I personally don’t really find them to be that great of a dog, as I prefer something — like maybe a Hebrew National or perhaps a Thousand Hills grass-​fed — with a little more substance and «snap» to the skin. When I’m loading condiments on top of a hot dog, I want one that can stand up to the abuse.
As such, I think the «Fire Polish» is a better option. Even though I’d hesitate to call it a truly GOOD polish sausage, it does provide a bit more support to this restaurant’s generous Chicago dog toppings, and its mild heat works well with the sport peppers and sweet relish.
I’ve never been to one of CRTCTA’s physical locations, but I can review their delivery service. Honestly, it’s not the best; the food arrives somewhat cold, and they aren’t terribly fast. The last time they delivered, our order was swapped with another one. The driver did his best to resolve the situation, offering us the incorrect order for free while he ran back to get the right one. We elected to just take some of the tots to hold us over (there’s only so many hot dogs a human body can absorb), and he returned with the replacement order quite quickly. While the mix-​up was frustrating, I was ultimately satisfied with the attempt to make things right.
Some Unilocalers have complained about the prices. I suppose $ 3+ is a bit steep for a hot dog, but I think comparing these prices to those at a ballpark is something of an exaggeration (C’mon, folks, a Twins ballpark hot dog with the works is like, $ 7). I haven’t felt ripped off when ordering from this place; Roughly $ 9 (pre-​20% delivery tip) for two loaded hot dogs and a large tater tots seems fairly reasonable to me. At least, it seems to be about on par with the price of the equivalent amount of food at a fast food joint. In any case, if you are looking to order take-​out/​delivery, but desire a change of pace, you should give these guys a shot.

Chris and Rob’s is several blocks from our home, so we, (my wife, 3 children under 9 and I) frequent the place fairly often. They have plenty of unhealthy menu options that
Kids all love and grown ups need to indulge in every so often.
It’s not too often that I’m in the mood for a good hot dog, but when the mood strikes Chris and Rob’s is an old reliable. It’s a little on the spendy side for this type of fare, but no more so than ballpark prices and it’s much better. I haven’t tried much on the menu other than the various hot dogs and deep fried appetizers, but the Italian Beef and the Gyro look pretty decent — with tater tots.
The largest of the two dining areas is in box car and done up appropriately with Chicago sports memorabilia. Plenty of kids after school, so you won’t get too many bad looks when yours freak out.
Friendly counter service.

Consistently good Chicago style hotdogs and fresh, hot french fries.
O.k. service from the counter staff.
Seems to me, however, that 3 dogs, a large fry, and two beers ought not cost over $ 20.

I was actually really excited to try Chris and Rob’s after my first beef sandwich experience at the famous Al’s Italian Beef Sandwich in Chicago. Unfortunately, this place doesn’t even come close by comparison.
The service was absolutely horrid. The guy behind the counter couldn’t have cared less about the customers. I got the sense that maybe he was hung over or just really tired, because he didn’t seem to understand what people were saying to him and was moving more slowly than the pace of orders would allow. I was in line and saw him mess up two out of three orders in front of me; one got a refund after a brief «chat» and one had to wait for her food to be remade after insisting that they didn’t record her order correctly, which seemed completely realistic after I got my chance at the counter.
Fortunately, they did get my order correct, but the food was not very good. It was a greasy overpriced mess. The beef sandwich didn’t offer much in terms of flavor and was a severe disappointment. My wife ordered a hot dog and we shared a side of chili cheese fries. On both accounts, I thought that it was a complete ripoff for the prices that they are charging. I won’t be going back.