Pam’s Chicago-Style Dogs & More

When I created my Unilocal profile, I had a simple philosophy of writing reviews — Write about food that is great tasting, authentic, healthy, and has a class. So, it pains me to write this one star review for «Pam’s Chicago-​Style Dogs & More,» simply because their kind of food is the backbone of our Nation’s obesity.
Looking at it’s ratings distribution, Pam’s have received seven five stars, seventeen four stars, five three stars, and only three one stars, which overall gives Four Star Rating to this place, and when the populace looks at the rating, they assume this is a great place and probably enjoy the food too. Well, you too would enjoy the food, if all you ate was frozen easily microwavable meals, which by the way is a great source to add extra sodium, sugars, and triglycerides, and much more that’s not listed on the labels. And no, I don’t mean they are good, we all know, too much of anything is just bad.
I came across this, when I was having a cravings for Chicago-​Style Hot Dogs. In order to fulfill the cravings, a friend of mine and I decided to dine here for lunch for the first and last time. The service was friendly, and the place was clean, and the hot dog was okay, not good or great. Food came out of the freezers prepackaged, but you had the options of having grilled, steamed and some others, which I don’t recall. I went with the steam, clearly it was the healthier option there. While sitting on the table, and eating the food, I glanced at the bi-​fold menu they had on all the tables. Reading more carefully, what they had on the menu disgusted me on the molecular level and we left without finishing the remaining portions of our lunch.
If I can recall correctly, some of the options on the menu included, «deep» and «extreme deep» fried Twinkies, deep fried cupcakes, muffins, and much more. To me, that’s just wrong, and extremely unhealthy.
When Chris Powell and others are trying to reshape the nation into more psychical fit society, we have Pam’s and similar establishments across the country serving up battered, fried, dusted with powered sugar, and with a side of cherry sauce Twinkies to indulge excessive amount of free calories into our diets. Ron Swanson, a lovable character played by Nick Offerman on NBC’s hit show «Parks and Recreation,» said it well; «If you want to eat garbage, balloon up to 600 pounds and die of a heart attack at 43, you can. You are free to do so.»

This place has pride, as they’d say in New Orleans, though it’s all about Chicago. Jack What’s-His-Name the great proprietor of 2-​Cents Plain downtown once said that St. Louisians just do not and will not ever appreciate good hotdogs. This may indeed be true, but the survival of Pam’s thus far provides hope for the future (or are there just that many Chicago ex-​pats in this town?)
In any case, go for the Chicago dog of course. And give them an earful if the bun isn’t hot, or the celery salt isn’t just right, or the dog itself doesn’t SNAP when you bit into it. The owner is committed to perfection. Only a demanding and regular clientele will keep it that way.

You can’t go wrong here. Extensive menu, fresh ingredients, great window to watch people from and average prices. I’m sold.

So, with the parentals in town for my Masters graduation, we had to make it to Pam’s.
My mom enjoyed her Chicago-​style, my dad enjoyed a Maxwell Street Polish with grilled onions, peppers, and mustard.
I ordered the Pamirito: a hot dog wrapped in a tortilla with onions, tomatoes, cheese, deep fried and then topped with chili and cheese.
Oh, and deep-​fried snickers for dessert.
Health food Pam’s is not. :-)

Pam’s is now a monthly crave place for me and my Chicago-​raised husband. We went there first in a snowstorm this winter, they were open. We have enjoyed our fav Chicago meals locally at least five times in the past six months since we discovered Pam’s.
They truly have authentic Vienna beef dogs, and great italian beef, italian sausage. i love these with their bread/​rolls, jus, fresh cooked sweet peppers. I haven’t gone off that menu track, except for sharing some hot fries on the side.
The owner is passionate about this business. They all have been friendly, and thorough in making sure we get what we need… like they don’t mind odd requests to separate out the condiments to make sure nothing’s soggy when it is to go. We have not had parking issues, but maybe it is because we don’t go at peak times, usually mid afternoon or after dinner rush.
If you follow them on facebook, you’ll see some regular freebies/​discounts.

I made the trip because I had talked to the owner at a Unilocal event and the hotdogs served there were very good, and it’s on Delmar (my second home) so … pretty busy during a Friday lunch hour (but a comment was heard about it usually being packed). I opted for the Rueben dog (pretty good), the gyro with feta (excellent) and fries (very fresh and very good). A nice space and good service. I might like my dogs a bit bigger but still fresh and tasty.

Pam’s will satisfy the glutton that lives in your bowels.
We didn’t try the hot dogs, but the sandwiches and burgers were great, buttered up and greasy. The crinkle fries were decent.
Deep-​fried Snickers bar. It was a gooey, melty Snickers, wrapped in funnel cake batter, on a stick. You’ve got to eat this slice of heaven.

I’m very surprised to see such good reviews of this place. I’m a huge hot dog enthusiast, and I was excited to try Pam’s. I ordered a bagel dog, and I was literally taken aback to see them pull a prepackaged bagel dog out of the fridge, pop it into the microwave, and then serve it to me. The bagel exterior was very hard, particularly the ends – similar to a hot pocket (not surprising given how it was cooked). The hot dog inside was slightly better at one end, but blackened and crusty at the other end. I really wanted to like this place, and it sounds like others have had better experiences with different types of hot dogs, but I feel like a kid who was expecting a certain toy on Christmas morning and just didn’t get it. I don’t give poor ratings often. In fact, I consider myself someone who tries to find the good in a place, but wow, was that ever disappointing.

WENT TO PAM’S TODAY AND IT’S CLOSED DOWN. RIP :(
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to experience mustache-​lady and the staff was quite friendly and clean-​shaven but I had to try the place as finding a good Chicago dog outside Chicago is nearly impossible.
I’m not from Chicago but every time I pass through that fine city, I have to have a «dragged dog.» It had been a while since stopping in the Second City and it was my first time at Pam’s but the dog seemed… small. Now I hear there’s different sizes and I wish the counter lady had explained that to me. I did order the onion rings and aside from being in the fryer just a few seconds too long, they were the BEST I have ever had (if you like THICK, crunchy onion rings) and I’ve been coast to coast and along the entire Route 66. I must go back to sample the Gyro as a good Chicago Gyro is also hard to find. Italian beef is also on the to-​do list.
I loved the place and the funky décor but, as others have pointed out, parking can be a nightmare. Better to be heading west on Delmar and parking on the opposite side of the street but in off hours, you can park right in front. If you are driving east on Delmar and you cannot find a parking spot, you will need to drive a long way before you can turn around. The place, however, is worth the journey and adventure.
Addendum: I’ve gone back several times for the Gyro meal and I’m a fan! It’s not the best Gyro around, but it reminds me of the Chicago places that turn ‘em out by the dozens and the crinkle cut fries are crispy and delicious.
Pam’s isn’t a five star restaurant… it’s a funky dive/​diner with great comfort food for lunch. Give yourself a treat and give it a try. A gem in St. Louis without a lot of the hype.

Pam’s is a great place for lunch. Th sandwiches are good, and the Chicago dogs are really good. They have an interesting dessert menu. Lots of childhood favorites deep fried.
The food is good but the staff is what really keeps me coming back. Everytime I go in they are friendly and make sure everything is good.

I had a group of four who went to Pam’s today at 11:30 AM on a Thursday. The shop is small, ten 4 seat tables, and has a counter ordering station. The woman taking our orders was friendly and helpful but took a long time completing the orders.
I ordered the NY Dog, Vienna dog with Hot gardenia, brown mustard, and kraut. After about ten minutes the dog was presented with a warm steamed poppy seed bun. My cohort order a chicken salad sandwich on plain white bread toast. The sandwich was chunky and not particularly wet; a good sandwich.
The third person of our group ordered a traditional Chicago dog, ¹⁄₃ pound sausage with neon green relish, yellow mustard, celery salt, pickle spear, and sport peppers. The traditional dog had quite a bit of snap and steamed well in the bun.
The final member of our group had an Italian beef sandwich with peppers and onions. The au jus poured over the beef made for a moist sandwich. but wet the roll down so much that it was impossible to pick up with your hands. The sandwich turned into a knife and fork entrée.
French fries were nothing special, crinkle cut and deep fried brown.
It took about 25 minutes to get all of our orders and they came to the counter staggered.
I though the place was clean and the dogs turned out pretty good.
Street side parking with no outdoor seating. For a locally owned joint, I’m a fan.

Aside from the mustachioed lady at the front counter, this place rocks! I couldn’t stop drooling over their endless menu of offerings and was thoroughly pleased with our selections. The Chicago dog was the bomb– a steamed Vienna beef hot dog in a poppyseed bun topped with yellow mustard, neon-​green relish, fresh onions and tomatoes, sport peppers, a pickle spear and a sprinkling of celery salt– amen! The Vienna hot dog buns are perfect! They’re steamed in to a perfect chewiness that totally embellishes all of the flavors of the hot dog. We also tried the Pamirito– Pam’s spin on the classic burrito– a Vienna beef dog and fresh chopped tomato wrapped up in a flour tortilla and then deep fried and covered in chili, cheddar cheese, and chopped onion. Great textures and flavors all around! To finish our meal, there was a variety of deep fried desserts screaming at us from the menu– deep fried oreos, cupcakes, muffins, twinkies, you name it– but we opted for the delicious Wunder Bar, a slice of cheesecake dipped in dark chocolate, then frozen and served on a stick. Some day I hope to have my name on such a great invention!
Mom always said not to judge a book by its cover, and while Miss Mustache was not that appetizing, everything else that Pam’s Chicago Style Dogs has to offer certainly is. We will definitely be back for more!

Pros: Great variety of dogs. Incredible «heart-​stopping» deserts. Clean. Friendly staff/​owner.
Cons: A bit expensive for hotdogs and parking is shit (like every business on the Loop). And as mentioned by other reviewers, Mustache Lady is a little unsettling.
Highly recommended for it’s unique deserts and wide variety of dogs!

I’m from the Chi, so I can’t get through the month with out at least one Maxwell St. Polish.
I live in the lily-​white state of Iowa, however, so I get my polish jones at Sparti’s Gyros in Coralville (see my review). We were in the STL for vacay and decided to give this place a try.
First of all, the place is decked out in traditional wannabe Chicago grease spot décor: Bears logos, Blues Brothers poster, Blackhawks jersey, etc. A little kitchy, but OK. I’m here to eat, not look at the walls.
The food was just OK — the Maxwell St. polish had the fixings but the cheese fries were just plastered with cheapo plastic cheese. I am a French fry aficionado, so I like a good, dripping, thick processed cheese. These did not meet my level, but I ate them anyway.
Also, it was a LITTLE expensive for what you get — I ended spending $ 20 on two hot dogs & a polish with fries and a drink. I pay less in Iowa! I was surprised for such a metro city, the pricing was through the roof like that.
If you REALLY need to get your Chi-​Town food fix — I mean, REALLY need to — stop by. Just make sure you budget out for it ahead of time.

I came back from Chicago on a Monday and searched for Chicago eats in STL on Tuesday. Ended up here for lunch and since I had just had Italian Beef and a Chi Dog recently I opted for a Gyro meal. I can’t really complain about the quality at all because it was great. My only complaints were that it took a bit to get basic food and the portion size was pretty small, not at all what you’d get in Chicago.
I’m going to give this place some business soon and will upgrade to 5 stars if I get a better portion size next time.
The menu is very comprehensive, I’m sure they have something here for everyone and I’ll bring bringing people in to sample all the delicacies and some of the desserts.
***Edit on 4/​25***
I brought a group of coworkers here on Friday and tried the Fat Daddy Combo and it was great. Everyone in our 5 person group loved their food. My ONLY complaint, and it’s a small on, is the au jus on the beef was very very salty. I’ve eaten a ton of It. Beef in my time and this was the saltiest. I think next time I will get it on the side.
Overall, still a great place.

This was a pretty awesome hot dog place just east of the most popular section of the Loop.
The Chicago style hot dog was delicious, and had all the necessary trimmings including neon green relish and a dash of celery salt. The Philly hot dog was delicious as well, a bit spicy and very cheesy. The New York Style dog was great and the chili cheese dog was decent. The fries were really good and came with cheese on top of them. They also have a large assortment of deep-​fried goods including Twinkies, Oreos, muffins, and so much more.
The service was extremely nice and the man at the counter gave us some great recommendations of what to eat.
I’m definitely excited to come back and try more of their offerings.

I finally got around to trying Pam’s and was not disappointed. I am now a devoted fan and will not have to make the trek to Chesterfield anymore to find a genuine Vienna Beef dog or hot Italian beef.
As commented by several reviewers, Vienna dogs are the best and Pam’s has them in every size and configuration. Perfectly constructed, the poppy seed bun, expertly steamed, really makes this dog a true Chicago-​dog delight. We added crinkle-​cut fries and they were crisp yet fluffy at the same time. Heavenly!
Did not try the gyro, but was pleasantly suprised to see another famous Chicago-​brand, Kronos, as the gyro meat of choice there. All other flavors of gyro pale in comparison.
I can’t wait for my next visit to try other menu items.
The prices on everything seemed very reasonable, with a $ 6 jumbo dog weighing in well over a third of a pound being the most pricey item.
Located directly across from the Del Mar Loop Metro Station so it is perfect answer to post-​Pageant show cravings.
Staff was attentive and friendly.
This place will cater hot dogs, Italian Beef or gyros or you can create your own take-​out party and have an office luncheon for approximately 20 for what seem like very reasonable prices (sub $ 100).
I’m sending all of my friends to Pam’s and hoping that some entrepeneur will open a Vienna Beef-​based hot dog/​beef joint in Soulard soon.

I am updating my review and giving it 2 more stars based on the awesome hot dogs I had yesterday. I had the Chicago dogs with all the typical chi-​town condiments and while I have never had a true chicago dog, this must be what they taste like. nice steamed buns, good snap on the hot dog and fresh condiments. I would be a little happier if the damn things were not 2.99 for one lousy dog but eh, I’ll let it slide because they were so good. I know where I’m going next time I am craving a Chicago dog.
I am giving them an extra half star just because they had their blues attire on so consider this a 4.5 star review.

This business is owned by a native Chicagoan… and this review is written by a native Chicagoan.
*****5 Stars*****
for a Chicagoan hot dog joint in another city, you know there’s a good reason for it!
Pam’s hot dogs have THE ENTIRE CHICAGO WORKS:
Steamed/​boiled Vienna all-​beef dog, dyed green relish, yellow mustard (no ketchup – but you can always quietly add it yourself like I do, shhh), onion pieces, tomato slices, sport peppers, cucumber cuts, kosher dill pickle spear and all this topped with celery salt on a steamed poppy-​seed bun. If you’re missing an ingredient, leave because it’s not authentic!
If you’re at Pam’s, it’s a must to stay.
Pam’s offers 4 different sizes of wieners so decide now how hungry you are. During my visit, my buddy Darlene from Detroit had a difficult time deciding which one size she wanted so I put it into an appropriate order by size:
*Chicago dog
*Colossal Chicago
*Jumbo Chicago
*Monster Chicago
You just can’t go wrong with any one of them!
For those who prefer to NOT have all the goodies that come with a Chicago dog, Pam’s also sells Wisconsin Brat, Bagel Dog, Corn Dog, New York, Slaw Dog, Philly Dog, Chilly Cheese Dog, Reuben Dog, Bacon Dog, Grilled Fire Dog (read website for description), or their own famous «PAMIRITO»: 100% pure Vienna beef dog wrapped in a flour tortilla and sprinkled with diced onions, tomatoes, and shredded cheddar cheese deep fried until golden brown and topped with chili, more shredded cheddar cheese, and diced onions!
Every single one of their dogs would not be complete without their seasoned crinkle-​cut potato fries.
If beef ain’t your thing or you’re not in the mood for it, they also offer something for everyone: Gyros, Grilled Chicken Breast, Italian beef, Hamburgers, Grilled Cheese, Philly Steak, Ham & Cheese, BLT, Salads, Chicken Wings, Chicagoan tamales & much, much more.
After stuffing yourself with a Chicagoan hot dog (or two), Pam’s has a ton of DEEP-​FRIED, encased delicacies: Twinkie, cinnamon pita chips, Raspberry Zinger, cupcake, Ding Dong, & muffin. That’s right, they’re all deep-​fried to perfection!
After all, us Chicagoans are not known for being the healthiest (3^rd fattest city in the States), yet we’re truly some of the happiest urbanites alive!
Believe it or not, I’ve only highlighted a few of Pam’s specialties so visit their website listed above or give ‘em a visit! The cutest part of all is that each item has a unique name associated with it. Little did you know that they’re of the owner’s family member & friend’s names!
Now I’m officially…
Stepping_​_​_​_​
off I_​_​_​_​
my I_​_​_​_​
Chicago I_​_​_​_​
soapbox! I

Pam’s Chicago Style Hot Dog eatery is no slouch. I am a huge fan of America’s favorite food… the almighty «perros caliente!»
I walked into Pam’s for the first time this afternoon, seeking a hot dog fix. I ordered the jumbo dog «Chicago Style.» I was good, but not great. I wish they had delivered a more altruist representation of our neighbor to the north. The bun and the dog were on target, it was the ‘extras’ along the with mustard that fell short.
Strike one, Cubs fans.