Hey! Hot Dog Hits The Spot: Ferak Food Column

JOLIET, IL - On Monday afternoon, I was leaving the Will County Courthouse when one of the probation officials near the State's Attorney's building approached and asked if I was John Ferak. Turns out, he's an avid reader of my Joliet area restaurant review columns. And he had a suggestion. "When was I going to write about Hey! Hot Dog on Ruby Street?" he inquired.

That was a great idea, I told him. I had been kicking around the idea of venturing over to Hey! Hot Dog. Anyway, he thought it would make for a great restaurant column, and I agreed. So on Thursday afternoon, my 10-year-old son and I grabbed lunch.

We sat in two stools at the front counter. We ordered our frosty root beer mugs and chowed down on some hot dogs.

I ordered a chili dog and a cheese dog, pictured above. My son went with a chili and cheese dog combo.

Back in 1991-1992, during my only year as a student at the nearby College of St. Francis, I ate at Hey! Hot Dog enough to keep the place in business, but after that, I transferred to Eastern Illinois University and wasn't in the Joliet area for the next two decades.

What makes a place like Hey! Hot Dog special is that it's family owned and everyone who enters is treated with the utmost courtesy. The Hey! Hot Dog staff struck up a conversation with us, inquiring about our New Year's Eve plans.

Hey! Hot Dog has a simple menu. There are hot dogs, chili dogs, barbecue and a cod fish sandwich. Not to be forgotten, there's the Polish sausage.

The sign behind the counter proclaims "BEST POLISH SAUSAGE IN TOWN." There's no french fries or onion rings. If you want a side to go with your hot dog, there's a few different brands of potato chips.

When I was a growing up on the east side of Joliet, two of my uncles used to take my brother and me to the original Hey! Hot Dog on Cass Street, near the McDonald's restaurant.

Hey! Hot Dog has been around Joliet since 1959 and at its current spot near the intersection of Ruby and Clement Streets for the past 41 years.

These days, Hey! Hot Dog is open Monday to Saturday, from around 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It's closed on Sundays. Hey! Hot Dog is old school. It does not take credit cards, but the restaurant does have an ATM for folks who don't carry cash.

The root beer and the black cows are signature items on the menu and are served in frosty mugs. Their homemade root beer, oh does it hit the spot.

I'm glad to see Hey! Hot Dog is thriving. The place was quite busy when my son and I stopped by on Thursday. Our total tab was less than $12.

But our family bonding time at Hey! Hot Dog, a Joliet icon, was priceless.

Images via John Ferak/Joliet Patch Editor