Recommend this business?
photos
At a Glance
?
0% ambiance
“The seating is not real comfortable.”
75% food quality
“great food fresh clean”
100% service
“Great service on the phone or in person.”
25% value
“dont care about price as long as the food is great, this was somthing my ex wife might have made, buns cold as hers, no poppy seeds, sparse topppings, old pickles and flavorless tomatoes, yuk, what a lousy lunch, at least the italian lemon ice was good,”
25% wait time
“dont care about price as long as the food is great, this was somthing my ex wife might have made, buns cold as hers, no poppy seeds, sparse topppings, old pickles and flavorless tomatoes, yuk, what a lousy lunch, at least the italian lemon ice was good,”
Write a Tip for
Teddy's Red Hots
Tips for Teddy's Red Hots
June 29, 2011
WORSE FOOD FOR THE MONEY. this is a shabby run down place that should be avoided. over priced and low quality food. what kind of place would not use poppy seed buns, for one thing? then some other review said the beef was sirloin?? what a joke. the one and only good thing is the Italian ice, period. when i see a place that says "REDHOTS" i expect good old fashioned taylor street dogs. not this stuff. fries? junk you would find in jewels frozen section, generic kind. either to lazy to make fresh fries or too cheap. from how dirty the seating are is, i would say too lazy. dont waste your time here. unless your used to school cafeteria food.
0
Heart
February 21, 2011
High-end fast food.
I've been eating at Teddy's Red Hot's several times a year since the 1980s when they first opened. They're among the best of the "Chicagoland hot dog/Italian beef joints" as I call them. The food is always very high-quality and almost perfectly cooked. The veggies that they put on the dogs are crisp and fresh - no soggy, runny tomatoes or limp pickle spears on the hot dogs here.
Their Italian beef is my all-time favorite because the beef is choice shaven sirloin and the gravy is very flavorful and spicier than most. I honestly think it puts Portillo's beef to shame, and Portillo's is widely considered to be among the best in Chicago. Teddy's Italian beef gravy recipe was important enough to the original owner that he reportedly was hesitant to share it with his own son who aspired to take over the business one day.
At first glance, the fries appear to be typical ho-hum crinkle-cut fries. But Teddy's must do something different than their competitors because they sure don't taste like typical fries. The fries have a unique, almost buttery flavor to them that definitely isn't coming from anything shaken on them like a seasoning salt. In fact, they don't have much salt on them at all, but yet they're busting with tasty flavor. Plus, the fries are never overcooked or greasy.
But there are some downsides to this restaurant keeping me from giving it the full 5 stars. Even though the food is about as good as it gets for a Chicago hot dog joint, it is EXPENSIVE. Some of the hot dogs like the chili-cheese dog run almost $5 without any fries. It's tough to get a sandwich, fries, and a drink and stay under $8 with tax. The 1950's style dining area has ripped seats and sometimes isn't that clean (although interestingly enough from what I can see behind the counter the food preparation/cooking area always appears to be clean). Teddy's dining area isn't particularly inviting and the owner would be wise to put new booths in and mop more often.
Besides these issues, this place is excellent. Even though it's expensive, I think you get what you pay for in terms of a level of quality that is superior to most other hot dog joints.
0
Heart
February 15, 2011
Good food $$.
YES !! THERE FOOD IS REALLY GOOD. A BIT PRICEY TASTES GOOD
I WILL HAVE TO NE MORE CAREFUL WHEN I GO THERE AGAIN OR JUST GET BUY THEIR ITALIAN ICE WHICH IS GOOD. I WILL ASK MY WIFE TO GO BUY THE FOOD BECAUSE IT HAS BEEN MORE THAN 4X'S THAT I FELT WAY OVERCHARGED FOR MY ORDER.
0
Heart
December 21, 2008
Bestest Ever!. Teddy's has the bestest hot dog in my life. I would eat there every single day (if my mom and dad would take me there). It is awesome. The only way to make it better would be to deep fry the dog. I love Teddy's so much.
0
Heart
May 30, 2008
great food fresh clean. I love this place! Fresh ingredience- top quality and it's clean. Great service on the phone or in person. Does get fairly busy to go off hours is best probably to get a good hot burger.
0
Heart
June 15, 2005
no way close to a 9, who could give this a 9+???. stopped just the other day for a dog and italian ice, 2 dogs and a small ice cost me 6 bucks, no fries, no drink. i dont care about price as long as the food is great, this was somthing my ex wife might have made, buns cold as hers, no poppy seeds, sparse topppings, old pickles and flavorless tomatoes, yuk, what a lousy lunch, at least the italian lemon ice was good, wasnt home made like they say, but pretty good. NO way would i go back again. spend the extra pennies for good hot dog buns like s.rosens or what ever
0
Heart
Write a Tip for
Teddy's Red Hots
People also viewed
Your Friends
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Facebook to see what your friends are up to!
Citysearch Mobile
Get the Citysearch Mobile app so you can spend less time searching for great places, and more time enjoying them.