fRedhots And Fries

This past weekend, I recommended this place to a friend and was surprised to learn here that it is now closed.
I recently drove by it and saw the yellow awning and assumed it was still around. I just called the phone number, which has been disconnected. So sad.
I was hoping the Groupon they offered would bring them more repeat customers. Does anyone know if they are moving to a new location, or just closed for good?

This place is the best.
I like trying the different specialty sausages and am slowly working my way through the aiolis.
I cannot understand why people that wrote less than stellar reviews ordered burgers. That’s like going to china town and ordering a burger. Get what the place is known for, don’t be a scaredy.
It’s always been hot, fresh, & friendly.
Sure there’s cheaper places, but not with the same food. You are allowed to deserve a great $ 25 lunch for 2 and this is the place to get it.

I have yet to try any of the exotic dogs, but Fred does a fantastic job with the «standard» Chicago dog. Good snap, lots of flavor, fresh toppings… all good. The fries are outstanding, as well and the various dipping sauces are a nice touch.
Both times I’ve visited, it has been absolutely packed with little leaguers and their parents and/​or coaches. Bad timing on my part, I guess.
For a good dog in the northern suburbs, you can’t do much better. fRedhots is a notch above a Portillo’s hot dog.

after hearing so much about here, I finally got off my ass to check them out. So, feeling like crap and in need of some sustenance, I went on over to feed myself.
It was busy when I got there. Granted it was lunch time, but still there were a good amount of people though there was no real line to speak of. I wanted to keep it simple, so I ordered up a polish, brat, and of course had to get some frites. It took about 10 minutes or so and I was on my way since I didn’t think that hacking up a lung was going to make for the most pleasant atmosphere for the other customers.
The polish was pretty awesome. The mustard and grilled onions with it was great and it was just completely on the spot. The brat had a lot of kraut on it, which I should’ve said no on since I normally don’t like kraut all that much. Eh, whatever. The spicy mustard was great though and the brat was extremely good. The real star though were the frites. I came very close too destroying them on the car ride back. THey were just flat out great.
While I didn’t venture off the beaten path this time, I will need to try some of the wild game sausages the next time I’m in. My brain wasn’t fully functioning when I was ordering, so I just wanted to keep it simple this time. Next time will be a completely different story

Reindeer dogs are back! – and I finally got to try one, in my third winter as a fRedhots customer. The reindeer dog is a fRedhots tradition, and in my first day back in town after a long vacation, it got my holiday season off to an impishly delicious start.
It’s a bit of a lunch splurge: $ 9 for a dog made with regular reindeer, or $ 12 for a dog made with flying reindeer. (Haha, just kidding. Maybe.) Served «Alaskan style,» with yellow mustard, grilled onion, and pickle, it was quite tasty, if perhaps not the best sausage ever. But come on – an extra couple of bucks is worth it to chow down on a beloved icon of the season, right? I actually ate reindeer once in Iceland at a fine-​dining establishment, and didn’t find that dish nearly as pleasant as my lunch yesterday.
Besides the Donner-​dog itself, I also enjoyed a brief chat with Fred about the product. Whether for gustatory delight or Grinchish glee, if you want to devour any reindeer this holiday season, hie thee to fRedhots ASAP, because supplies are limited.

They’re really friendly here and i LOVE the sweet potato fries with wasabi dipping sauce.
The special hot dogs are hit or miss with me. I ate here twice already and one time I loved my special hot dog and the other time it was okay. It’s good enough to come back and try to find another super good one so I’ll be back.

We’ve been here a few times and it’s become our go-​to place when we want meat spiked with sodium, nitrates and fat lovingly placed in a bun.
Though fRedhots offers burgers and other types of sandwiches, I’ve only had their dogs and their debris po boy. The debris sandwich is made of the Italian beef meat trimmings along with the gravy and seasonings put into some French bread. It’s like a spicy Italian beef on steroids. Yum! I’ve had the salmon dog, the double bison dog and the char-​dog. The salmon dog and bison dog were ok, but after all the condiments you probably wouldn’t be able to distinguish what they were except for the fact that it was distinctively not a «regular» dog. And it cost more.
So, the last couple times I’ve ordered the regular char-​dog. This is a definite standout. The dog is tasty and sliced throughout and grilled until the whole dog is crispy and has a great snap when biting into it. I like mine with all the fixins (Chicago style), and they do a good job of putting everything in the bun with the right proportions. The fries are just ok, but the sauces that come with make them awesome. Last time we were there we had the banana pepper, the garlic and the lemon dill aioli. All were good.
If you’re in the neighborhood, this is a definite recommend!

fRedhots and Fries is located on Chestnut Avenue, just west of Waukegan Road in Glenview. It’s housed in an attractive, modern, free-​standing building with off-​street parking. The interior is equally attractive with large windows and exposed brown brick.
As we entered, Fred himself, donned in a white chef’s jacket, greeted us, which is a nice touch. My initial vibe was good.
I ordered a ¹⁄₃ lb. Angus Beef Burger for $ 5.75 and a diet Coke for $ 1.75 (self-​service). The burger is served with a fancy, bakery-​style bun, cut in half and wrapped in wax paper. It’s a nice presentation. The burger was average in taste as it was cooked on a flat grille – not a char grille.
My compadres ordered Vienna Beef natural casing hot dogs and fresh-​cut fries. The fries are cooked in trans-​fat free, cholesterol free, non-​hydrogenated canola oil. While this may be a little healthier, it takes away from the flavor. Is fast food supposed to be healthy?
There was a sizable lunch crowd on a weekday. We were subtly encouraged to leave after we were done. It’s a small dining area with tables and a counter.
fRedhots has a lot going for it, but in my opinion, there is room for improvement. They offer unusual sausages (e.g. bison, buffalo, alligator, bear, elk, rabbit, antelope and more. Perhaps this is to emulate the success of Hot Doug’s on Chicago’s north side.
It’s worth a try.

Another Unilocal finding by BIL…
Came here right at opening so we were the 1^st ones in. The owner was at the register & we didn’t know if there were any special ordering rules like that of the Philly cheese steaks. Luckily, there wasn’t & the owner was very friendly & guided us through the menu. The dog varieties were pretty impressive… apple maple sage ck sauage to buffalo double meat. Since I knew the others will other the famous Chicago dogs I opted for the smoked Alaska salmon dog (3.5 stars) & the garlic Belgian frits w/​chipotle dipping sauce (4 stars). Hubby’s Footlong fRedhot was a 4 star as well.
The good:
— good varieties of hot dog from regional to specialties
— easy parking

Do you enjoy waiting in a two hour line with out-​of-​towners for hot dogs after looking around for parking?
If that scenario (describing a place that rhymes with «Hot Dogs») doesn’t appeal to you, you’ll enjoy Fredhots. Food Network, Check, Please!, and the Travel Channel haven’t hit this place yet.
Not only is Fredhots the under-​hyped, under-​priced version of you-​know-​what (albeit with a smaller menu), you’ll be in heaven with the menu. Look at the dynamic daily specials near the cash register. Then, have the fries with one of their many choices of dipping sauces. My fav was the artichoke.
Fredhots is worth the trek to north Glenview.

Been here four or five times now. As others have added, their fries are awesome and have a plethera of dipping sauces for you to choose from. Today I enjoyed the Italian Beef w/​sweet peppers. I’d guess there was an entire green bell pepper on this guy and I don’t want to know how much beef was on this… it wasn’t skimpy that’s for sure. I’ve had various other sausages and always enjoyed those too.
One of the nice things to is Fred, owner and the guy more than likely to greet you and take your order, always friendly and helpful.
Not many restaurants here in Glenview really offering anything unusual or surprising, this stops here, get ready for some wild game sausages and other menu options you don’t expect.

I popped in here last week to give it a try after reading about their unique sausages. When I first walked in I thought that I was in just an ordinary dog shop around Chicago. The décor was pretty typical, but this was misleading as the menu definitely wasn’t. They have some of the basic hot dogs, but they are far from being anything basic. I ordered off of their special menu after the really nice guy Al at the register had pointed it out. I chose the Gyros sausage topped with feta cheese, cucumber sauce & onions. I have always loved my gyros, but this was something even better. The fries were good too… freshly made, which is nice! Unfortunately, I wasn’t up on the different sauces that everyone else was dipping into. You must have to special order those because I didn’t know it was an option until seeing others eating them.
It was very nice to have Fred, the owner, come hand deliver my meal and have a little small talk to get to know me. The joynt was packed and he still cared… you don’t see this anymore. It seemed as though all of the patrons and restaurant staff were all good friends… just makes you want to come back, which I definitely will be doing! I live in Crystal Lake, but after one trip I think I might be addicted!
What type of sausage will be explored next time???

I went for my first time today and walked out feeling like a regular. Fred makes the entire experience really enjoyable, especially for newbies. I got an extra dipping sauce for free and an overabundance of fries haha it made my day!
I got a chicken andouille sausage with a creole inspired topping, a Chicago style hot dog, and fries. All three were delicious but if I went back for just one thing, it would be for the fresh cut fries and a couple dipping sauces. I know it sounds played out from the other Unilocal reviews, I thought so too. Trust me, I was immediately hooked.
fRedhots has great food, fair prices, and great people working behind the counter. I just can’t believe it took three years and 55 Unilocal reviews to get my ass in the door!

A superior hot dog joint with some gourmet sausages (salmon, elk, reindeer, gyros and many others), good Italian beef & burgers. Kids menu (skinless dogs, chocolate & white milk). Exceptional fries. Lots of easy parking … no Coke (Pepsi).
Place order at counter and food is delivered to table (a nice touch).

I often stay in the Glenview area and when I discovered fRedhots existed, along with my love of hot dogs, it only made sense to give it a go. And going there twice in three days means it was a delicious find. First trip was a gyros sausage that tasted pretty much gyro-​licious! Boyfriend & I also shared a footlong with the works that was big on flavour and a handful to eat. Second trip we went for the sweet potato fries (so, so yummy!) and a couple of Chicago style dogs with the works. Fred was working the counter both times and was super friendly, even posing for us when we were taking photos of the place. :) Cool little place, so happy to have found it and will return again… and again… and…

After reading about this place in my food blog, I figured I had to come here and check the place out, specifically for something known as the Debris fries, which had fries that were covered with BBQ sauce, chopped up Italian Beef, etc. Unfortunately, I forgot that it was the Debris Fries I wanted, and ordered up a Debris sandwich instead… here’s the skinny (or not so much) on the food:
Debris sandwich — Not great. The beef was dried out, even with the BBQ sauce… maybe because the beef was chopped up, but even then, I would expect some more tenderness.
Fries with Filipino Banana Pepper Aioli $ 4 — $ 4 for fries? We did get a HUGE cone with the aioli to dip with. This was really good… I don’t typically rate a place solely on their fries, but this probably stood out of the whole meal more than anything else. The abundance of fries (as you’ll see) left us tossing some out, but every fry was actually quite perfect…
Garlic Fries $ 5 — Tasty, and breath killer… the garlic fries are also worth trying as the flavor is excellent.
Verdict: The trip from Chicago is just too far for a mediocre sandwich. With all these five star ratings, it seems I may have just ordered the wrong items… so if I’m ever in the area again, I’ll have to stop by and try some new foods. To their credit, they seem to be fairly busy with lots of family post baseball games bringing their kids here for some food… perhaps again in the future, but I won’t be going out of my way any time soon.

fRedhot’s is one of those hidden gems in the burbs.
Where else can you order a rabbit and veal sausage, served with cinnamon wasabi infused carrots and goat cheese AND have it served to you by Fred himself with his best Elmer Fudd impression? I’m not a huge fan of carrots or goat cheese, but I couldn’t pass up the opp to try rabbit sausage. What a great combination! Two big thumbs up.
Since my last Unilocal,I’ve eaten here twice in a week, tried the bison burger on a pretzel roll, and brought a couple coworkers over for lunch. You know it’s good stuff when you get lost in your exotic game and frites chowdown and conversation at a nice, outdoor table and almost miss your 1:30pm meeting.

This is hands down my favorite restaurant in the Chicago area.
The food is fantastic and the price is right. While the place can go a hamburger and fries as well as anyone else, where it really shines are specialty items. Some of my favorites have included elk sausage with cranberry chutney and smoked provolone and also the hickory apple chicken sausage and Gouda cheese. Instead of fries you can also choose to have Belgian frites with a constantly changing menu of aoli dipping sauces.
What makes fRedhots really stand out though is the attention to detail and care for the customer. Next to the cash register is a hand sanitizer dispenser. Change is often given in two-​dollar bills, which just makes me feel happy. On Fred’s birthday they have free cake. To top it all off, fred can even remember the names of all of his regulars.
It’s a great place to eat.

If you like high quality and unique hot dogs, sausages, burgers, and fries, you need to come here. I live in the city, but would rather come here than go to Hot Doug’s. Easy parking, busy, but not crowded to the point of uncomfortable. fRedhots lived up to the hyped up expectations my two cousins set for me.
There is so much variety here that you can try different things on each visit while still having solid favorites to choose from. The service is fantastic as recommendations were provided and they bring the food out to your table. I was just on my first visit here and was sad to hear they don’t do sweet potato fries on Saturday. The owner saw how disappointed I was and fired up an order because it wasn’t too busy.
Things I tried that were fantastic and would definitely order again:
–sweet potatoes fries (best I have ever had) with wasabi aioli.
–garlic fries — lots of fresh garlic flavor
–bison burger — its on an expertly toasted pretzel roll with grilled onions and mustard!
–chicken+turkey sausage — this was one of the specials for the day… juicy, meaty, and delicious.
Every other item I had was good as well and neat to try, but I can’t say I would order them again next time. Gotta have some self restraint in limiting the quantity of food ordered as I don’t want to balloon into something large!

Don’t tell my kids, but I ate Rudolph. They saw me eat him in front of their eyes, showing no remorse at all. I had an accomplice too. His name was Fred and he owns the place. That’s their special this time of year. For $ 8.50, you get a nice juicy Alaskan reindeer hot dog with grilled onions or Chicago-​style if you’d like.
fRedhots is the suburban answer to Hot Doug’s. Located in an area of Glenview just off Waukegan Road, full of strip malls and other retailers, it’s a small, cozy and friendly fast food place, specializing in hot dogs.
Their fries are served in a snow-​cone style cup on a rack. It’s not a very big serving but they are very good. You also get a dipping sauce with them. Ever had Belgian fries with mayonnaise? Don’t cringe, it’s actually very yummy. You have your choice of mayo dip with an added twist. I had a zesty mayo with onions and cilantro. My wife had a potent garlic sauce.
Service is friendly and the employees are talkative and helpful. When I placed my order for the reindeer hot dog, Fred announced to his cook, «One Rudolph!»
Once we ordered, we were lucky to get a table, as the place was pretty crowded at lunchtime. That’s really the only negative thing I can say about the place. They are pretty cramped in there. However, they bring the food to your table with a smile. Drinks are all one size and are refillable.
My wife had the jumbo hot dog, which is flame-​grilled. The kids had the regular hot dogs. Since we really enjoyed the fries, we decided to get one more, plus my reindeer dog didn’t come with any. As I told my wife I’d get another, a guy wearing fake antlers and making the hot dogs heard me and told me not to worry about getting in line. He got me hot fries on the rack in just a minute and I paid hassle-​free, without a wait.
We asked him about which dipping sauce he prefers. He offered caramelized onions. Very sweet and flavorful mayo dip indeed! Let’s just say we’d probably keep eating more fries as each sauce was spectacular.
In all, a great dining experience, whether you are adventurous or not so.
Besides hot dogs, they also have burgers and Italian beef. But next time I go, I think I’ll have the buffalo burger served on a pretzel bun.