The Wiener and Still Champion is celebrating National Hot Dog Day this Saturday and is offering every Vienna Beef, Chicago-style hot dog (and freshly battered Dipping Dog) for $1.00, so make like a Kobayashi and get yer fill.

Now there’s some conflicting info on the web as to whether July 19th or July 23rd is the actual National Hot Dog Day this year, but I like having the offer available on the weekend. National Hot Dog Month is also most definitely July, so there’s little to do now but kick back and enjoy some super sausage… on the cheap. Eat up.

Feel free to check out the other photos I snapped while he was there at the Picasa web album set up for just that purpose.

Yup, so there goes another chunk of my internet anonymity, but it was bound to happen sooner or later. And in case you were wondering, that’s a shirt for Korea University, which was established in 1905… in Korea. No, I didn’t go there for college.

Promotion: Ben & Jerry’s Free Cone Day

Location: 1634 Orrington Ave., Evanston, IL, 60202 (map); phone: (847) 869-2640

Rating: 4 out of 5 – good

Eaten: 1 block away

After random tastings of Ben & Jerry’s socially aware fare over the years, it just felt right to swoop in to a Scoop Shop and begin to more systematically sample its sweets. The cone, at least, came free. (As well as the ice cream, though it was hard to tell exactly how much my scoops usually cost, if they cost anything in addition to the cone; the waffle cone was clearly listed as regularly selling for 99 cents). Not encumbered by the restrictions of price, I had come to check out the simple charm of a Chunky Monkey, as B&J’s concoction of “Banana Ice Cream with Fudge Chunks & Walnuts” is known. After making the Chunk my first priority, I had come to learn that it was apparently a favorite flavor of a friend of mine, so the urgency with which I waited ten minutes in line — out the door in downtown Evanston — became all the more acute as the metered minutes ran down for my publically parked car. Thankfully, the Monkey pulled through, oddly pleasing in a way… much like eating banana nut bread even.

Fans of artificially flavored banana milk might be surprised by the natural fruit tastes subtly expressed in the cream, leading to the sensation I mentioned earlier of eating nut bread with the walnuts spread in good proportion in the mix. Wide but thin wafers of fudge round out the Chunky Monkey’s main ingredients, but don’t distract from the overall impression that its creators weren’t going for something that was too sweet to enjoy in large quantities. This Monkey’s not mind-blowing, but it serves as a sort of frozen comfort food someone could reliably order and still have a good time with. Steady, not flashy.

Oh, and if you were wondering where I finished this, the aforementioned line winding in and out of the shop left no room to even comfortably stand and consume my free treat indoors. Instead, I walked about a block to an outdoor dining area set up for the Flat Top Grill over on Church Street. You might notice the restaurant’s placemat resting on the table in each picture’s background above. So I thank the proprietors of Flat Top for a place to finish my ice cream on a bright but briskly cool spring day.

Availability: 11 A.M. – 5 P.M., Mon. – Sat.; call to be sure

Location: 1724 S. River Rd., Des Plaines, IL 60018 (map); phone: (847) 699-8590

Rating: 5 out of 5 – great

Status: independent

Judging by the regular restaurant hours listed above, you can see how this decidedly non-chain establishment doesn’t really cater to the dinner crowd. Reports seem to indicate lines out the door on Saturdays, so the 5-10 minutes I might wait on any given weekday to make an order might appear quite reasonable in comparison. If the time (and fuel spent) driving out to this northwest suburb from the city only makes a trip out to River Road that much more doubtful, take heart: the Char Cheddar Burger at Paradise Pup is destination dining for this Snob, and it’s well worth your money.

The picture above represents the bright but brisk Tuesday when this clearly medium to medium-rare burger found its way into my possession. (The squeamish might request a more medium-well char to their meat.) The weather remained cold enough to prevent dining out on the round picnic tables outside, so some shade — perhaps from this very photographer — snuck its way into a sandwich pic yet again. What could not be ruined, however, was the mix of Merkt’s cheddar cheese and grilled onions to produce one of the finest specimens of the cheddar burger around.

For additional examples of the proper char cheddar burger further east and in the city proper, you could try the versions offered at Poochie’s in Skokie, Wiener and Still Champion in Evanston (less greasy), or Wiener Circle in Chicago (perhaps more so). If, as a cultured omnivore, you’ve never had the pleasure of Merkt’s cheddar slathered on your burger up to this point, then a sampling at one of these outposts is strongly recommended. While not as goopy and artery-hardening in sensation as when poured over French fries, Merkt’s could still be quite a shock for neophytes driving half an hour out of their way for a first impression. Others have acknowledged the Pup’s merits, but make sure you order the Char Cheddar Burger (presumably starting with a third of a pound of beef) and not any other for a true taste of Paradise.

As a final topper, the slightly charred bun provides an appropriate contrast to the gooey burger’s insides. Just make sure to call if you’re planning any special trips out here, however, especially around the holidays; last December, they were closed for two weeks starting from the 22nd. Makes sense, but phone first?

Promotion: National Corndog Day deal; buy more, save more

Location: 802 Dempster St., Evanston, IL 60202 (map); phone: (847) 869-0100

Rating: 4 out of 5 – good

Status: independent

If you noticed that new last line up there, this is the first time I’ve reviewed something from a non-chain restaurant here on the site. Not that I have anything against the more independent establishments out there; it’s just that I’ve tried to keep to items people can easily find outside of northern Illinois (and, particularly, the City of Chicago). I’ll make exceptions for the offerings I really enjoy, however, and the Dipping Dogs at Wiener and Still Champion certainly fit the bill with regards to my personal tastes.

The WASC takeout menu describes the Dipping Dog as follows: “A Wiener and Still Champion specialty! All-beef hot dog hand-dipped into our freshly-made Corn Meal batter….” The appeal of the Champ’s DDs is that they’re dipped in the batter right before your eyes, made-to-order, and set to properly fry for a good few minutes. This isn’t heat-lamped and frozen batter, y’all, so the juiciness of the Dogs really comes through in the final product. My Dipping Dogs were so heavy on the stick that the wooden handles were in danger of snapping off without the proper support, but I felt no qualms about oily fingers once I began to dig in.

Buying 3, 6, or 12 Dipping Dogs at a time will net you some bulk savings at the register (cash-only for now), as well as get you a free special dipping sauce from among the handful listed. I had a hard time choosing between the spicy and garlic aiolis on offer, but Gus was gracious in letting me sample two sauces for the price of one. (What a great Easter Eve!) The garlic is probably the one I like more, but it’s hard to keep going back to just that one sauce, as alternating with something less like mayo helps keep the palate fresh. Other 50-cent flavors I remember from the menu board were curry ketchup, Argentine garlic, Texas ranch, and honey mustard.

For a meal, two Dogs might prove adequate, but three really sealed the deal for me. Dipping Dogs are also appropriate for those occasions after a burger or fries when you still want to eat something substantial, but need just a little more to feel full. Adding one for a buck to a combo meal is the epitome of savings, but you’ll have to check before presuming that offer’s still valid. I liken the value — even at regular price — to that of a tasty hot dog sold anywhere else… yet provides more satisfaction. In the end, The Wiener and Still Champion’s my favorite place for fresh, affordable corndogs. (Again, the Cheddar Burger and fries are good, too.) Give ‘em a try if yer in the area.

Maybe you can’t find a better way to celebrate Holy Saturday than by digging into a freshly dipped corndog from Gus and company (over at the WASC on 802 Dempster St. in downtown Evanston), but the occasion is actually supposed to mark National Corndog Day. I helped taste test the special dipping sauces also on offer, of which you can get one free by buying three Dipping Dogs that day, so see you there if you make it early. (That’s tomorrow!)

If eating hot dogs of any kind just gets yer goat, then there’s always the excellent cheddar cheeseburgers and fresh hand-cut fries to fall back on as well. This isn’t the typical fast-food chain being mentioned here, I know, but it would feel wrong not to talk about some of the better made-to-order menu items on the North Side — especially when they’re being promoted and especially affordable. Check out the full press release for all the details.