Superdawg
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox Restaurant
| name = Superdawg
| logo = Superdawg.jpg
| image = Superdawg exterior.jpg
| image_caption = Superdawg Drive-In. The mascots Maurie and Flaurie, named for the owners, stand tall on the roof.
| established = {{Start date|1948|05}}
| current-owner = Berman family
| head-chef =
| food-type = Hot dog stand with carhop service
| dress-code =
| rating =
| street-address = 6363 N. Milwaukee Avenue
| city = Chicago
| state = Illinois
| zip = 60646
| country = United States
| seating-capacity =
| reservations =
| other-locations = 333 S. Milwaukee Avenue, Wheeling, IL 60090
| other-information =
| website = {{URL|superdawg.com}}
| coordinates = {{coord|41.996763|N|87.78706|W|type:landmark_region:US-IL|display=inline,title|format=dms}}
}}
Superdawg is a drive-in hot dog stand with carhop service.{{cite web|url=http://chicago.seriouseats.com/2010/03/superdawg-hot-dogs-fast-food-chicago-illinois.html |title=Dining Out }}{{cite web|url=http://chicago.metromix.com/venues/mmxchi-superdawg-drive-in-venue |title=Chicago Entertainment }} It is located in the Norwood Park neighborhood of Chicago, at the intersection of Milwaukee, Devon, and Nagle Avenues. Superdawg has the distinction of being one of the few original drive-in restaurants left in the United States. Its methods have been the same since it opened in 1948. A second, similar location on Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling, Illinois opened in 2010.
Superdawg was featured on the Food Network's television programs Unwrapped and Emeril Live, and on the PBS television programs Check, Please!{{cite web|url=http://checkplease.wttw.com/restaurants/superdawg-drive |title=Superdawg Drive-In | Check, Please! | WTTW Chicago |date=16 January 2004 }} and A Hot Dog Program. It has been visited by many critics and food aficionados. It is listed in the books 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and Hot Dog Chicago: A Native's Dining Guide.{{cite news |url=http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/05/04/how-chicagos-hot-dog-scene-has-changedand-hasntfrom-the-era-of-jane-byrne-to-hot-doug |title=How Chicago's hot dog scene has changed—and hasn't—from the era of Jane Byrne to Hot Doug |newspaper=Chicago Reader |last1=Gebert |first1=Michael |archive-date=2016-01-24 |access-date=2016-01-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160124065146/http://www.chicagoreader.com/Bleader/archives/2015/05/04/how-chicagos-hot-dog-scene-has-changedand-hasntfrom-the-era-of-jane-byrne-to-hot-doug |url-status=dead }}
History
Superdawg was opened in May 1948 by Maurie and Flaurie Berman, and it is still owned and operated by their family. Although the restaurant has undergone some expansion and remodeling, the landmark figures of anthropomorphic hot dogs "Maurie and Flaurie" on the roof date from the beginning.{{cite web|url=https://superdawg.com/history/ |title=Historic Superdawg® Drive-In Established in 1948 }}{{cite web|url=http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/sprinter-to-superdawg.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071018170342/http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/sprinter-to-superdawg.htm |archive-date=18 October 2007 |title=HowStuffWorks - Learn How Everything Works! }}
A Superdawg location in Midway Airport's B concourse operated from 2003-2010. Another Superdawg restaurant opened on Milwaukee Avenue in Wheeling, Illinois in 2010.{{cite web |url=http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=354744 |title=Superdawg finally opens in Wheeling on Milwaukee Avenue -- Daily Herald |access-date=2016-01-23 |archive-date=2016-01-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129025527/http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=354744 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=177200 |title=Wheeling begins Superdawg countdown -- Daily Herald |access-date=2016-01-23 |archive-date=2015-12-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222195144/http://prev.dailyherald.com/story/?id=177200 |url-status=dead }}
Superdawg has succeeded in asking a number of restaurants to cease using similar names, and successfully sued a New York City hot dog eatery named Superdog when it refused to comply.{{cite news |title=Superdawg vs. Superdog |author=Hughlett, Mike |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=June 23, 2009 |accessdate=January 23, 2016 |url=http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-06-25/news/0906250214_1_increase-tuition-rooftop-statues |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123135402/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-06-25/news/0906250214_1_increase-tuition-rooftop-statues |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 23, 2011 }}{{Cite web|url=http://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/Superdawg-naming-lawsuit-chicago-hot-dog-59934497.html|title=Superdawg Wins Battle of the Names|last=LeSage|first=Lora|date=September 20, 2009|website=NBC Chicago|language=en|access-date=July 19, 2019}} The Superdawg trademark was registered in 1984.{{citation |title=73298247 |publisher=United States Patent and Trademark Office}}
In 2014, Superdawg collaborated with Lake Effect Brewing Company, a Chicago craft brewery, to create a lager-style beer called Super Bier.{{cite web |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140626/gladstone-park/superdawg-lake-effect-brewery-say-hiya-super-bier |title=Superdawg, Lake Effect Brewery Say Hiya to Super Bier |access-date=2016-01-23 |archive-date=2016-01-28 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160128175906/https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20140626/gladstone-park/superdawg-lake-effect-brewery-say-hiya-super-bier |url-status=dead }}
Maurie Berman died on May 17, 2015.{{cite web |url=http://chicago.suntimes.com/business/7/71/613683/superdawg-founder-maurie-berman-dies-89 |title=Superdawg Founder Maurie Berman Dies at 89 |work=Chicago Sun-Times |date=May 17, 2015 |accessdate=May 17, 2015 |author1=Armentrout, Mitchell |author2=Dudek, Mitch |archive-date=May 18, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518095144/http://chicago.suntimes.com/business/7/71/613683/superdawg-founder-maurie-berman-dies-89 |url-status=dead }}Selvam, Ashok (May 18, 2015). [http://chicago.eater.com/2015/5/18/8620051/superdawg-founder-maurie-berman-died "Superdawg Drive-In Founder Maurie Berman Dies on Sunday at 89"], Chicago Eater. Retrieved January 23, 2016. His wife Flaurie died May 1, 2018.{{cite news |first=Phil |last=Vettel |date=May 2, 2018 |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/dining/ct-food-florence-berman-dies-0502-story.html |title=Superdawg Co-Owner Florence Berman Dies at 92 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |access-date=May 4, 2018}}
In June 2015, the Unicode Consortium added a hot dog to the list of officially recognized emoji. In September 2015, Apple made the symbol available on its phones and computers with the release of the iOS 9 operating system. Superdawg was a leader in the effort to establish the hot dog emoji.{{cite web |url=https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151021/norwood-park/hot-dog-emoji-officially-available-on-apple-devices----thanks-superdawg |title=Hot Dog Emoji Officially Available on Apple Devices -- Thanks to Superdawg |access-date=2016-03-24 |archive-date=2015-12-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151225025656/http://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151021/norwood-park/hot-dog-emoji-officially-available-on-apple-devices----thanks-superdawg |url-status=dead }}{{cite web|url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-hot-dog-emoji-1024-biz-20151023-story.html |title=How Superdawg made the hot dog emoji happen. Maybe. |website=Chicago Tribune |date=23 October 2015 }}
Carhop service
The restaurant retains a 1950s style of ordering food. Customers pull their car up to one of the carports and order through a retro-looking metallic speaker box. Each cashier responds to the customer's call through the speaker box with the greeting, "Hiya, thanks for stopping. May I take your order, please?" The orders are delivered to the car window by a carhop with a tray that hooks on to the half-open car window. When finished eating, the customer flips a switch on the box and a carhop comes to take the tray back. Many of the carhops have been there for years and have a loyal base of customers. There is also a walkup window and there are a few tables and benches outside the restaurant. The Wheeling location has a large indoor seating area.
The food
All of the sandwiches come with crinkle-cut french fries inside a box that helps retain its heat. Every Superdawg comes with a signature pickled green tomato,{{cite web|url=http://chicago.seriouseats.com/2013/05/the-10-best-chicago-style-hot-dogs-slideshow.html#show-327207 |title=We Eat Every Hot Dog at Pink's in Hollywood }} one of Superdawg's distinctions from the classic Chicago-style hot dog, along with its spicier-than-usual wiener. They care about the distinction between a regular red hot as it says on their menu, "not a red hot- not a frankfurter - not a wiener - but our exclusive... Superdawg."{{cite web|url=https://0361d47.mynetworksolutions.mobi/|title=Archived copy|access-date=2020-09-24|archive-date=2016-10-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161030181112/http://0361d47.mynetworksolutions.mobi/|url-status=dead}} Among several other items, they also sell double-cheeseburgers called "Whoopercheesies" and diced ice cream. Superdawg is also known to never put ketchup on any of their hot dogs. If customers ask for ketchup, it is provided on the side.
See also
{{portal|Food|Companies}}
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- {{Official website|superdawg.com}}
{{Restaurants in Chicago}}
Category:Hot dog restaurants in the United States
Category:Novelty buildings in Illinois
Category:Restaurants in Chicago