Boss Dawgz — Restaurant in Lisle

I was hoping the restaurant would be something akin to Dog Haus since they are going for hot dogs with unique, gourmet twists but sadly it has far from lived up to that expectation.

Boss Dawgz has good ideas, but ultimately fails in execution. Their sauced up hot dogs are messy and grotesque yet still lacking the flavor you would find at other gourmet hot dog places, while the quality of the hot dogs being used themselves is mediocre to downright bad. This would possibly be excusable if they were aiming to be a budget hot dog joint, but their prices are at the very high end at ~$6 per a la carte hot dog. Even worse, if you want a side of fries (which are inoffensive but nothing better than what someone could make at home), a tiny pouch of them is a whopping $3.50. Ultimately, the lack of novelty and execution simply fails to justify the immense price of Boss Dawgz’s offerings, and that’s truly a shame because their ideas have a lot of potential.

I honestly really wanted to like this place, but you’re better off going to Portillo’s or driving to Chicago for a real gourmet hotdog.

Edit: I would like to add a few clarification points since the owner replied to my review. The hot dogs I got were the boss classic, boss the ripper, and all dawgz go to heaven. Of the three all dawgz go to heaven was okay and the other two were unpalatable. I also ordered a separate order of fries as I was led to believe that would be the same size of fries as ordering a hotdog as a meal. If they serve small fries with all the dogs as part of the included price that was not advertised during the first few opening days and certainly does not appear on the menu now, nor did I get any fries with my hot dogs beyond what I ordered separately. As such, this response seems somewhat disingenuous. With regards to pricing I can also certainly say that my $20+ meal here did not satisfy me whereas $10 at the other locations I listed would have been more than enough for a filling meal.

Simultaneously, I do want to acknowledge, however, that it is true that it was their opening week and there is a lot of time to improve going forward. I certainly hope they do because as they stated they are a small business with ownership within the community, but it is also true that a small business needs merits to stand on beyond that...

Been here a couple times and I would rate it 4 stars but only if you eat there, take out is 3 stars. I’ve had the chili dog and the hot link dog and both were pretty good. The chili and cheese sauce are both pretty good and the hot dog itself was good as well. The buns they use are surprisingly good. They look big and very bready but they are surprisingly light and airy. Fries were a little soggy cuz of take out but better than expected and the hot link was really nicely char grilled, a hint of spice and really great snap to it when you take a bite. Now my constructive criticisms. The hot dog in the chili was good in flavor but it lacked that snap that I love in a hot dog, instead it was the opposite of that hotdog snap. The hot link was good but it is not what I would call a good Chicago style hot link, it lacked the sage and fennel flavor that I love in a good Chicago style hot link along with the spice. Also I ordered cheese sauce on the side that came in a plastic cup with a plastic lid that was laid lid side down on top of the hot fries. When I got my food home the fries had melted and warped the plastic lid and all I could think about was eating cheese sauce mixed with plastic chemicals. Also the take out container is a styrofoam container that they put hot fried into. The container had melted all around the fries and again all I could think about was styrofoam chemicals mixed with my food. Should change the take out containers to something that won’t melt from hot oil and fries touching it or at least lay some aluminum foil down. The food is good but some of the execution...

I never write reviews (I always forget) but I promised the owner I would. We came in and somehow started talking to him and he turned out to be one of the nicest guys I've ever met, I wish I had gotten his name! He didn't even judge me when I ordered a plain hot dog, just let me know to hide it from him if I put ketchup on it (I WOULD NEVER!) I asked where the buns were from because they looked awesome, he told us about how he gets there early to bake the bread (you can tell). We told him how we're pretty loyal to Gene & Jude's so we might be tough to impress. The food portions are pretty generous, so many fries! The cheese sauce was probably some of the best I've had, as silly as that sounds, but IYKYK. The fries were a bit too crispy for my liking, but still tasty. The hubs had a polish and I had my plain hot dog - both delicious. The owner came around to ask how the food tasted and how it held up against G&J's. I had to ask where the hot dogs were from because it was probably one of the most flavorful I'd ever had. He again took the time to explain that process and how he has them made for him. Just a short conversation with him and you can tell that he puts his heart into this place, he really seems to love what he does and enjoys interacting with customers. It was probably one of my best experiences at a hot dog joint.

Come for the food, stay for the experience. Make sure you talk to the owner, you...