Michiganders WindyCity Dawghouse — Restaurant in Portage

Staff seem nice and service was quick but people acting like the food here are good either got something entirely different from I did or are out of their minds.

People comparing it to Portillos or anywhere in Chicago are out of their minds. I lived in the Chicago area for a decade and you can get this stuff on every corner there. This wouldn't hold up to the worst places there.

I got the Italian Beef, dipped, fries, and a piece of chocolate cake. None of it was good. The beef is big, but somehow had zero flavor. I got it dipped as I would in any place in Chicago but that works because the beef is cooked in super flavorful juices. This had no flavor so it just ruins the bread. It tasted like it was dipped in water. I got about 3 bites in and just couldn't keep going. My wife got the beef and sausage and agreed and said the sausage was just as bad.

I appreciate that their fries don't seem to just be out of a bag but they were super limp and undercooked. They also had no salt on them which meant they had little flavor. After salting them they were edible but not good. They are however the only part of this meal I finished. (Also, from a presentation standpoint, never a good idea to get huge bags for the fries and then fill them less than half full. The amount wasn't that bad, maybe a little underwhelming for a 4.00 order of fries but fine, but it feels like less when you serve it this way)

Even the cake was awful. Very strange texture, and a weird aftertaste. That's what disappointed my wife most. She loves the cake at Portillos and was hoping for something remotely similar. We did not get it.

I have to assume anyone comparing that to Portillos has never had Portillos. Go to Chicago and try it. Or Al's. Or Johnny's. Or Mr. Beef. Or a million other places. They're new and there's always room to grow but the issues here aren't service, or training, or anything like that. The biggest issue is flavor and that's a lot harder to fix. I've eaten a lot of good and bad restaurants since moving back to Portage two years ago. This might well be the worst. If you want a better version of this good go to Ray Ray's. They'd still be pretty average in Chicago but easily the best I've found...

Came in Tuesday right before the tornadoes. I ddnt let the know I was a food critic, upon stepping in I was greeted by a young lady , she was very nice and welcoming. I said let me try a beef.she said dry, dipped or baptized a guy sitting in there said baptized is the way it sold be eating. I replied I'll take mine dipped. Thought bout it I then said add cheese. Then I said you know what give 2 of em, thee beef was lacking flavor and kinda had tht old taste too it, then they covered the whole sandwich in cheese cldnt even pick it up and it seem like they listen to the other guy who said baptized is the only way to eat it cause it was soaking bread soggy I ddnt really care for it ate half and threw the other one in the 🗑 .they ddnt have any mild Giordano peppers only hot .I will be back to try the maxwell and chilli cheese fries..it's a very small building I missed it like 4 times even using my onstar..I think people shld check it n out for themselves and see how they like it.ill definitely be back I believe in supporting sm business and 8m sure I'll find...

The only thing Chicago about the Dawghouse is the price. The ambiance: meh, needs some pizazz and personality, garbage out back, crooked menu on the wall, looks a bit slapped together. Not very personable staff. For example, asking a patron about their meal and already moving on before the answer was complete. The food. My hot dog buns were as hard as rocks. I tapped them on the table. The bun and the all beef dog are everything, but the bun was unacceptable. We dined in. My wife had the beef sandwich, good amount of beef, but no flavor. Fries were tasty but not much of it. Can't use lack of staff as an answer for too long. We will give this joint another try in a few months but as expensive as it is to eat out, I expect much better. I know this is someone's business, and I wish them well, but this also costs my family something to have a meal, we would like...