-Grubbing in Chicagoland
Bargain Bites ft. Sonoran Hot Dogs in Maywood
When it comes to regional hot dogs the Chicago style is tough to top. I may be a bit of a Homer but I do believe that. That said the Chicago dog is one of many regional styles and it’s not the only one that shines. There’s a couple of others just as popular in their parts. One is the Coney Dog in Detroit and the other is the Sonoran Dog in Tucson - the latter of which can now be found in Maywood at Sonora Dogz, a food truck owner Willy Arenas and his wife opened in June. The truck parks most weekends at a gas station in Maywood but also makes appearances at festivals and other events around town.
Recently opened in Maywood
Willy is from the Chicagoland area but his family traces back to Sonora Mexico where the Sonoran Hot Dog was born. It’s said to have originated in Hermosillo during the 1980s where it began as a late night street food served from custom carts called dogueras. Street vendors adapted the classic American hot dog to local Mexican tastes and somewhere along the line the current iteration of the Sonoran hot dog was born. It crossed the border in the 90’s and is now considered as much a part of Tucson and Arizona as it is Hermosillo and Sonora. Just like the Chicago dog, an authentic Sonoran dog is heavily layered and defined by specific components. First and foremost is the bun aka a bolillo roll. It’s split open on top rather than cut completely in half, this helps hold a heavy layer of toppings. The bun is griddled to warm it up and soften it inside. Many spots in Tucson get their buns from Sonora - it’s the most crucial component of the Sonoran Dog. Willy and his wife bake their own buns.
Menu at Sonora Dogz (click pics to enhance)
The hot dogs at Sonora Dogz are all beef franks tightly wrapped in bacon and griddled until crispy. The first topping to go on is usually a spoonful of seasoned pinto beans. The warm beans are followed by chopped tomatoes, diced onions and or caramelized onions plus yellow mustard and mayo and it usually comes with a roast chile pepper on the side. There’s typically a salsa bar too as is the case at Sonora Dogz. I tried the OG as it was my first visit and aside from the lack of mustard this seemed to be a textbook version. I added some green chili relish and pickled jalapeños to mine and it tasted just like the Sonoran Dog I had from El Güero Canelo in Tucson, Arizona, which famously won a James Beard award in the ‘America’s Classics’ category back in 2018. Big props to Willy and his wife and the rest of the Sonora Dogz team for bringing this delicious border food to Chicago. Sonora Dogz isn’t the first spot in town to do Sonoran Dogs but it is the first place to specialize in them.
El Original at Sonora Dogz
Sonora Dogz
409 N 9th Ave
Maywood, IL 60153
(708) 375-9798
Website
