After reading that Gene and Judes was a ""noteworthy"" hot dog stand in the Chicago area in the recent issue of TimeOut Chicago, i eagerly drove from the city to the quaint neighborhood of River Grove to check it out for myself. In this day and age, with channels like the food network and growing interest in the ART of cuisine, it is unfortunate that anyone could ever claim that Gene and Judes is any good. Sure the hot dog was good vienna beef and it filled my stomach, but to write about this in a magazine is a waste of print space. They don't even offer chilli on the cheese dog. This place is pathetic. The only reason to go there is to observe the patrons, who are a diverse group (when i was there i saw kids in apocalyptic, black shirts with the name of metal bands or just macabre phrases like ""Death is Me"", and then a group of police officers in white shirts and black pants in another corner and a jewish rabbi as well. The hot dogs were serviceable, but not spectacular. Parky's is much better. ""if it ain't broke, don't fix it"" is a fine philosophy for G & J's , but that doesn't mean that what they're doing there is anything near extraordinary. It's so basic in terms of what's offered that it's food does not deserve any mention. As a place to get a quick, reliable bite and mingle with people from different backgrounds, it works.
Pros: The Crowd
Cons: The Offering, and no darn place to sit
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