DJ's Hotdog Company

A couple weekends ago, Ian and I wanted to try something different. We had heard about this new place in the Allisonville and 82nd area called DJ's Hotdog Company. We'd driven by it a couple times also, so, we thought we should actually stop in and try it!
DJ's Hotdog Company is an Indianapolis based company with five locations in the Greater Indianapolis Area. They mainly serve hot dogs, brats, and polish sausages, but they also have Italian Beef sandwiches. 

As soon as we walked in the door, we saw the menu above the counter. The menu seemed a little bit on the over whelming side. The print is a bit small. Even Ian said to me, "Can you read that? I can't really see it!" As we waited for the people in front of us to order, we tried to read the menu. There's a beautiful skyline cut out on the main wall. The menu is back on the wall behind the counter. The person behind the counter, whom I'm assuming is the manger, started talking to us right away. He saw me taking pictures, and said, "That's what you want a picture of!" while pointing to the skyline above the counter. When we got up to the counter, he asked us if we had ever eaten at DJ's before, and we said no. He started explaining the menu to us. He showed us the different sizes of hot dogs, which there are two: original and jumbo.  He told us about the three different kinds of buns.  There's the plain, the poppy seed, and the pretzel bun to choose from.  (That takes us to America's latest obsession with the pretzel bun, but that would be a whole different blog entry!) He also talked about their Italian Beef sandwiches, and how great they are! He was really helpful in helping us understand every aspect of the menu and making sure we ordered something we would enjoy.
Many of the hot dog styles are named after cities, like the Chicago Style, Kansas City Style, and New Jersey style. 

Ian with his Meal

Ian ordered the San Antonio Dog on a pretzel bun. The hot dog was the jumbo size. He got a side of fries. The San Antonio dog has on it chili, nacho cheese, and jalapenos. It's a little on the messy side. Ian ate it with a fork. The chili on this hot dog is really chili, not a coney sauce. The jalapenos give the hot dog a spicy kick! He really liked this hot dog!

A Closer Look at the San Antonio Dog

The Crinkle Cut Fries

  The fries were O.K. They were normal crinkle cut fries. I'll come back to the fries later.

  I got the New York hot dog, jumbo size, on a pretzel bun. The New York comes with spicy mustard and sour kraut. I really enjoyed this hot dog. I love good sour kraut! Even though the kraut may have been a little on the over cooked side, it didn't hurt the flavor of this hot dog. The pretzel bun made for a slightly chewier texture. The hot dogs at DJ's are all beef. This made for a quality product.

The Onion Rings

The sad thing about the sides is, I saw the cook pull out the Gordon Food Services bag after I ordered them. I would have skipped the onion rings had I known they weren't going to be anything special.  As Robert Irvine always says on "Restaurant Impossible," FRESH IS BETTER! Ian's fries came from a GFS also. After eating my onions rings anyway, I said to Ian that, if I had known, I would have ordered two small hot dogs of different varieties and and skipped the onion rings! 

I give DJ's Hotdog Company 2 and 3/4's pizza pies out of 4. We'll go back! I will definitely skip the side items and will just be getting a sandwich or two next time we go.  The price for two people ended up being close to $20, with two sandwiches, two sides, and two drinks. This feels a little on the high side for me, being that they are selling hot dogs, all be it they are "gourmet" hot dogs. The person that greeted us at the counter was kind and helpful. He gave us great customer service!
Since we are fans of Portillo's in Chicago, it's hard not to compare. The concept for DJ's Hotdog Company is basically the same, but I don't think there's anything else close to what DJ's does in the Indianapolis Area.
DJ's is worth checking out!