There’s a “Chicago Pastrami Dog” on the menu at 3 Squares Diner that sounds tempting. Just imagine: an encased farce of brined and smoked brisket dragged through the garden of the orthodox Chicago condiments. Sounds simultaneously delicious and dangerously provocative.
I was so unnerved by the Chicago Pastrami Dog I was prepared to ask for ketchup, but then I noticed the small tub of it—a molasses-colored version with a deep sweetness that seemed to terrify the thick and nicely crisped fries.
Apart from milkshakes 3SD doesn’t do dessert, but you can add its proprietary distillations of vodka, gin, and rum to them as well as to the classic cocktails. But there’s something about the food at 3SD that on the surface appeals yet consistently fails to live up to its promise, no better demonstrated by a romaine salad with dry chunks of corn bread, corn, and tomatoes served in late June and tasting that way. Like a sandwich in an iconic hot dog’s clothing, not much at 3SD is as it seems. v
1020 W. Lawrence 773-293-6158 3squaresdiner.com
