DeRusha Eats: Chicago-Style Dogs

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Chicago is all over Chris and Rob's Taste Authority.

From Walter Payton on the wall -- "Those came from out of my bedroom when I was a kid," Rob Dubnecay said -- to every ingredient served over the counter.

"Our hot dogs, buns, condiments all come from Chicago," Rob said. "All from families."

Family is part of Taste Authority; Rob and his brother, Chris, opened it in 2004.

They sell 1,400 Chicago dogs here every month. And what makes a Chicago dog?

"Eight things," Rob said. "Wheat-based, poppy seed steamed bun, 100 percent beef, natural-casing hot dog, and we top it with mustard, relish, pickles, tomatoes, onions and celery salt."

There is never ketchup. The tomatoes do that job. And you can't miss the sweet relish.

The Chicago dog dates to the 1893 World's Fair. Two European immigrants called their creation Vienna Sausage.

"Fully loaded, only 220 calories," Rob said.

DeRusha's favorite was the Italian Beef Sandwich.

"Beef flats, slow cooked for six to eight hours, very low," Rob said.

Invented in the 1920s in Chicago, it's all about the gravy; a garlic, oregano, salty broth.

Then you order it wet, the whole sandwich gets dunked.

Chris and Rob are the biggest buyers of Chicago-style, all-beef hot dogs in Minnesota. And they have three shops – Minneapolis, St. Paul and Fridley.