Parky’s Hot Dogs

Best Fries in the World!
Absolutely the best French Fries. Hand cut, fresh, cooked to order. You’ll need two paper bags to contain all that goodness.
Even the hot dogs have gotten better since the new owner took over. She and her crew are fast, friendly and efficient. Can’t eat fast food often, but when we do, we’re in heaven.

Don’t do it ppl! Only went because it’s been there so long. You figure it has to be somewhat good. That is not the case here. Just bad overall. I would never go there again. Wishbone hadn’t gone in the first place. They need to change everything. Only thing I liked about it. Is the old school feel to it.

This place kicks ass! The woman behind the counter was suuuuuper sweet, very friendly! I had a hotdog which was good but let’s talk about the fries!!! They make them there and they’re absolutely BOMB! Super cheap, great service and tasty food, I’ll be back!
Just went back (couple weeks later) — the burger kicks ass. the cheese fries are edible orgasms, AND the sweet woman was there again, love her love the food love this place!

Had way much better hot dogs. Weird thing is the Polish was flame! Burgers were greasy n delis! Fries were pretty good.

I love this place. I grew up a few blocks from Parky’s and have been eating here since the early 70’s. So happy it is still around and has not changed too much.

Awesome neighborhood joint. Amazing hand-​cut fries in a greasy bag and an excellent traditional-​style Chicago dog. A great family-​owned, local lunch spot that my family has been frequenting for years and I stop by when I’m in town to visit. The malts and shakes are excellent too.

Yummmmm. After 15 years of living in OP, we saw a piece on this place on TV and decided to visit. Friendly staff. Convenient parking. Shaded picnic tables. Loved my chill cheese dog. Husband loved the italian beef and my daughter loved her burger. Will return!

First things first, a great deal and double the price. Less than $ 5 for a hot dog, fries, and a soda.
The hot dog is certainly better than Portillo’s, but not amazing. The fries were good, but they could probably swap out the oil a little more frequently. Went on a nice day so the outdoor seating was welcome. To be honest, I’ll probably take people to Portillo’s since it has a drive through, but this is a good local joint. I need to try the sausage dog before finalizing my opinion. Give it a try if you are in the area!

Its all about the fries which I personally love.
If you’re going for a hot dog spring for the all-​beef, its very good. The regular is only so-​so. The polish is also good.
I should probably try the beef just so I’ll know but I have other places for that.

As a Forest Parker I feel like I am supposed to give this place a much better review. The truth is, I am not really here nor there about this place. The location is right on the border of FP/​OP in that questionable corner by Rush OP. The parking isn’t hard for this place, so that’s a plus, but I feel like the hotdog was just average and the price was slightly above average.
Don’t get me wrong, I love mom/​pop hot dog places but it’s just OK

Been wanting to try this place for a while. I finally got some friends to join me and we tried it tonight.
I got the bacon wrapped cheese dog, cause I just had to. I had them cut into thirds to share with my friends so I wouldn’t feel bad about getting a hot dog and fry meal. Wish I just got the bacon cheese dog! It was deep fried perfection. Oh so good.
I should of asked for the beef hot dog tho cause I wasn’t impressed with their regular dog. It was good but not out of this world good as I had hyped them in my mind. I actually like my dog to snap and this was kind of like the stuff my dad gets on sale and boiled when we were kids. Everything is fresh tho so they’re all right!
Fries were decent especially when smothered with ketchup.
The girl and guy manning the joint were very pleasant and helpful. I’ll totally be back to get a beef and another bacon dog, man, I want another bacon dog now, even though I am full from this huge meal.
All of this for under $ 7! With a drink! I really can’t complain. I will definitely be back and will update this review.

Excellent value for $$. A dive. #3 Italian Beef combo with fries + soda = $ 8. Neighborhood place. No trek necessary.
ITALIAN BEEF — not bad. The sweet peppers are missing. Plenty of good giardiniera. Ratio of bread and beef marbling is just right. I was appreciating the au jus, in the wet category (vs dry).
FRIES — so so. You get plenty of it.

Service was great, very friendly and quick. The food was even better. Beef and sausage combo was fresh, moist, and tasty. Mozzarella cheese was melty and the sweet peppers were nicely seasoned.
Fries a little greasy for my liking but still very good with a side of cheese!
Vanilla Malt was delicious and thick!

They are okay; good charbroiled burgers, Chicago style hot dogs, okay fries.

Unique place with a lot of character. Burgers are good, and the beef is tasty (if maybe a little tough). Cash only.

Cash only. Good hot dogs and cheese burgers. They are generous with the fry orders. It’s a good place to get in and get out.

THEY DO NOT USE VIENNA DOGS!
THEY DO NOT HAVE PICKLES ON THEIR DOGS!
The only redeeming factor are their specialty dogs. I had one wrapped in bacon, and it may have had chilli on it. The standard Chicago dogs are lacking hard. The fries are in fact hand cut and extra greasy, but i am going to go elsewhere next time i want a REAL Chicago dog.
Standing room only,
Cash only.

This place deserves a 5 star review. Not just because of the food, but because of the awesome staff. I’ve never laughed so much walking into such a tiny hot dog joint. The woman behind the counter has been there, I think she said 20 years, and she was just amazing. Full of jokes and made our dining experience prefect.
They don’t have tables, just small little counters. So after we got our bags of fries and Chicago style dogs, we crunched up against the windows and devoured the food. I wish I knew about this place before portillos. Best French fries I’ve ever had, even though they looked like they were going to be terrible. The pink hotdogs, as weird a color they are, maybe the best dog I’ve ever ever had.
The prices are so cheap, I will literally take a train to go back there from the city.

The four stars IS a little generous, but I must confess I’m including some nostalgia in my voting. I went to Parky’s today for the first time since I was in HS — which was quite awhile ago.
What I was happy to see is that as much as things change over time, Parky’s is still pretty much the same. Now, the hot dogs aren’t anything special — in fact, I believe the quality used to be a tad better, but so be it. What I did like though was the fries — Idaho with skins on the ends, a little greasy. Those haven’t changed a bit. Add a soft drink for the combo price of $ 4.30 including tax. Not a place for a hot dog connosieur, but a nice stop for Chicago area hot dog historians.
Same odd building with a weird paint job. Nice to see some things never change.

After «dining» at Parky’s several times during my stay in Oak Park, here is my rundown on the joint, looking at the positives first:
The fresh cut fries are delicious, some of my favorite in the region! The hamburgers are also delicious as well. They are obviously not «gourmet» burgers served with pretzel buns and aioli mustard, but they are great fast-​food burgers and beat most if not all of the chain burgers out there. The Italian beef is pretty solid too, not the absolute best in the region but well above average. Several people have complained about the service here, and although the lady that runs the joint can be a bit surly at times, once you get past the initial abrasiveness she is sweet as honey!
The biggest weakness of Parky’s for me is the hot dogs and other cased meats. You have to ask for an «all-​beef» hot dog or else get served something more akin to an Oscar Meyer wiener. Even when you get that, or a Polish sausage done «with everything» or «Chicago style» it contains some kind of strange jalapeño or other pepper in place of the traditional «sport» peppers. Not sure why they do it this way, but I guess it’s a tradition of sorts.
That being said the burgers, Italian beefs and fresh-​cut fries alone are delicious enough to justify a four-​stars rating, because they do all of the above so well! People that run hot-​dog joints are supposed to be surly, so grow some thicker skin when ordering here!