JAR-DIN-ER-WHA?

[June 21st, 2006] I'm from Chicago, and every Christmas, my father (who lives in Illinois) sends me a Styrofoam box filled with dry ice and priceless Chicago goodies like Lou Malnati's deep-dish pizza, Eli's cheesecake and Chicago-style hot dogs. So, when I heard about Wayne's Chicago Red Hots, just as the quintessential hot-dog-eatin' Fourth of July holiday approached, I took it very seriously.

Here's why Oregonians should give a shit: A Chicago-style hot dog is legendary. It's like a Philly cheesesteak or a Maine lobster roll. It's tradition because it both tastes good and defines an area.

Wayne's opened this past April on the Scappoose Bay Marina, about 30 minutes north of Portland. Considering that owner Randy Sanders' operation was previously a modest hot dog truck on Highway 30, the new location is a big step up. Wayne's is decked out like a true Chicago hot dog eatery: The bright red and yellow—which make up both Red Hot Chicago's and Vienna Beef's logos—plus Cubs paraphernalia and Sanders' own photographs of Wrigleyville gave me great expectations.

Names like Vienna Beef, Fontanini and Red Hot Chicago litter the menu. I notice that the Italian beef ($6.75)—which is like a French dip, except the meat is cooked in jus instead of dipped in it and then topped with melted mozzarella and green bell peppers and/or onions—makes mention of "giardiniera peppers" (pronounced jar-din-ER'-uh). Giardiniera is a pickled vegetable relish of celery, peppers, carrots, olives and cauliflower steeped in brine and oil; it's spicy, crunchy and delicious. Glancing up from the menu, I say, "You've got hot giardiniera?!" I have given myself away. Sanders responds in a Midwestern accent much like mine, "You're from Chicago."

I'm not sure if Sanders suspects I'm a journalist or if it's just that we're hometown compadres, but I receive an extra bag of classic Lay's potato chips (the perfect accompaniment to a Chicago dog, $3.75) with my order. Did Wayne's dog deliver? Yes. Yes, it did. From the chopped onions, steamed poppyseed bun and yellow mustard right down to the neon-Jell-O-green relish, sport peppers, tomatoes, celery salt and dill pickle spear laid alongside the all-beef dog, Wayne's does a Chicago dog damn right.

My only beef is that Wayne's dog doesn't "snap" the way Chicago dogs are known to. The Italian beef has a tinge of sweetness I could've done without, and the giardiniera is more soft than crisp, but the way the beef juices soak into the Italian roll take ya cross-country in a single bite.

It seems like a long way to go for a good dog, but considering Wayne's also has live music, beer and a breathtaking view of Mount St. Helens, this is an opportunity for locals to experience what Chicagoans truly mean when we refer to the "dog days of summer"—minus the humidity, of course.