Patio Hot Dogs at 1503 W. Taylor St may not seem like much, but it has been here since 1948 and that has to be worth something in the country of low history, it is a Taylor street institution.

My encounter was at the recent Taste of Italy where I was attracted by some sausages on a grill, what a surprise.

Plain and simple I had only a few choices so I went for the Italian sausage. It was, as it said, sausage of the Italian variety, nothing more, nothing less.

It tasted great, it could have been an old recipe from 1948 or it could have come from the local butcher.

I couldn’t tell, it was nice though but it had just come straight off the grill and everything tastes better straight off the coals.

In bread it looked cosy, but vulnerable and about to get seriously consumed.

Ok so was it good? Well it needed no sauce, it needed no mustard, it was good just plain and simple as it was!

So in that case yes, it did not need to hide behind a mask of added flavours. Yum!

I could not find a website, but that’s OK just make the sausage and I will come and eat it.

Just drop off the El at Polk and walk a couple of blocks along Taylor Street.