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chicago hot dog restaurant that yells at you
The Wieners Circle - wikipedia The Wieners Circle Jump to : navigation , search Coordinates : 41 ° 55 ′ 48 '' N 87 ° 38 ′ 37 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 41.93 ° N 87.643611 ° W ﻿ / 41.93 ; - 87.643611 <Th_colspan="2"> The Wieners Circle <Td_colspan="2"> The Wieners Circle on North Clark in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago <Th_colspan="2"> Restaurant information Established Food type Hot dog stand City Lincoln Park , Chicago State Illinois Country United States Reservations The Wieners Circle is a hot dog stand on Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago , Illinois , United States . It is known for its Maxwell Street Polish , Char - dogs , hamburgers , cheese fries , and the mutual verbal abuse between the employees and the customers during the late - weekend hours . Contents ( hide ) 1 Food 2 History 3 In media 4 See also 5 References 6 External links Food ( edit ) A Wieners Circle hot dog with `` the works '' Menu prices in 2013 ' Trump Footlong ' on the menu in 2016 Two Trump Footlongs Polish char dog The establishment is known for its char - grilled food , especially its hot dogs and hamburgers ( commonly called char - dogs and char - burgers ) . A Wiener Circle char dog with `` the works '' is a grilled Vienna Beef hot dog on a warm poppy seed bun , topped with mustard , onions , relish , dill pickle spears , tomato slices , sport peppers and a dash of celery salt . History ( edit ) The interior of the establishment , covered in graffiti ( photographed in 2011 ) . The Weiners Circle opened for business in 1983 . Sometime in the early 1990s ( circa 1992 ) Larry Gold , one of the proprietors , called a drunk and distracted customer an `` asshole '' in order to get his attention . This set off the late - night abuse culture of the restaurant . The atmosphere can range from playful to hostile . The language used by both the staff and customers during these hours is notoriously foul and aggressive . On the weekends , the establishment stays open as late as 5 : 00 am , drawing many drunken customers who have arrived from bars and clubs . The nightly tips are very high , and people have worked there for ten years or more . The location of the hot dog stand is just north of what used to be the Wrightwood Hotel . In 2008 , the restaurant was briefly closed by health inspectors for not having hot running water where employees would wash their hands , and other food safety violations . In March 2016 , the restaurant offered 3 - inch `` Trump footlong '' hot dogs . In June 2017 they advertised `` Paris Accord compliant covfefe '' . In media ( edit ) One of the more famous employees is Roberta `` Poochie '' Jackson , who was featured ( along with the restaurant ) in a 2007 episode of the Showtime television version of the Chicago Public Radio program This American Life , as well as an episode of Extreme Fast Food on the Travel Channel . In Chicago travel guides , The Wieners Circle is often extolled as a source for authentic Chicago - style hot dogs and its uniquely abrasive customer relations . Journalist Catherine Price listed The Wieners Circle in her book 101 Places Not to See Before You Die , calling it `` a microcosm of segregation in Chicago '' , and commenting , `` If our metric were ' places that make me sad about humanity , ' late night at Wiener 's Circle would have been at the top . '' The restaurant was featured in an episode of Insomniac with Dave Attell on Comedy Central in 2002 . The restaurant is the setting for a truTV reality game show . The Wieners Circle was featured in both radio and TV episodes of This American Life . The restaurant was the setting of a sketch featuring Jack McBrayer and Triumph , the Insult Comic Dog in the June 14 , 2012 episode of the late night talk show Conan , which was the last in a week of shows taped in Chicago . The restaurant was featured in an episode of the Extreme Fast Food specials on the Travel Channel . In the `` Going Deep '' episode of The Great Indoors Jack takes Eddie there to cheer him up after his divorce , only to have staffer Valerie ( played by Poochie Jackson herself ) unwittingly razzes Eddie about his divorce . Jack later sends Clark and Emma there as a prank , as they do n't understand that the insults are part of the experience . See also ( edit ) Chicago - style hot dog Maxwell Street Polish Cencio la Parolaccia References ( edit ) Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Wieners Circle . Jump up ^ `` UPDATED : Wieners Circle Is Bringing the Sass to Vegas '' . May 16 , 2014 . Retrieved April 27 , 2017 . ^ Jump up to : Borrelli , Christopher ( June 20 , 2010 ) , `` 101 Places Not to See Before You Die '' , Chicago Tribune , Tribune Company , retrieved June 1 , 2011 Jump up ^ `` The Wiener 's Circle , Chicago 's rudest hot dog stand , is sold '' . chicagotribune.com . Tribune Chicago . Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 12 . Jump up ^ `` The Wiener 's Circle celebrates Trump 's Chicago visit with 3 - inch hot dogs '' . March 11 , 2016 . Jump up ^ Berg , Eric N. ( July 25 , 1990 ) , `` At the Nation 's Table '' , The New York Times , The New York Times Company , retrieved June 1 , 2011 Jump up ^ `` Wiener 's Circle opening in Las Vegas '' . articles.chicagotribune.com . Tribune Chicago . Jump up ^ `` The Wieners Circle '' . ^ Jump up to : This American Life . `` Act II , In Wiener Veritas , from Pandora 's Box '' , No. 6 , season 1 , April 26 , 2007 . Jump up ^ McMurry , Joel F.S. ( November 21 , 2009 ) , `` The Wieners Circus '' , STOCKYARD , Stockyard Media , retrieved June 1 , 2011 Jump up ^ Apel , Melanie Ann ( 2002 ) , Lincoln Park , Chicago , Arcadia Publishing , p. 26 , ISBN 0 - 7385 - 2016 - 0 Jump up ^ Staff ( December 19 , 2008 ) , `` Health Dept . Shuts Down Wiener 's Circle '' , Chicago Breaking News , Tribune Company , retrieved June 20 , 2012 Jump up ^ Kotecki , Nick ( March 10 , 2016 ) . `` The Wiener 's Circle Welcomes Donald Trump with 3 - inch Chicago Hot Dog '' . Time Out Chicago . Retrieved March 12 , 2016 . Jump up ^ Cox , Ted ( June 5 , 2017 ) . `` Wiener 's Circle Punks Trump Anew over Paris Accord , Covfefe '' . DNAinfo.com . Archived from the original on July 14 , 2017 . Retrieved June 5 , 2017 . Jump up ^ Janssen , Kim ( May 16 , 2016 ) . `` Woman Hurt at Wieners Circle Can Sue over Unruly Atmosphere , Court Rules '' , Chicago Tribune . Retrieved August 25 , 2016 . Jump up ^ Price , Catherine ( 2010 ) , 101 Places Not to See Before You Die , HarperCollins , pp. 137 -- 138 , ISBN 0 - 06 - 178776 - 0 Jump up ^ Abernethy , Samantha ( March 16 , 2012 ) . `` This Exists : A Reality Show About Wiener 's Circle '' Archived March 21 , 2012 , at the Wayback Machine ... Chicagoist . Jump up ^ The Wieners Circle , 2012 - 02 - 01 , retrieved 2016 - 03 - 12 Jump up ^ `` A Night at the Wiener Circle '' . This American Life . August 23 , 1996 . Jump up ^ `` The Day Lake Michigan Got Renamed What It Should 've Been Called in the First Place -- Lake Illinois ! '' . Conan . Season 2 . Episode 104 . June 14 , 2012 . TBS . Jump up ^ `` Travel Channel Wins Lawsuit Over Filming at Racy Hot Dog Stand '' . Jump up ^ `` The Great Indoors Video - Going Deep '' . Retrieved April 27 , 2017 . External links ( edit ) Weiner Circle fan site Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Wieners_Circle&oldid=827180900 '' Categories : Hot dog restaurants Restaurants in Chicago Restaurants established in 1983 1983 establishments in Illinois Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Coordinates on Wikidata All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from June 2012 Use mdy dates from October 2012 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Français Edit links This page was last edited on 23 February 2018 , at 05 : 54 . Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply . By using this site , you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy . Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation , Inc. , a non-profit organization . About Wikipedia