Arnie's Dog House

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  Very tasty Chicago dog. Tiny place and kind of slow but it was worth the trip. I will probably go back there.

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  Posted on 01.11.13 T B.

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  (Preface:  This place is on my "Two-Week List," in which I list the top twenty restaurants and bars that I'd go to if some soothsayer came up to me and told me that I only had two weeks to live.  Check out the full list on my profile!)
  
  If you live in Chicago, hop on 41 and come here.  It's right over the state line.  And I promise that it's worth it.
  
  You know that neighborhood place that you think about from small town 1950s middle America, where the cops go on their breaks, the kids go after their little league games, and you know the teenagers working there?  That's this place.  It is outstanding, and no other hot dog compares.  (Not even the famous Crif Dogs in New York City.)  
  
  The seating is minimal-- the only option on circular stools along the counter.  But I like that-- it really transports you back in time!  I grew up eating here, and after moving out east, I DREAM about these hot dogs and fries.  And every time I go back, it's still just as satisfying.  You can't go wrong with anything on the menu.  And don't skip the fries -- why would you do that?!?!?

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  Posted on 10.08.12 Jacqueline K.

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  I have been coming here for years. My family loves this place. Great tradition and great Chicago dogs.

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  Posted on 04.07.12 Valerie L.

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  Steamed buns, awesome Chicago dogs, Fries included for a cheap price. We live within walking distance which is good and bad. The onion rings are my husbands favorite while I just go for the usual dog and fries. The staff changes frequently so it's hit or miss with our favorite ladies. The atmosphere is fun in the summer, always a line of local workers -which is out the door most of the time.

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  Posted on 12.19.10 Samantha E.

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  fodd was ok but waitress was super rude because she got my order wrong  and said thats what i ordered  shes a real b!@#$%

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  Posted on 04.08.10 Mia D.

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  Let me just say that I consider myself quite the expert on hot dogs.  I do enjoy Arnie's hot dogs but I would not travel very far for one when there are decent hot dogs all over Chicagoland.  While Arnies serves one of the better hot dogs in Whiting, I never find myself making a special trip to go there.  Usually I end up eating there when I happen to be passing by and am in the mood for a dog.  Not everyone is a big hot dog lover believe it or not, so if you are eating with someone who would like greasy spoon but doesnt want a hot dog, I recommend Richway Gyros.  They serve all beef hot dogs with the standard Chicago dog condiments and they serve up a good gyros, hamburger, cheese sticks, etc.

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  Posted on 01.08.09 Paul M.

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  The hot dogs get 2 stars.   The crazy-ass spiders, 4!  Averages to a 3.
  
  Seriously.  I don't think I'd drive that far for some greasy ass food.  Superdawg has better food, and nicer atmosphere.  But, MAN, there were like 500 spiders just outside, in their outdoor dining area.  And not lazy ass, sleepy spiders, but bodies as big as dimes, running 4 feet in a few seconds.  They were going up and down webs like in a cartoon, and tons of them.  It was like a spider village, abuzz with gossip.
  
  So we ate our food away from the no-cost spider exhibit, on the one picnic table away from their reach.  But they found us.  A big spider came running across our table in an act of intimidation.  We picked up our food and hurried to the car, drove to Chicago and never looked back.  The spiders, they own that place.

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  Posted on 09.05.08 Samantha E.

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  I have a crappy old car (hope it's not reading this right now, oh wait cars can't read) so I ended up taking U.S. 12 to the Indiana Dunes (to avoid sputter, sputter, freeway die).  On the way we passed this little diner called Arnie's.  My two hungry friends demanded I stop the car.  I didn't.  They got angrier to the point where on the way home, I wanted Arnie's.
  
  This place, if you don't miss it just past the Chicago city line, is absolutely brilliant.  It's a little piece of small town Indiana right across the border (as is, realistically, Whiting itself).
  
  Walking in, be prepared to be bombarded by country music and hospitality - well, as much hospitality as you can get at a diner where short order cooks scramble frantically to prepare orders (even if there are no orders to be had as was the case when we went there).
  
  Short order cooks may be too much of a description, however.  It's more just a whirling dervish of staff and deep fryers.
  
  But what they pull out of those fryers is magical.
  
  The best part of Arnie's is that there are picnic tables outside with which to eat.  The only problem with these is that they are, apparently, meant for National Geographic photographers.
  
  On our visit, there were so many spiders, the place could be mistaken for the Amazon exhibit at the Shedd Aquarium.
  
  There are plenty of diners in this world but for pure "Little Pink Houses," Arnie's is worth the small road trip.

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  Posted on 09.05.08 Michael G.

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  A hot dog, is not just a hot dog when it comes from Arnie's.
  
  I travel all the way from Chicago just to have the best damn hot dogs....cause to be brutally honest no place in Chicago compares, and I've had lots of hot dogs from all over the city and they just don't match.
  
  if you're ever in Indiana for the cheap gas, cigarettes, or for the casinos definitely check this place out, its right near the boarder.

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  Posted on 01.16.08 Ant R.

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