Chucho's On Addison

This place sucks PERIOD..i don't know why the board of health hasn't closed this dive...the fuckin hot dogs were brown in n out the fries greasy as all hell..i doubt sincerely there vienna beefs if even a beef dog period..the inside i'm surprized didn't have any roachs in it atleast..they painted the outside an did shit inside.. i'll take my biz over to BOBO'S ON IRVING PK..little farther of a ride for me but well worth it..stay away

OK, you figure a place in a central location on Addison & Forest Preserve, across the street from Hiawatha Park and half a block from St. Francis Borgia Church and school would be booming with business.

Not if the place is a dump like Chucho's. I used to come here occasionally when I lived in the area and I recall it being better. It's a tiny dog & burger joint on the triangular island bounded by the major streets and a connecting road behind it. It existed under at least 2 other guises over the past decade. The sign used to say "Soon to be Famous." Well, not soon enough. The current sign on the back wall outside listed their offerings and I saw they had "Autentic" Mexican food too.

The outside may have gotten a new paint job and facelift, but it's still a dump inside. I was with the kids in the area and after playing, so we came in for a quick dinner. I got a Maxwell Polish and my son got a plain hot dog. The baby was going to share some of our fries and onion rings, plus stuff I brought just for him.

Strike 1: A high chair was not an option since they had none. There was a lone black table but all the seats were tall stools on which it's hard to sit for a kid and reach the countertop. So we thought we'd take this table instead. Strike 2: The table had a dried-up sticky spot that covered about 90% of its surface. Seeing this mess, I let my 23-month old son eat off the countertop instead while semi-standing on the stool. If he was not a stunt-baby at home, I probably would have been terrified of his eating position standing about 3 feet off the ground. He proved his balance and agility to be superb as he made it through the meal without falling off the stool.

I was unimpressed with my Polish. I wasn't sure if it's Vienna Beef, as I saw no signage for Vienna inside. That's a bad omen, if you ask me. The only decor on the walls was a faded little league sponsorship photo plaque from 2000. Anyway, my bun was soggy wet and fell apart on me immediately. I mushed it together to glue it to the sausage a little.

As we finished up our meal, we saw old Galaga and Ms Pac-Man video game consoles, with worn-out artwork and burned-in screens. Strike 3: The Galaga machine was really a Mappy video game in disguise. I would've played Galaga to show my son the classic game, but I guess not.

Anyway, if I can give a Strike 4, it cost us almost $10 for a plain hot dog, Polish, fries and onion rings. I know other divey places like this are much cheaper.

Sorry Chucho's, you won't get famous this way!