I started the Peoria Hot Dog Wars back on April 30th and the deadline for this war is Labor Day, which means there’s only four more weeks left to go. As I always say, “fun flies when you’re having time.”
Early on in the hot dog wars, Journal Star scribe, Danielle Hatch suggested via facecrack that I go and try the dogs at a place called Mr. Mike’s in Lacon, Illinois. I was a big fan of Michael O’Donoghue, so the name intrigued me and I made a mental note to check this place out. And today, I’m unfiling it from the mental file and it’s time to see if they can lay waste to the current hot dog champion, The Hofbrau House. Ringo, sound that battle drum, old chap! Khaaaaaaan!
Mr. Mike's is in Lacon, Illinois, which I have no idea how to get to. So I'll turn to my good friend, Mr. GPS to guide us there.
And we're off and stopping at this red light.
Ha, there's the current weenie winner, The Hofbrau House as we make our way towards Lacon. What's funny is that I don't know if I've ever been to Lacon, Illinois and someone messaged me on facecrack and asked me to go to a bar there this week, so I may be going to Lacon twice in one week. Stay tuned!
Well, this is a longer trip than I thought it would be. At least it's a nice day for a drive.
Oh, shit, there's a bridge up ahead! I hate driving over bridges. It's a driving phobia I've never gotten over.
I'm down to about 12 miles an hour, with an anxiety attack happening in three...two...one...
Okay, through the miracle of the internet, you're spared a sweat dripping, anxiety attack fueled trip over that bridge and here we are at Mr. Mike's. It's got a nice summer snack shack look to it.
The entrance is in the back of the building.
Don't accidentally wander next door or you'll be eating worms instead of a hot dog.
Let's go in and see what's happening at Mr. Mile's Place.
There's some people over at the table there, let's go over and say hi.
The three people seated at the table traveled all the way from Lemont, Illinois just to check the place out because they had heard good things about it. Standing behind the table holding a picture is the owner of Mr. Mikes, Carol. She's owned the place for the entire 18 years of its existence here in Lacon.
Here's a positive review by MBIP pal, Phil Luciano hanging on the wall. It was published back in 2005, you need to make a return trip here, Phil!
Okay, let's go up and order and let the weenie wars begin!
There's several styles of hot dogs to choose from in here, but there's no way I'm getting a Chicago dog. I hate those things, I mean who puts a tomato and pickles on a hot dog anyway? Oh yeah, the same dimwitted, nimble-nutted fuckwads who put beans in chili. And just for the record, I hate Chicago deep dish pizza too...so there!
Here's the lovely ladies who'll be cooking up today's hot dog war entries, Sam and Nicole.
They have Kitchen Cooked potato chips here, I took a bag for an appetizer.
There's plenty of tables to sit at in here...
But I thought I'd grab a window seat at this railing over here.
I grabbed a seat at the end of the railing...
And enjoyed my Kitchen Cooked potato chips while Sam and Nicole were getting my order ready.
The view of the Illinois river is spectacular from here.
Alright, today's Hot Dog War's entry is served up. I got the chili-cheese dog, an order of the jalapeno poppers and a mustard dog. Let's dig in and let the best dog win this edition of Peoria's weenie wars!
Wow, the chili-cheese dog is fabulous. There's a decent amount of chili and melted cheese on it and the chili is nice and tangy. The bun is bakery fresh and they score big points with this hot dog.
For the mid-dog palette cleanser, I got an order of the jalapeno poppers. They're jalapeno peppers which are battered and deep friend with cheese inside of them. Delicious! Probably the best palette cleanser I've had on this entire hot dog tour so far!
And now it's on to the mustard dog. That looks like generic yellow mustard to me...
And it is. They had me with the chili-cheese dog and jalapeno poppers, but this takes it down a notch. It's a good hot dog, but no match for the Hoffbrau House's spicy mustard. The results are below. See you all tomorrow.
Hot Dog War Status
The chili-cheese dog here is fabulous. The place coulda been a contender, but once again, the generic mustard did them in. Gotta go with the Hofbrau House and its spicy German mustard.
Hot Dog Rating
Three Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles. They’re supposed to have great Chicago dogs here, but I’ll never know because I can’t stand Chicago dogs. But the chili-cheese dog was one of the best I’ve ever had. Worth the trip to Lacon just for that, you should definitely check out Mr. Mike’s if you like hot dogs. And the jalapeno poppers are a must-have as well!
Mr. Mike's Place
102 Marina Drive
Lacon, Illinois
309-246-2333
Further reading: Trip Advisor, Urban Spoon and facecrack.
