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    Budacki's Drive In

    4.3 (314 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 7:00 pm

    Budacki's Drive In Photos

    Business Info

    BUDACKI'S DRIVE IN ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Divey
    Outdoor seating
    Good for kids

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    Inside
    Michelle E.

    You can't get a deal like this! I thought I'd try this place since I've walked by it many times and there seems to always be people here. I got the 1/4 cheeseburger with bacon and fries with a soda for under $15.00. The hamburger was big and you get a ton of fries. Service was fast even with a line. Not much inside seating, but there are picnic tables outside. Lots of items on the menu, with some surprises like Korean style beef.

    Eric W.

    Shame on me for living in Lincoln Square for 3 years and only just going to Budacki's . This might be my go to lunch place just because it's good food at a reasonable price . It's definitely popular with both adults and students because it has burgers and fries, hot dogs, corn dogs . I just tried the Seoul Steak Bowl, which is marinated sliced beef over rice and with something called Atomic Sauce (spicy !) loved it . It was really hearty and delish. Service here is always great , fast and friendly . Will say they pick up around noon so you can save yourself some time by going before or after lunch rush . This is a no frills place that gets food right.

    Chicago Dog!! Yum
    Just F.

    A solid spot for Chicago Dog and fries on the cheap. The staff is friendly, outside picnic table seating with umbrellas & you can feed the little sparrows...

    James R.

    For 5 bucks you can get a char dog with fries from a charming hotdog stand. What's not to love. Service was fast and friendly. Hot dog was fully loaded and delicious.

    Burger, fries, and a can of Coke meal for $10.50
    Brie G.

    I really like that they have their own parking lot, offer a quick service meal, and that they have shaded picnic tables to eat at. My burger was loaded with toppings and bigger than I expected. The portion of fries was perfect, too. Coke was ice cold! Be mindful of the $11 minimum if you want to use a card. I'll be back for the Korean Philly Cheesesteak!

    Cheeseburger
    Nette B.

    My hubby want to go back and try this since this was his regular go to place whn he lived nearby. Compared to other places, the food is still cheaper. Cheeseburger is good and the italian beef tastes good. Service is fast. A lot still goes here. The place is clean and they have outdoor seating. It's somethibg we can cone back to whenever we are in the city.

    Mint Chocolate Chip Shake
    Alex Anne M.

    Mint chocolate chip lovers look no further. Budacki's Drive In has perfected the mint chocolate chip shake. It is plentiful in mint chocolate chips and is the most pleasing green color. The default comes with whipped cream, so if that ain't you you got to tell them! I started a new job nearby and the office informed me Budaki's is a staple lunch spot. When I learned Budaki's is a sister company of Crisp, I wanted to thank the heavens for my luck. Crisp is one of my favorite places to get Korean Fried Chicken wings: https://www.crisponline.com/. WHICH THEY ALSO SERVE HERE! Besides the chicken wings, a lot of people in my office, including myself, get their Korean Steak Bowl. They jam-pack the container with white rice, marinated beef, chives, and a side sauce to add some spice if you desire. The service is always friendly and has a quick, less than 5-minutes turnaround. They also have seating outside for when Chicago decides to play nice and have warm weather.

    Vegan dog with fries.
    Precious B.

    I drove in yesterday and bought two regular hot dogs, 1 vegan dog, and two chilli cheese dogs, all came with fries. This is a cute little spot with a nice menu! I'll definitely come back to try their wings and Korean bowl.

    April 2024 Menu
    Machu A.

    Had to stop by at a neighborhood gem. This place is serving up good eats with some familiarity to those who've been to crisp. Same owners, same great wings.

    Vienna Beef award

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    10 months ago

    Best wings in the city. Same recipe as Crisp but it has its own parking lot and picnic tables.

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    1 year ago

    Beef Korean bowl is awesome! We also love the fries - just make sure to add the celery salt on them before you leave with your food!!

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    3 years ago

    very average at best dog and overpriced. 11$ min for cc fyi. I'll stick with gene n judes and superdawg

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    Page 1 of 8

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    Wolfy's

    Wolfy's

    4.2
    (389 reviews)
    1.9 mi
    $

    Can you all believe it has taken over a year living in Chicago for me to try a Polish dog? Better…read morelate than never, I suppose. I have driven by the ginormous hot dog on a carving fork numerous times, and finally made it a point to stop in. The vibe inside is old school. It reminds me of the counter service places of decades ago, not that I was alive. The same goes for the no-nonsense service, the analog menu, and little tickets with your order number. Don't misunderstand, the service, while efficient, was perfectly polite. And the upholstery and other furnishings are in tiptop shape. Everything is also very clean. Further, unlike many old school type places, they do accept credit cards. The Polish sausage was okay. I don't believe this is supposed to be a revolutionary, mind-blowing product, so no worries there. The only quibble I have is that the moisture caused it to fall apart easily, quickly making it a fork-and-knife affair. Where it comes to the Chicago dog, this one was great! Not only was it technically perfect and well-balanced, it also had that characteristic snap that few places have been able to deliver on. Only as a matter of personal preference I would've liked a touch more celery salt, but that's exclusively a 'me' thing. This one did not at all fall apart, even though it was the second one I ate, Finally, I want to award points for the value. While the Polish is a little bit up there, the hotdog is served at a terrific price, seemingly beaten out only by Costco! While Wolfy's is a little out of the way to take out-of-town visitors to, if it is along the way, you can be more than sure we'd be stopping in.

    A must for hot dog aficionados. Great value and vintage Chicago dog shack vibe. Looked like it got…read moremore crowded after I left and school let out.

    Photos
    Interior art
    Interior art
    Double Cheeseburger
    Double Cheeseburger
    Outside

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    Outside
    Devil Dawgs

    Devil Dawgs

    3.8
    (16 reviews)
    0.9 mi

    Sunday I visited this restaurant and let me tell you its a must visit. The staff are amazing, the…read moreplace is roomy and clean. The hotdogs are delicious and big. My wife had the Big Chicago Dawg with fries that we shared and a chocolate shake. I had the Blue Demon Dawg it was so good with the sauerkraut and spicy mustard so good, I had a chocolate shake too. As we sat there and had our lunch we heard music and noise coming from the back of the restaurant and to our surprise they had a drag show going on and you can take your lunch back to watch. I highly recommend this place very good food and entertainment they also serve burgers and polish. You must bring a credit card because its cashless

    This review is for an take-out order so I am going to start with the bad, which is not on Devil…read moreDawgs, but something to considered. Me and The Doctor were feeling peckish and I did not want to cook or eat Mexican again (although I loves me some Mexican and can literally eat it every day) so we decided on burgers. I knew Devil Dawgs had opened in the space where the old Reza use to be. We decided to order through Yelp for take out because I was not going out in that crazy wind and cold on that particular day. The Doctor got the 5 Pc Strips w/Fries, and I got the Backyard Slider, Chicago Dog, Bag "O" Fries, and and Espresso shake. The Backyard Slider was good but I made the mistake of doing a double patty when a single was enough based on the size of the burger. Other than that, the burger was quite tasty. The hot dog was of course just as good as the original location and the fries were good. The Doctor said that there were six strips of chicken instead of five, so no complaints on his end. He said the strips were nicely fried and had a good flavor. The only problem with the order was that the delivery person did not follow the directions as I had stated I wanted the food dropped off to me. I was given a delivery time of 45 mins, but the food got here quicker than that, but there was no call, simply a text that I saw 7 mins after the fact. So the delivery person just left the food on the sideway by our front door. Fortunately I got downstairs to get it before someone walked off with it. The food was lukewarm, but a quick trip to the microwave fixed it. Surprisingly the quality of the food was not compromised. I am a big tipper as a rule, but not a fan of pre-tipping when it is a bad experience. The next time I order take out, I will not be leaving a tip, I will provide cash on delivery. I would like to do a dine-in experience to see what they did with the space, based on the reviews and some of the photos I have seen on Yelp. I am very happy to have a location closer to me.

    Photos
    Back eating area
    Back eating area
    Bag "O" Cajun Fries
    Bag "O" Cajun Fries
    Clean and plenty of seats

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    Clean and plenty of seats
    It's Greek 2 U Grill

    It's Greek 2 U Grill

    4.4
    (237 reviews)
    1.1 mi
    $$

    I am speechless with my experience today at Its Greek 2 U. The owner and her sister made us feel…read moreat home. It's as if we knew them for years. We tried many different dishes including the famous pork gyro, chicken and pork souvlaki, kolokithokeftedes, xoriatiki, saganaki and others! Everything was delicious! The decor was great. The old pictures of her family on the wall made us feel like we were in an old black and white Greek film. It was a wonderful experience and can't wait to go back!

    A Pork Belly Gyro/Yeero? Yes, please! Y'all know one of my soft spots is for pork belly! Not only…read moredid I like this gyro because it had pork belly, but it was executed superbly. No if, ands, or buts about it, the pork belly was the star of the show. It had that bit of char to give it that maillard charm [sic], and it was just the right cut of meat that it was tremendously flavorful and savory. Not over salted either! I used to think that my favorite gyro filling was lamb. No. My favorite gyro filling is pork belly, 100%. Far too many places stuff it to the absolute brim for the heck of saying, "Hey, look, we're not greedy at all! We're give you more ingredients." Though this throws the balance off and it becomes a piping hot mess. Not here. I didn't find myself saying, "They skimped on the meat," nor did I find myself saying, "I would have liked a little more veggies." While a bit more onions wouldn't have hurt, I am not complaining. The only thing I will say is the tzatziki sauce could have used a little more flavor. I'm not sure if it needed more cucumber or maybe some herbs, but it felt more like a yogurt sauce than what I would call a true tzatziki. All this is good and fine except for the service. While I do want to be fair and say that I was here as part of a larger group. I don't think that's an excuse. It took us just about an hour for our manis to start coming. The restaurant wasn't very busy, either. If it's an indication, one of the things I ordered was a EPSA soda (by the way, it had no carbonation and was more of a fruit juice). It took well over 15 minutes just to get a bottle of this stuff. Come on, folks. Just get it from the fridge, give it to me, and there's more likelihood I'd finish it before the food gets here and I'll ask for another one. The final thing I do want to give them massive props for is their low prices, probably about the same as a meal would cost you at a fast food joint, with comparable portions. It's not something that you're going to be waddling away like a penguin, but unless you have a massively voracious appetite, you will not leave hungry, just not brimming to the full. Thus, the pork belly gyro is definitely worth a return visit. However, I have to make sure I give myself plenty of time because based on my experience with a larger group, it may take unreasonably long to get my food.

    Photos
    It's Greek 2 U Grill
    $6 Greek lemonade $4 can sprite
    $6 Greek lemonade $4 can sprite
    It's Greek 2 U Grill

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    Budacki's Drive In - hotdogs - Updated July 2026

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