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    Jim's Original

    3.9 (49 reviews)
    Closed 10:30 am - 11:00 pm

    Order Jim's Original Takeout or Delivery

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    JIM'S ORIGINAL ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Reviews With Photos

    Chauncey M.

    Me and my fiancée were trying hotdogs/polish sausages all over Chicago and Jim's original was an amazing experience. Perfect bun, perfect caramelized onions and the star of the show(the polish). Service was good and quick I'm glad I started there first before it got busy because it was quiet and no one there. Definitely will be back in the future!

    Samantha P.

    I was feeling hangry and needed a quick bite. Decided to grab a burger and cheese fries and it was surprisingly really good. The burger was filled with caramelized onions and came with hot peppers on the side (so spicy but so good). All the food came out piping hot. Friendly and quick service.

    Exterior of Buisness
    Joe B.

    Classic, newer location mirroring the same great grub from the one off the expressway heading south. Friendly staff, very clean, quick service. Been coming to these joints for years and will always be a long standing customer.

    Real soggy bread Grilled? Onions..... Grilled????

    Passed through the drive thru. 2 minutes max wait tome for a polish. Anywhere else they take longer but looking at the onions these cooks don't really care about how they serve the damn food. The bread looked like as if I was eating an italian beef. Why so damn soggy if it's "grilled"????? I was only able to eat half of it and ended up being disgusted. It's damn pork...... take your time to grill a little more and the onions as well

    Polish Sausage
    Noah J.

    Jim's is a classic comfort food for me. I don't live in Chicago anymore, but every time I visit, it's a must have. Love this for a good takeout casual dinner. If you don't try the polish, you're missing out.

    Fries
    Jose C.

    I'm not sure what else to say about Jim's that's hasn't been said before. It's great that they opened up a second location, but it sucks that it will be tough to visit the original location now, just simply out of convenience. They do have a drive thru here and it takes a little longer to get your. At the original location you get your food right when you order it, here I had to wait about 5 minutes. The good news though...it's just as delicious. I gotta say, I love the consistency. Nothing is worse than opening up new locations and the food don't taste the same. I ordered one Polish Sausage and a Pork Chop Sandwich. They were both so delicious. The pork chop was perfectly cooked and tasted amazing with the mustard and grilled onions. The Polish sausage had a nice snap to it and also tasted great with the grilled onions and mustard. I don't know what it is, but something about the sweetness from the grilled onions and the acidity from the mustard that just makes for a perfect bite. I also love the fries from Jim's. Every order comes with a bag of fries so if you order a couple sandwiches, you should definitely have more than enough fries to fill you up. Can't wait to come back!

    Beef dog
    Audra M.

    While shopping in the area, we decided to get a bite at Jim's. We hadn't been to either of their locations, so this was a fun new experience. I decided to get the beef hot dog. It was very tasty, as were the fries. I bought a cheese cup for the fries after eating some of them, and it was really good. Employees were friendly, and the old school wall art was fun to check out.

    Jim's Maxwell Street food
    Ernie H.

    They have parking always a plus in Chicago. Also a driver thru! We like grilled onions both in Hotdog and Polish. The Polish tasted substantial. The hotdog was fine. The fries are crisp. I prefer raw onions but my wife likes them grilled. Place was really clean.

    Sign
    Drake M.

    I was notified that Jim's original opened up a location further north through social media so to my surprise the first chance I got I went down to grab me a hotdog and a Polish. What makes Maxwell hot dog and polish different from Chicago Style hot dogs, is that Maxwell traditionally has onion (raw or grilled), mustard and hot peppers. No ketchup, but the have packets of ketchup for those that want it. So I decided to swing by and they have a huge free parking lot in front of the store with a drive-through. It was the first time in my life that I ever ate Jim's at a table. The walls were decorated with the history of Jim's Original with great pictures. As I walked in, I was greeted with a hello and a hi from the staff from behind the counter as I ordered my food it came up quick and extremely hot. They had blues playing on the overhead speakers, which took me back to the old days when people used to sell watches or gold chains as I took my first bite it was awesome natural casing hotdogs with mustard, grilled onion and peppers with a side fries (fries are free with sandwiches) made my day as I went for the Polish sausage I just wish I had a little bit more mustard on them. Next time extra mustard. The peppers are better than any pickle. I was still surprised that not a lot of people were in there, yet. This place is a gem and the bonus is I don't have to go downtown to get my Maxwell fix.

    Chelsi B.

    Grabbed some food after Micro Center but before our mall trip.  I got a hot dog while my husband got a triple cheeseburger (both came with a side of fries).  I ordered my hot dog with mustard, ketchup, and onions.  As we were pulling up to the window I joked that they were probably laughing at me for ordering ketchup on my hot dog since this is Chicago, only for it to set in that not even the burger came with ketchup so they may not have any despite taking my order and not saying they had no ketchup.  Low and behold, no ketchup on my hot dog.  They did drench the hell out of it in mustard though and overloaded it with onions, I guess that's what I get for saying I wanted ketchup.  Fries were good, my husband loved his burger, but I couldn't even finish my hot dog.

    Araceli C.

    Sunday lunch I order polish extra pepoers gret service on the drive true And enjoy on the parking lot My Polish was very satisfied My crispy fries and can of coke See you soon

    Fish and French Fries. Coke Zero
    Nelson K.

    Wow! What a pleasant surprise to see Jim's here after leaving home goods. I used to get Jim's all the time in college near UIC university village area, so I was happy to see that classic Jim's sign here. To those who have had Jim's at the other location, I found this place to give me the same vibes (even the stainless steel counters - a great touch) but much cleaner and there's indoor seating! To those who haven't had Jim's before, this place is a classic chicago hole in the wall food, and it always hits the spot when you're looking for a quick and affordable meal. They are known for their polish, but I can never NOT get the fish sandwich, fries (which are my one of my favorite in chicago), and hot jalapeño peppers (which are extremely spicy). Happy to see this second location, I love the execution, and I hope they do well!

    POLISH SAUSAGE (All Beef)
    Demetrus D.

    Always heard about Chicago Sausages. This is a must hit place. They were quick and everything was piping hot

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    2 years ago

    I have had plenty of Maxwell Street Polish and this one is nasty. It just tastes cheap, not good. I do not recommend.

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    2 years ago

    They have great deals and are nice. 10/10 would recommend with big food. It's a classic thru and thru

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    3 years ago

    Food was average. Service was average. The wait was quick though, and the spot has convent parking so 3 stars it is

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    3 years ago

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    Page 2 of 2

    Ask the Community - Jim's Original

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    After what felt like 5 years to try this place, I FINALLY got to try the famous burger here! Spark…read morenotes: this place is definitely worth the wait! My friend and I dedicated a day where we would just put our name down and however long it took we would wait haha. We drove into the city which took and hour and we put our name down and waited an hour before we were called. The weather was great so we just walked around the west loop area. We started with a half size of the green salad and a half size of the roasted bone marrow. The house salad is super refreshing. A lot of vinegar in the dressing which I personally really like. Also tasted some fennel which was an interesting flavor. The roasted bone marrow is the winner of the night. I would come back to Au Cheval for this alone. It was paired with a thick slice of Texas toast and a beef cheek marmalade and it is seriously the PERFECT balance of flavors. Fatty. Sweet. Buttery. Literally insane and this is a must order! Then came the famous burger. My friend and I each ordered a single cheeseburger with the egg and bacon added. Something to note is that the single cheeseburger actually has 2 patties and the double cheeseburger has 3 patties (3/4lbs of beef). The presentation itself is beautiful and makes you just not want to eat it haha. The burger itself is so decadent and hefty with the burger patties, cheese, egg and bacon. I'll be honest, I needed some more pickles or just something to cut all the fattiness of the burger. There were pickles in the burger and it is served with a huge pickle spear. But I still was itching for some more bitterness/acid to balance the flavors. It was so decadent, I couldn't finish it all. All in all, I would definitely come back and order the burger again and would recommend it to anyone! We ordered a side of fries which came with their garlic aioli. The fries were cooked to perfection. Super crunchy on the outside and nice and soft on the inside and piping hot! The garlic aioli is perfect and have no notes for it. We also were treated to a vanilla scoop with chocolate sauce which was the perfect cap to our meal! Our waitress was so friendly and my friend and I loved her! She was so sweet and genuine. Hog Salt restaurants never fail with their service!

    Au Cheval is likely the most coveted restaurant destination for out-of-towners…read more "Best Burger" "it's so delicious with the egg" "I'm glad you're ending your trip with Au Cheval". I'd like to throw in my own quote into the gauntlet: "it's ok". It sounds harsh but Our burger patty was noticeably dry. The bread... was also dry. The egg and bacon add-ons were good but as a whole, the burger was missing the core aspect. The bread being dry I can justify by knowing that Au Cheval makes it a point to make everything gluten-free (or so someone told me). I think that's cool but not necessarily what I came looking for. I actually noticed prior to our trip from photos that the buns looked noticeably arid but I gave them no heed because of all of the praise. And I can give them the benefit of the doubt that we were there on a Sunday night, so potentially not the most quality inventory (although I personally don't think that's a great excuse). The service and the ambiance were on point! If you're wondering if there's a required attire (no shorts or flip flops) I wouldn't fret, the atmosphere is a lot more casual despite self-describing as an "intimate" setting. It's definitely more intimate than a normal burger restaurant, with dim lighting and isolated booths but what you're wearing isn't going to dictate how other guests and staff feel. I would cover up anyways just cause there was ac running. I told my friend who moved from Nyc to Chicago and he said he felt the same. And one of our couple friends were surprised to hear the patty being dry, so... off day?

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    The cooks were very attentive!
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    Wings (very sticky so they come with hot towels)

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    Wings (very sticky so they come with hot towels)
    Little Bad Wolf

    Little Bad Wolf

    4.4
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    Fresh flowers
    Fresh flowers
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    Bad Burger with fried onion strings

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    Bad Burger with fried onion strings

    Jim's Original - hotdog - Updated June 2026

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