Southside Dogs – Lowell, MA

Southside Dogs owner, Sandy Roberts, hopes to bring a little bit of Chicago to Lowell, Massachusetts. Sandy is a recent graduate of Hot Dog University out in Chicago. They told me about her when I was visiting there in August, so when I had some business in neighboring Dracut, I decided to stop in and check it out.

It’s a cute little place, serving up Vienna Beef style Chicago Dogs, Italian Beef, Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches, and the best onion rings I have ever had the pleasure of tasting! Sandy hand cuts and beer batters her onion rings and fries em up nice and crispy – they are DIVINE!

Southside Dogs Fare

Of course Chicago Hot Dogs are the highlight at Southside Dogs, and they are authentic all the way. Vienna Beef is making inroads in the greater Boston area which now boasts 7 Chicago Hot Dog Shops. Southside Dogs is the newest windy city interloper on the greater Boston hot dog landscape and the people of Lowell and the students at nearby UMASS Lowell should embrace this place.

A good Chicago dog tastes the same whether you get it in Lowell, New York, or Chicago and has the same ingredients: Vienna Beef hot dog, pickle, tomato, sport peppers, neon green relish, onions, mustard and celery salt on a poppy-seed roll. Sandy, a former carhop, opened the place to live her hot dog dream and she’s doing a bang up job.

She’s only been open since August, but Southside Dogs is gaining a loyal following quickly. If you want a little taste of Chicago and you’re in Lowell, it’s definitely worth stopping by. Just make sure you tell Sandy, “the Hotdogman sent me!”