Summer of 2020 is an awful time for a lot of reasons, but it’s been a pretty great time for Chicagoland beer lovers who also love corn dogs. And that’s a Venn diagram that overlaps directly on top of me.
Is it because we don’t have state or county fairs to go to? Will we also see a rise of funnel cakes and turkey legs in the weeks and months to come?
Or is it just finally time that we as a society recognize the perfection of having a cold beer in one hand, and a freshly-fried lightly-sweet batter wrapped around a link of encased meat in the other? (Preferably with some bright yellow mustard nearby as well?)
We may never know the real truth. But we have a lot of corn dogs around right now and I’m here for it.
This mini-trend started when we noticed that Plank Road Tap Room added a permanent food truck with hand-dipped corn dogs on the menu:
Then we spotted Wolfden Brewing not only start serving corn dogs … but bacon-wrapped corn dogs. Holy hell sign us up:
And just within the last week, All Rise Brewing announced a menu item that consists of fried dough on a stick filled with meat, so even though they’re calling it their Friot Feast burger, dammit it’s a spiritual corn dog to me:
To be fair, it’s not just taprooms and brewpubs that are jumping on board the corn dog train — The Sixth has one on the menu for their Honey I Shrunk The Kids pop-up, while Dorothy Downstairs at Split Rail recently added one as well. So maybe while beer drinkers are slightly overindexed when it comes to corn dog appreciation, it appears that all kinds of beverages pair well with deep fried battered meats on a stick.
Corn dogs and champagne? Clearly that’s the next step. Who’s willing to give it a shot? Let us know where else you’re seeing corn dogs pop up. We’re your 24-7 corn dog news outlet now.