Chicago's Taste Authority

Good food. Small quaint restaurant. We ordered cheese fries because I love cheese. The fries are soooo good that I think I would have preferred them by themselves in order to really appreciate them. I really wanted to try their pizza...guess I will need to return soon.

Beefy, cheesy, tasty. Good food with several options. I wasn't overly impressed, but everything was good and wasn't disappointed. Was in town for a visit and have family here that are regulars, and with picky eater nieces, that says a lot. I'd like to try a few other menu options too.

Serving up some of the best Chicago style food in MN. Definitely the best Italian beef I've had in Minnesota. Don't really know why anybody would goto portillos unless you don't know about this spot.

Always good food! The staff is always friendly. It's never too noisy there, so you can have a conversation with your friends and family without yelling at each other, lol! They have upgraded the look of the restaurant as well. Before, it was like a local Chi-town Sports Bar.(Which was fine) Today, I almost didn't recognize the place! 😁 They had waiters to take our order & bring out the food. What a surprise! They made the place more like a high-end family restaurant WITHOUT the high-end prices! Don't get me wrong, Chicago is still represented with the food! I'll keep on coming here that's for sure!👍🏾👏🏾😁😉

I've been going there Since 1999 I moved to Minneapolis Minnesota Minnehaha 38th food has always been the greatest love thee ownership is the Best only thing Chicago style polish isn't big like they were back in the day could be bigger no complaints just facts. My order was a large fry and a small fry too Chicago Style polishes donuts for the wife and a Chicago-style Italian beef. 9/2/2021

Wonderful place for hotdogs and Italian beef - $7-$12 a meal - would highly recommend to try. Pictures are full loaded Italian beef and gyro cheese fries.

The Italian Beef was delicious. Good beer selection. Seems like the front section is in the middle of renovations, back area was good.

Authentic Chicago style food. Chicago dog was great, hot dog had a really great snap and tasted better than other Chicago dogs I've had outside Chicago. Fries were very fresh and good. My husband got an Italian beef sandwich and he enjoyed it a lot. Would definitely recommend if you are craving some Chicago style food!

Sadly, I just heard that Chicago's Taste Authority is closing its doors after about twenty years. The owner, Rob, stated the reason was that the rent has skyrocketed. When he started twenty years ago, the rent was $1,800 a month, but now, the rent has climbed to about $6,000 a month. This is truly sad news. If you wanted a taste of Chicago in Minneapolis, Minnesota, Chicago's Taste Authority was a great option. Walking in, the staff was friendly and the vibe and ambiance was cool. The food was pretty close to what I had in Chicago. Chicago's Taste Authority will be missed. Their last day will be September 21, 2024. Get there while you can.

I'm from Chicago. I'm a tough sell on Italian Beefs and I will say that these folk do a great job. I tried the regular beef dipped and a combo dipped. It was great. Especially high praise for the Italian sausage they use. Perfect. To top it off, the space is great and the service was good. I even had a little chat with the owner. I will be back and often.

This place is amazing! We stopped in for a late lunch and both ordered the Italian beef with cheese sandwiches (peppers on the side). The sweet peppers (sautéed green peppers, not really "sweet") were excellent. The sandwiches were so big and filling and tasty. We also ordered toasted ravioli which was fantastic as well. We will 100% be back!

This is my favorite place to get Chicago style hot dogs! It's a nice place and they have a pretty good size patio seating. The dine-in area is pretty big with COVID measures in place. Friendly staff, reasonable prices and always full! I love that they support the American Diabetes Association Tour de Cure to help find a cure for diabetes. It's been tough with the pandemic since most events are now virtual but pre pandemic, they would be one of the food sponsors available for the riders. I wish that they could be a food truck and travel around town. They have another location in West St. Paul and that is a cool location too because it is of an old train car.

Good Chicago beef sandwiches. Get them with the gravy on the side if you get delivery, the "wet" version falls apart. Their hot gardinera is excellent, and adds a nice textural and spice dimension to the sandwich. Definitely worth getting, the beef is delicious and the rolls are fresh and compliment the sandwich well.

A solid little place! I didn't really get the pun in the name until I walked in and saw the menu, but bonus points for that. This is a perfectly reasonable Chicago dog and fully worthy of the name, at least as good as the standbys at Gold Coast or Portillo's. You can get fries or tater tots to go with it; I'm always a sucker for nice crispy tots. I didn't get to try their Italian beef or my personal fave, a beef-sausage combo, but the dog was good enough to put this on my list to come back for said beef. I do wish they had a slightly broader beer selection, but it's local focused, and they'll do you taster pours/flights if you want, so that's also nice for someone looking to try something new. I'm not completely convinced that they didn't mess up one of mine (tasted more like what I'd expect from another option in the menu), but it was cold and refreshing and went well with the food. Interestingly, the place seems to be really popular with first responders, there were multiple visits from police and fire (for lunch, not business!) while I was there.

Terrible. Tastes just like a frozen Jacks pizza yet we paid $26 for a medium. We paid for extra toppings for nothing because they ignored it. What a waste of money.

So i decide to order takeout for the first time at Chicago dogs for the Vikings game. It did the job. The location is just less than a mile away so the food arrived relatively hot. I ordered the gyro sandwich. It was pretty good. It did the job and satisfied my craving for a Gyro. You know how it is when you get a Gyro craving. Pizza just won't cut it. The tater tots were on point too.

I don't know wtf I was talking about in my first review. Their Chicago dog is now my favorite and I order it every time. I haven't even ordered pizza in years now. I love their fries, they're my favorite it town. Add some cheese sauce (I always order extra) and it's out if this world. The mini donuts are amazing. They taste just like the state fair ones, I could eat the whole bag. The gyro is good too, my mom loves it but it needs more sauce!! Their prices have gone way up but I guess they have almost everywhere. Still a great place.

Good Chicago dogs and a friendly atmosphere and service. Terrible fries burnt and over cooked. Even with cheese sauce it didn't help!

That's a great cheese dog for a decent price. There's a nice spice profile and the salad on top was quite good.

Chicago's hot dogs may have SENIORITY Like the 29 year old girl in the SORORITY But there are places outside Chicago with PRIORITY Although the really good ones are in the MINORITY But this one makes the others suffer from INFERIORITY And displays a pretty healthy SUPERIORITY So come on down to Chicago's Taste AUTHORITY And... um... I think I'll just re-use the word SORORITY WHAT I actually discovered my friend's car was missing outside this place. I was like... hey, where'd Chicago? Nah just kidding. This was the first place I ate in Minneapolis after the long drive up from Omaha, and I was very happy to find a very good Chicago dog - I've now eaten here twice, and all of their products that I've had are authentic and tasty and fresh and reasonably priced as well. I love the decor - very appropriate, as it's extremely Chicago. It's a nice place for families to come and hang out. There's outside seating for the summer which lasts about three days in Minneapolis, better known as Mini Apples, located in central Minnesota, better known as Mini Soda. Plenty of inside eating as well, which you'll need, unless sunbathing in Siberia sounds good to you. Indoor dining is spread across two different rooms. The guys here are pretty cool, and their Chicago dogs are exemplary as are the Polish dogs, which I ordered right after I finished the Chicago dogs since the Chicago dogs were so good. Polish? Just as good. Not only do I give it five out of five but it was one of my favourite places to eat in Minneapolis-Saint Paul, and it's also the best hot dog place I found in Minneapolis-Saint Paul by a distance - and there were a few other good ones like Uncle Franky's and Wienery that I liked too. It wouldn't be the best in Chicago but it would be a pretty good one there as well. But since it's in Mini Soda, it's one of the very best you'll find up here, and possibly the very best. Now I have to leave without saying goodbye (Chica-ghost), before someone else molests me (Chica-gropes), and then rubs on my leg and makes me all Chica-gooey.

Decided to give them a try again this time for takeout. Food was great as always. Due to Covid-19 they did add a 5% fee however, the food is since a good value. Beefs are tender and juicy, and the giardiniera is nice and chunky with the perfect kick of heat and oil. Dogs have a great crack to the skin when you bite down. I am still very surprised that they make their own product. There are Vienna, red hots, and then CTA dogs. Maybe they were made by Austrian-Hungarians too because they are darn good dogs!

Wanted a hot dog and I was in the area so I decided to try a old haunt as I used to visit here frequently when it was Chris and Rob's . I was surprised at how much the place has changed gone are all the Chicago sport team memorabilia and I see they added a bar and better outside seating. So after I ordered and received my cup for my Dew( the only thing I drink lol) I find that the Co2 was out but they did fix it fairly fast so no harm no foul. As for the food the hot dog is definitely all beef and had good snap when you take a bite all the veggies were cool and fresh and provided a nice crunch. I didn't order more as I didn't want to stuff myself and I also have pastries from a Baker's Wife( see my review on that page) to eat later.Over all I'm satisfied with this visit I wasn't wowed but I'm not mad by any means either.

Just like you go here to watch Da Bears, you go here to get Da Good Food. I have never been disappointed with anything here. If you get the Italian Beeff, you MUST get it wet. Yes, the dry sandwich is Da Bomb. Having it wet takes it over the top. Just roll up your sleeves and unfurl a boatload of paper towels. You'll be fine...and stuffed. My son loves the Chicago dogs here, too. I had finally gotten him to try one a few years ago before we were taking our first trip to Chicago with him. I told him that eating a Chicago dog was required in order for him to have the full experience. Now, this is the boy who said that ketchup was hot, so it's take some time to expand his palate. Well, he is hooked. His eyes got so big when he bit into the dog, I thought that they might stay that way. His eyes still do that all these years later. He has moved onto the chili dogs now, and we always get a lot of tots so that there's no fighting (this is the ONLY place where I eat tater tots). The service is great, and orders are always right. The hard part is waiting for the food.

I really like this place , been getting the hot beef sandwich here for years and tator tots with seasoned sour cream . So good I just crave it .?friends and family have gotten other items which they always say they like when I bring them there . The decor is really cute and clean service has always been good .

Not so good. Burned burger asked for a redo and there response was "that's how me make our burgers. Guy came to table several minutes later and asked how it was????

New to the neighborhood and thrilled to find this gem. Hard to believe I haven't heard people talking about it. Super clean and great atmosphere with the Twins game on. Genuine, friendly service and they threw in a special treat when they heard it was my birthday. And most importantly, the food was amazing! Legit Chicago dog and the Italian beef and sausage combo was insanely good. The bun was so fresh and the meat was perfect. Better than anything I've had in Chicago and at Portillo's! This will be a new regular spot for us. Looking forward to trying the pizza!

Solid Chicago-style hot dogs and sausages. That's the real reason you come here. However, the cheesy tots are excellent. too. Pizzas are good, but I wish they did Chicago-style pizza here. However, eat the food in the restaurant, because delivery tends to be very slow, and in cooler weather your food will likely be cool or cold by the time you get it. Delivery orders also seem to be overcooked. (These points were true even before the pandemic.)

You will not find a better hotdog in Minnesota, every time me and my boyfriend go here, we're always greeted with a smiling face, conversation and great food, i definitely recommend stopping in and picking up the Chicago style dog!

The food was amazing and the service was even better. We drive up from Prior Lake to eat there!! Awesome dogs, pizza, and beef sandwiches!

Was out for a sunny day drive to escape the boredom of quarantine. Had a hankerin for some coneys. Got on Yelp and CTA popped up as open. One quick call with a polite gent on the phone and ten minutes later I was in my car eating great Chicago dogs with chili cheese tots. Anxious to go back and try some other menu items. Definitely recommend.

Stopped in today was really hungry. Now I have been here before. The 1st time I went Chicago Dog...poppy seed bun, sliced tomatoes, sport peppers,neon relish, onion, mustard and a pickle spear. 100 % beef dog...done right. 2nd time I went Chili dog totally disappointed ...the chili tasted burnt. So this time I went Chicago Dog again same result. The place is as advertised Chicago fare dogs hot beef and pizza. They have 12 different beers on tap and 2 rooms for eating. My only other let down is they have big screen TV's but didn't have the NFL package to watch my Bears...I had to drive to St Paul to watch every Sunday at Aleries. Parking is on the street.

Great food, great atmosphere- we recommend this place to people all the time. All the offs I've had is really tasty. Highly recommend!

REALLY did NOT live up to the hype. If I wanted a dried up sausage I'd have gone to a gas station. Portions super small. The "king" sandwich for "larger appetites" um, no. Had to have dinner after dinner from this joint. If you want a snack it's a good stop. 2 stars for service.

Update It's a real bummer to knock this place down to 2 stars but this place has undergone some changes worth noting and that make me reluctant to come back. I used to love this place for my "Chicago fix" - a great hotdog/fries at a decent price at a super casual place. Today I spent $30 on lunch for 3 at a sit down restaurant that put ketchup on their homemade hotdog. They should no longer be able to put "Chicago" in the name. You have to wait to be seated, and it was crowded (not helped by an employee (manager?) taking up a full table with his laptop open, working.) Don't you have an office? From what I can no longer serve Vienna beef products , they make their own dogs and Italian beef. The hotdog was super bland and I'm completely baffled why they'd make the switch. We ordered the kids meal for our son (we were told this was a plain hotdog with a side of tots). The hotdog arrived with ketchup on it, which is slightly annoying but also sacrilege for a place that bills itself as a Chicago hotdog joint. This place really was great and I don't know what prompted the change, but I think it made this place worse, not better.

Awesome Chicago beefs, ( sweet and wet) hot tamales and french fries. Friendly staff, clean, and food was out in a timely manner.

Absolutely a great place in a great neighborhood! Real deal Chicago food! Killer dogs, ridiculous Italian beef and sausage sandwiches, wings, tots and more! Anytime we are in the area we stop here and as a New Yorker I'm very picky about my hotdogs but this place kills it! Check out my food pages on Facebook at Kam Finds Food and Instagram Kam Finds Food!

Hot garbage. I had a cheesy beef and the beef was room temp with hot cheese and a soggy bread that was not toasted... Hot garbage. Then we also shared a pizza that tasted worse than a frozen pizza. It reminded me of those boardwalk pizzas you have in a place that was not meant to be a pizza parlor but bought a bunch of frozen crusts and thought "hey, why not"... Finally the tots... I ate one and was not sure there was any potatoes inside. You can only taste the deep fried garbage of the outside. The service was all right. The young blonde man inside was nice but that short fat guy was annoying. I definitely would not come back. I do not know who they must be a taste authority of? Maybe Chicago's homeless people eating out of the garbage? That is the only people who would enjoy this. Maybe children who don't really care what they are eating. Definitely not the prices you want to spend to shut your kids up though. We spent $60 bucks on a soggy sandwhich, a small frozen pizza and 2 decent hot dogs and the tots that we threw away. Thank you for letting us know how far the bar can go.

1. They don't charge if you want your beef Italian dipped in gravy but if you request for a dry beef Italian and gravy on the side they charge you extra 2. When a delivery order went wrong, the manager did not want to admit to the mistake. On top of that, his voice tone and manners we very unprofessional. It was rude for him to talk over me, showed no patience, no listening skill, and very obviously sound annoyed. 3. Now that I memorize the managers voice, I think back to all the times I've called in with awkward encounters. Maybe he's on drugs but he's always talking 100 miles per hour. Placing what should be an easy order, turns into an awkward stressful order.

The pizza crust was rubbery. The Tamale was pre-made, tiny & tasted like it had freezer burn. The mini-donuts were great. The cheese bread had an odd taste, the wings were dry & hardly had any meat on them. I was very disappointed!

Excellent food. Good service. Clean restaurant. Those fries were some of the best fries I've had anywhere. The Chicago dog was a little on the small side. Otherwise this would be 5 stars.

Imagine the following conversation: Bob: Ian you believe how many other places can benefit from Chicago taste joints? Chris: I know so many people from Minnesota come to chicago just to enjoy the pizza, hot dogs, Italian beef, ar.. Bob: (interrupts) Well I think we should go there and take it to them. And so few clicks later the second Minnesota location opens up barely a month ago. Like the first location that opened in Saint Paul seven years ago this new location in Minneapolis at the Longfellow/Hiawatha neighborhood is a welcome addition to the area. It is a mere three short blocks away from the legendary Baker's Wife but slowly building its own legend. I have tried the pizza and salad to go a few minutes before driving down the road to come here. They were good and fresh. Slightly above average. But the Italian beef sandwich was so good I had to order a second one to go. It has so much filling to satisfy and make up for missing on the brunch this Sunday. The place is very new with a rustic touch that clashes at the brick and barnwood walls. I would surely come back but I will be torn between Bill's Garden fried rice and the Italian beef sandwich. After all they are less than three walking blocks apart.

I'm in agreement with KarenS here. Service has gone downhill and prices way up. Not worth it any more Too many other options

Was craving a chili dog, this place did it right but I should not have eaten it in my car as you know it was overflowing with chili. Good thing I ordered their fries to help scrape up all the chili I spilled. Delicious. I'm putting this place on my usual list. I gotta try the polish sausage, gyro fries, meatball sub, burgers...

Great service! Small shrimp basket. $9.99 Looked like a kids meal, food wasn't seasoned well. The cheese sticks were good though about 6 sticks ($7.49 maybe) I used a blu cheese dressing for it. I'd go back because its not far from home and not many options in this cold.

Great food and wonderful service Pizza is so superb and always with a smile we order to go or pick up at least once a week sometimes more and wow the fries are to die for you have to try them

Such a neato place. Great fast customer service. Lots of seating. Anything on the menu is yummy. I ordered 2 Chicago dogs, chili fries, and my gf ordered two chili dogs, onion rings and mini donuts. Way too much food! But worth it! Sign up for their text msg coupons Only wish I could tip with my credit card. They said it's not set up yet.

I have been and still am a fan of this place. HOWEVER the prices keep going up and the portions are getting smaller! I don't mind a little price increase BUT don't give me LESS! The beef and cheese has gotten shorter. We just got these chili cheese fries and it looked like less then half of what we got not long ago. We know the owner so I don't want to slam him he's great but let's get back to being the best. Especially with so much competition in the area now.

I had a fully loaded Philly steak sandwich with fries definitely going back to try their pizza hamburgers in the old style Chicago Style hot dog great outdoor dining plus the inside dining

I wouldn't come here again. I rather have a dominos pizza then what they serve here. Their burgers have the soggiest buns, not even sure how that's possible. Honestly if you want to spend 20$ on a pizza go some place else it is not worth the price. Don't get me started on the disrespectful staff. Honestly if you feel like wasting your money on tasteless food and bad service definitely Check this place out *sarcasm*. My family owns many businesses around this state and in this country including in Chicago, and this was a disappointment. Absolutely does not have the taste of Chicago, very much a disgrace. Please give your money to a local business that deserves it.

This place is awesome, I had a polish dog and a combo meat sandwich which were both delicious. I tried cheese curds for the first time ever here and they made an excellent first impression on the delicacy :) nice beer selection and friendly staff. Will definitely be coming back!

Don't bother coming here Friday night through Sunday night, unless you want to be forced to have your hotdog served to you. Table "service" is mandatory...unless you're doing takeout; remember that. All I wanted was a hotdog. Now, I'm waiting for it to come out, and paying $7 instead of the $3.50 it costs because of a tip. No more weekend visits. The thing is, I don't begrudge the tip. What bugs me is the "this is how we do it. Don't like it, piss off" message I got from the guy behind the counter.

Pizza was good and tasted great but their Italian beefs are extremely disrespectful to what they're actually suppose to be they literally cut a green pepper in half and fried it as whole and thru it on there.. it was sooo bogus. Fries were good too tho

My wife and I were in Minneapolis from Seattle for our daughters volleyball tournament. As we are transplanted Chicagoans, we really struggle to find Italian Beef sandwiches or quality hot dogs. We had high hopes for this place and we were NOT disappointed. Sounds strange, but this place reminds me of a Chicago neighborhood tavern that also served Pizza, Italian Beef and a hot dogs. The Italian beef sandwich was terrific; the beef cooked perfectly and with a peppery bite, the bread was perfect, the sweet peppers were perfect not chopped, and the giardiniera was like it should be- spicey and vinegary! The hot dog was the bomb!; cooked through and served hot, topped with sport peppers, relish, a pickle spear and the perfect amount of celery salt, all in a perfect sesame bun. Fries were thick and hot with a bit of celery salt on them as well.

Love this place. Best fries I've ever eaten in my life. Every time I place an order, the food is fantastic and they work quickly. I love this place and highly recommend it.

Our first time stopping in - very clean, nice and quick service, good food. Their happy hour is 3-6 and there's a nice big patio. We will be back!

The Italian Beef with sweet peppers was fantastic. I understand the Chicago Dogs were great as well! The thin crust pizza looked okay but I didn't try it.

The short fat guy with prison tats at the register is so mean and unfriendly. I cannot believe I finally got my order placed. Then I went to pay and they do not take American Express, so I had to use a debit card. I commented that this whole process was painful. He glared at me and in a challenging manner, asked what I meant. I told him about what we just went through to order with him and that they don't take all payment methods. He told me that American Express charges a ton of money to "his" business, so I guess he is the owner. He did not say thanks, just put on his jacket, packed up his food, made a beverage in a very large soup container, and walked out the door and left. Wow, I've never felt so unwelcome or unappreciated at a business. Also, American Express offers many incentives for small businesses and is the card I prefer to use for the rewards I receive. Food is not even worth commenting on, but is not worth the abusive attitudes one must endure by trying to place an order.