Steve D.
Yelp
Woo hoo. Another 'first' for me. Let me begin by quoting [at length] from its print menu: "We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers for giving us the pleasure of serving you since 1969 under Nicky's Drive-In 58th and Kedzie, and we hope to continue serving you for many more years to come. But it has come to our attention that many of our customers have been misled by other establishments bearing the same name."
Officially, this management runs hot dog stands at 58th & Kedzie, Pulaski Rd. & 115th Place in Alsip, and _this_ stand at 2400 S. Cicero Ave. in Cicero.
I was heading for the western suburbs today on the train. Yesterday, as you may have known, I went to Flossmoor Station Brwg. Co. to partake in the "Killer Kapowski" [a Baltic Porter] release party. When you ride the Metra train on weekends, you should buy the $5 weekend pass. It will get you from Chicago to Flossmoor, from Chicago to Elgin, from Chicago to Libertyville, and even from Chicago to Downers Grove or Aurora. It will also retrieve you. (But you need to check those schedules. The BNSF line to Aurora runs only every _two hours_ on Sunday.)
My initial intent was to go to Union Station and ride the train from there. But I got backed up feeding the cats here and headed out with just over an hour to get to downtown. I took out a contingency. I rode the #54 Cicero bus south. If my timing was good, I would have transferred to the Blue Line "L" in the Eisenhower median at Cicero.
Timing was not superb. I had to wait ten minutes for a southbound Cicero bus. When we got to the Blue Line "L" station, I made the call that it would have taken longer if I transferred. I continued on the Cicero bus.
You know I have reviewed Scatchell's. But getting food there would have involved exiting the bus at Cermak Rd., walking one block east, and then having to walk five blocks west & south to get to the Cicero BNSF train station.
I went to a tertiary option, which is *this* Nicky's. This is two blocks north of the Cicero BNSF train station.
Nicky's has lots of options and combination deals. I opted for a three hot dog special (with french fries) for $4.29. I took it to-go. The order was correctly and swiftly prepared. I walked to the train station with six minutes to spare.
This was a good hot dog [an eight]. You can actually have your hot dog with ketchup here should you want to blaspheme [That, tomato, & hot peppers are no-cost options. Chili, cheese, & grilled onions {!} are 25¢ extra.]. A long dill pickle wedge is included.
I had one hot dog while standing on the platform. I ate the other two on the train en route to Downers Grove. The fries included with this (in a separate bag) were variable. Some were the correct texture and taste, and some were way too hard to chomp. They also had been dusted with salt.
The venue is compact. There are stools ringing the south edge. Parking spots for seven autos is to its west, on 24th Ave. If you do drive here; the Thornton's gas station across Cicero Ave. is usually one of the lowest-priced stations in the vicinity.
Nicky's 'The Real McCoy'® gets a four-star rating for its value, and the quality of its hot dog. I encourage you to adhere to the hot dogs, or the other associates of the hot dog family. But if you want to try its Chicken or Gyros sandwiches, it's your call. (I would raise an eyebrow if you decided to order its italian beef sandwich.) Soft drinks are from the Royal Crown bottling company.
Transit options: Besides the obvious - two blocks north of the Cicero BNSF commuter train station: The #54 Cicero bus runs twenty hours a day past here. Be careful with the #X54. It may not stop at 24th Place southbound. The #54B South Cicero bus also runs here; and the #60 Blue Island - 26th bus has its terminus one half-block south at 24th Place.
You can ride the Pink Line "L" to Cicero Ave., or a number of buses on Cermak Rd.; if you are willing to make a three-block walk south.
