The Wieners Circle Restaurant

Lincoln Park, Chicago –

A Chicago institution, The Wieners Circle is where late-night revelers of every stripe go to gorge on meat, feast on fries, and tell the cashier to go f*** herself.

Of course, the cashier is quick to yell the same thing back, as are all the feisty ladies behind the counter who have to deal with the belligerent patrons who stumble in and form a line that usually runs deep even at 4am.

Late nights inside this single room hole-in-the-wall see bleary-eyed couples and danced-out friends huddled on the black and red stools that line the perimeter, scarfing down hot dogs and burgers as they forget any diet plans that may have been in effect before the booze took hold.

Most of the seating is at dingy red picnic tables out front, but large windows offer a perfect view of the action indoors, which basically takes the form of everyone screaming at each other.

That’s the shtick at the Circle – at least it’s supposed to be – though with so many inebriated packs piling in, it’s not unusual for remarks to move into racial territory as the largely African American staff and the predominantly Caucasian clientele interact.

Thankfully most of it stays friendly, albeit loud, as onlookers gawk and laugh and The Wieners Circle continues to serve its core purpose: one last stop on a late night for the loneliest losers and biggest wieners alike.