Try the Maxwell Street Polish Sandwiches at These Dallas-Area Spots

Who doesn’t love the occasional tubular meat product shoved in a bun and dressed with condiments? If a protein can be ground up, encased and sold in links, you can probably find it for sale somewhere at a butcher shop, county fair, sidewalk stand, food truck or sporting venue. Whether steamed, fried, grilled or boiled, these little handheld treats cross socioeconomic lines and unite us all, as American as mom, apple pie and overhyped Black Friday sales.

There are many options available, from the simple hot dog to Italian sausage, bratwurst, andouille and Polish, each with several subtypes. Hot dogs alone can be had in various regional styles originating from Chicago, New York and St. Louis. Italian sausage can be sweet or hot, bratwurst can be either pork, veal or beef and combos thereof, and Polish can basically be divided into Maxwell Street and everything else.

A Maxwell Street Polish sandwich is a Chicagoland staple and consists of a grilled or fried Polish sausage served in a bun and topped with yellow mustard, grilled onions and sport peppers. It's widely believed to have originated at Jim's Original hot-dog stand in 1939 at Maxwell and Halsted streets in Chicago's old Maxwell Street Market District.

This market district emerged during the late 19th century as Jewish immigrants from Eastern Europe settled in the area. Initially, it operated only on Sundays and it eventually grew to about nine blocks of open-air markets where almost anything could be bought or sold, legitimate or otherwise. It was a truly a mixture of cultures and ethnicities; some called it the Ellis Island of the Midwest.

In 1994 the University of Illinois at Chicago expanded, and the city closed the market down, relocating it more than once to other parts of the city as the inevitable gentrification of the neighborhood continued. The Maxwell Street Polish, however, has survived and flourished over the last 80-plus years and is now available all over the country, including North Texas, to those willing to look for it. Here are just a few of the places in North Texas that offer this Chicago standby.

Jimmy’s Food Store

4901 Bryan St.

Jimmy’s Food Store in East Dallas sells Maxwell Street Polish sausage links, currently at a pretty reasonable $7.99 per pound. These are the real deal, signage at the deli counter proudly proclaiming that they are “imported from Chicago,” which is a nice touch, as long as they don’t ask for a passport. These rather large links cook up well on the grill for five minutes or so per side; even a cast-iron skillet does a fine job. Of course, you have to grill and caramelize the onions yourself, but thankfully Jimmy’s also sells sports peppers by the jar.

Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs

15922 Eldorado Parkway, No. 700, Frisco

The Frisco restaurant Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs offers a Maxwell Street Polish for $6.99 in both traditional form with the grilled onions and sport peppers, or street style, where they drag it through the garden like a Chicago dog with tomatoes, pickles, onions, relish, peppers and celery salt. Treat yourself to some freshly made Italian ice for dessert while you’re there.

Weinberger’s Deli

601 S. Main St., Grapevine

Weinberger's, a Grapevine favorite located on the old town Main Street, has a pretty extensive menu that includes a Maxwell Street Polish, a quarter-pound link grilled and served in a poppy seed bun with mustard, onions and sport peppers. Pretty traditional down to the poppy seed bun, though some believe this isn’t strictly necessary for the real deal. It will set you back about $8.

TJ’s Dawg House

501 S. Plano Road, Richardson (in the Lowe's parking lot)

TJ’s food truck calls it a Polish smoked Kielbasa: a third-pound Maxwell Street Polish sausage with sautéed onions and peppers. The peppers are bell peppers rather than sport peppers, but it still works and comes in under $6. When you're done, pick up that hex wrench set at Lowe's.

Chicago’s Original

1206 E. Main St, No. 111, Allen

This little gem in Allen serves up great tavern-style pizzas and Italian beef sandwiches, so we weren’t surprised that the Maxwell Street Polish was also superb. A big juicy link in a fresh bun smothered in onions with a couple of requisite sport peppers. What’s not to love? You might as well purchase some Italian beef sandwich kits while you're there and have lunch for tomorrow.

Portillo’s

4560 Destination Drive, The Colony, and 1955 N. Central Expressway, Allen

We're thankful this Chicago chain has recently made inroads into North Texas. Sure, they’re a large corporate entity, but they still know what they’re doing, producing a consistent product with no surprises. Portillo's Polish links are sourced from Makowski’s Real Sausage Company in Chicago, which has been making sausages for generations. These go for about $6, but you’ll have to ask for the sport peppers. Truth be told, they’re probably better than the dogs. Save room for the chocolate cake shake.

E&B Eats

401 W. Bedford Euless Road, Hurst

If you find yourself in the HEB area, you could do a lot worse than E&B’s Maxwell Polish, though it is a bit pricey at $9.50. Mustard, grilled onions, sport peppers? Check. They also have a Vienna Beef Polish version, as well as a Maxwell Street pork chop sandwich if you want to branch out a bit.

The Core of Chicago

1175 N. Watson Road, Arlington

The Core offers a Maxwell Street Polish for $6.99 along with other Chicago staples such as Chicago dogs, pork chop sandwiches, pizza puffs and Italian beefs, but why not try the Maxwell Ménage à Trois: A Maxwell Street Polish sausage, Maxwell pork chop sandwich and a hamburger served with fries for a mere $20? Your cardiologist will thank you.

The Original Hot Dog Factory

6318 Hulen Bend Blvd., Fort Worth

This national chain recently opened a spot in Fort Worth sharing space with a hookah bar. There are more than 30 different types of hot dogs, one of which is called the Street Polish Factory Hot Dog, noticeably missing the “Maxwell” descriptor. But it is described as having grilled onions, mustard and sports peppers and it goes for $7.49. The dogs and sausages are a bit on the small side at this place, but maybe that just saves room for some hookah’ing for dessert. There’s also a burger version of the same if one is so inclined.