Student-owned Wise Guy's brings Chicago-style fare to Ann Arbor, offers gameday specials
Paintball?
Wise Guy’s chief hot dog artisan Kasey Thompson, 22, explains: “I’m president of the UM paintball team, and we often travel to Chicago for competitions. I fell in love with the food there: Chicago dogs, Polish dogs, Italian beef sandwiches, you name it. Soon I was conducting Chicago food tours for the team where we stopped and ate at mainstays like Portillo’s, Gino’s East, and Al’s Beef.”
It was only natural that he bring the tastes he adores back with him to Ann Arbor, where he’s a student studying computer science and engineering.
And, as befitting a place called Wise Guy’s, things are kept in the family. Kasey’s business partners are his two brothers, Kris, 24, and Kerry, 33, both of whom are also pursuing various degrees at Michigan. Dad Kerry Sr. also likes to pitch in.
“These guys know what they’re doing,” said Kerry Sr. “There’s a history of running restaurants in our family, and all of them have worked in the food service business before.”
Kerry Sr. works as a food safety consultant who drives his wife crazy when they go out to eat because of the scrutiny he gives everything. This ethic is ingrained in his sons, he said.
“He’d kill us if we didn’t take all the precautions we do,” said Kasey.
But what about the food itself?
Wise Guy’s offers franks from Chicago (Vienna Beef) and New York (Nathan’s Famous). You can order a Chicago dog “dragged through the garden,” meaning you get all the fixin’s, including “nuclear” relish, chopped onions, hot peppers, tomato, celery salt, and a pickle spear.Or you can get an Italian beef sandwich, “a perfect cut of beef slow cooked with a secret blend of herbs and spices, sliced paper thin, dipped in au jus, and layered on fresh baked Italian rolls.”
Vegetarian options are also available, such as the “Skinny Vinny,” a sandwich of “mushroom meatballs” coated in marinara and melted mozzarella.
Whether you go with one of the many hot dog variations or try one of the sandwiches, you can augment your choice with a variety of chips and pop—including all-natural sodas—and cap off your meal with a cookie or, if you dare, the “Wunder Bar,” a slice of cheesecake dipped in chocolate.
To celebrate their grand opening and welcome the kickoff of a new Michigan football season, Wise Guy’s is offering half-off specials all day long Saturday including $3 Italian beef sandwiches and Chicago dogs, $2 root beer floats, and more. Stop by and try an authentic taste of the Windy City and become a fan on their Facebook page.
Wise Guy’s, 1232 Packard St., is open Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 2am (remember, it’s run by active students), but if you’re in the area, drop by on Thursday—they just may be open then, too, if study schedules allow.
David Bardallis is a freelance writer and editor, blogger, bon vivant, and man about town. Visit his Web site, DavidBardallis.com, to engage his services or read his latest ramblings insights.
Comments
Wystan Stevens
Fri, Jan 15, 2010 : 7:46 p.m.
FURTHER INFO ON THE HISTORY OF THIS CORNER SHOP Connie Bassil, born in 1922, who was Hilly Amis' partner in the Ann Arbor fish 'n' chips shop (1969-74) known as "Lucky Jim's" (see comment above) died on December 31, 2009, at her home in Novato, California. Here is her obituary: http://obits.mlive.com/obituaries/annarbor/obituary.aspx?pid=138589065
DanielF
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 : 8:57 a.m.
Wynstan- thanks for the historical background. So, did Martin Amis spend any time in A2?
Foodie01
Tue, Sep 8, 2009 : 8:52 a.m.
Thanks for answering my questions about this place -- I saw the sign while driving by last week, and now I know. And will go!
Wystan
Sun, Sep 6, 2009 : 1:15 a.m.
LITERARY BACKGROUND OF THE "WISE GUYS" CORNER In 1967, after the English novelist Kingsley Amis ("Lucky Jim") was divorced, his ex-wife, Hilary ("Hilly") married David Shackleton Bailey ("Shack"), a classics scholar who became U-M Professor of Latin, and in 1968 they settled in Ann Arbor. (Martin Amis, Hilly's son, was 19 then; he later became a novelist in his own right.) Once she had got her bearings, Hilly persuaded a friend to join her in opening an authentic English fish and chips shop in the building now occupied by Wise Guys, calling it "Lucky Jim's." Her husband the Latin Professor sometimes tied on a white apron and helped in the shop, cleaning the tables and selling fish. The tasty food actually was served wrapped in a section of used newspaper, English style -- until the Washtenaw Health Department found out, and required a switch to something more certifiably sanitary. The shop was open for only a few years. Shack and Hilly divorced in 1975, and Shack left to teach at Harvard University, although after he retired he did return to Ann Arbor to live. He died in 2005. In 2000, Hilly, who had married Lord Kilmarnock and become Lady Kilmarnock, was running a bar in Spain. She may be there still.
barks74
Sat, Sep 5, 2009 : 7:53 p.m.
Chicago style Italian Beef is the bomb!!!!
Jennifer Shikes Haines
Sat, Sep 5, 2009 : 9:58 a.m.
Wow, hot dogs and owners schooled in food safety at the same time? This sounds like a real winner to someone who grew up with Sabrett hot dog carts and then went to the Sabrett factory on a field trip and never touched them again. I'm so excited to have real Chicago beef sandwiches, too. Sounds like a great place!
Alan Benard
Sat, Sep 5, 2009 : 9:37 a.m.
A former Chicagoan, I am excited to hear I can get a real Italian Beef in Ann Arbor, as well as Vienna Beef hot dogs. I only hope that this venture meets with more success than the place that opened next to Jack's Hardware and closed about a year later to become a sushi joint (which has stuck around). I only wish that we could move on from the "mob" word association with Chicago. We don't rush to label south-Philly cheesesteak places "Cosa Nostras," or Coney Island places "Kilpatrick's."