It has been awhile since I've been on my fried shrimp benders but recently found myself jonsen for fried shrimp again.

I started my quest at Captain Porky's www.captainporky.com in Zion IL up near the state line. Dino the owner is a great guy, loves to talk about food. He makes fried shrimp that are panko like in their breading, great shrimp flavor but personally I like a little seasoning with the breading. Capt Porkys does have a really good conch salad, this was the highlight for me.

A couple weeks later I went to Hagen's www.hagensfishmarket.com (5635 W Montrose) Hagens FRESH fried oysters were terrific, smoked shrimp (that they smoke on premises) were so sweet & delicious but the fried shrimp didn't live up to the expectations.

A bud suggested trying RedHot Ranch (2072 N. Western Avenue, Chicago 60647) for their fried shrimp. Who would have guessed, excellent/made on presmises, fried shrimp at a hot dog stand (who by the way serves a great hot dog & fries also). I also learned a new type of Chicago dog name, a Depression Dog. A Depression Dog features a regular-sized (eight per pound) natural casing all-beef frank instead of the jumbo (six per pound) dogs that often come on a standard Chicago dog. Steamed and served on a plain hot dog bun--no poppy seeds here--garnished with yellow mustard, onions, hot sport peppers, maybe some relish and always served with a giant mound of fresh cut, skin-on fries, either wrapped up with the hot dog or simply piled on top. Absolutely no pickles, giant slices of tomato, cucumber, lettuce, celery seed or ketchup.