Stationed in front of a KCK strip mall church, Morty’s Chicago food cart (1919 W. 43rd Ave., KCK), with its bright-yellow Vienna Beef flag, looks as if it’s been plucked straight from the Windy City. It’s known for serving the Italian beef sandwich, but there are several other places in KC where you can get a solid Italian beef (Sauls and Jim’s Alley Bar, for example). There are far fewer spots where you can find Chicago’s extremely unique hot dog, and Morty’s is one of them.
The Chicago dog is not fancy, but it’s perfect in its own right. It comes “dragged through the garden,” meaning garnished with sliced onions, tomato wedges, sport peppers, celery salt and yellow mustard (ketchup is considered sacrilegious on the Windy City’s dog) and, best of all, a whole pickle spear.
When stopping by, be sure to give the man himself, Morty, a generous tip while you’re ordering. The owner pops up with his food cart six days a week, rain or shine.
