Michael's Hot Dogs has been a favorite of mine since I was a kid, and now I get to bring my own kids -- which makes it even better. It's always super consistent, the kind of place you can count on no matter what you're in the mood for. My kids love the burgers and hot dogs, and they're always a hit. I usually go for the salads, especially the tuna, and they're just as good as I remember. It's a great spot for just about anything -- a quick bite, a casual family meal, or a nostalgic stop when you're in the area. Still one of the best. read more

The food is good, the portions are good. But $40 for 2 salads with tuna is crazy expensive. Also, not at all their fault, but some of the rudest, entitled customers I have ever come across. If the prices were lower, it would get 4 stars. read more

Grossly overpriced and their fries suck. They spent so much effort creating a cheese sauce to get rid of Merks but time should be spent on improving their generic fries. The salad bar is still great though. read more

Incredible burgers and Grilled Chicken sandwich in town! Wish their fries were a little better, but the service is great! [[HIGHLIGHT]]Decent outdoor seating if you can get it![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Parking sometimes is a little tough but there is an underground garage with 3 hour free parking! read more

Hot dog was as good as ever but we missed the fries that used to be SO GOOD! These tasted frozen and dry. The fries were not as good as we expected! read more

The food! Can anyone figure out how you can call this a teriyaki steak wrap? A worker saw it and you would think it would even be a question whether you should get me a new one! read more

Love Michael's! I find that the foot is really consistent. [[HIGHLIGHT]]It's super kid friendly and also a great place for just a casual dinner with friends.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The take out operation is great and their online ordering system is efficient. Love that they have different options for chopped salad types. One of my go to places! read more

Michael's - Chicken Caesar Salad and French Fries - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

I hadn't been to Michael's in years, but decided to give it a try with some friends. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Turns out, it is still a great casual dining option.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] They have anything from hot dogs and wraps to salads. The salad bar has a ton of options and they really load it up. I went with a crispy chicken caesar wrap and it was one of the best ones I've had in a long time! The ingredients were fresh and it was filled to the brim. I was very satisfied after finishing my lunch. read more

Michael's - Caesar Wrap - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

Don't come here, there are plenty of other burger places that have better food for a better price! The staff are rude. Here's how this goes down, per their email instructions, I park in a Curbside Pickup spot. There is no signage stating that you have to park in a certain space. Their email also doesn't state you have to park in a certain space. Lo and behold, a white Mercedes parks immediately behind me blocking traffic into their parking lot. Yet, their staff has the audacity to come and talk to me about how MY car is blocking traffic. I said that it wasn't my issue as the white Mercedes was blocking traffic. The other car instead of parking behind me for and blocking traffic could've easily paralleled parked into the spot in front of me for their curbside order. It's not difficult to do. This kid (who was rude) goes and grabs the manager I guess and he starts in on me for not moving. Okay, again I reiterate that I'm not blocking traffic. The car behind me is. Tell me why he kept raising his voice at me when I was LEGALLY parked? Completely rude and unprofessional management. There are no city ordinances that stated I had to move. The street is city property. I was parked LEGALLY to get my curbside order. Yet, their staff was absolutely miserable. Save yourself the headache of dealing with these people who don't know right hand from left hand and go somewhere else where there are professional staff. read more

Yes I know Michael's is a great place for a hotdog or a burger but consider a salad. Ye Olde Days of the Salad Bar are behind us and we may never see salad bars again. Consider a BYO salad that goes it one better. There are 13 choices for protein, 7 choices for salad, 22 dressings and, get this, 48 salad toppings. Of course you're not going to have 48 toppings, but you have choices! And chances are, these are toppings that you want on a salad. And what's better, you can choose if you want it chopped, not chopped, extra chopped, etc. I had my order delivered and it came fairly quickly. Quicker than I could make a monster salad that is chock full o veggies and toppings myself. Quicker than it would take me to chop all these veggies. Since I'm so virtuous I also added 1/2 fries 1/2 sweet potato fries and these held up pretty well. read more

Michael's - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

What's the point of having chopped be an option if you're not going to chop the salads? I even wrote to chop the salad jn the bites because they didn't the previous time and yet again didn't. read more

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Great place to stop for lunch. If you're looking for the best chicken Cesar wrap in Illinois this is the place. My go to order is a chicken Cesar wrap, side of fries and merkts cheese. Definitely a HP staple! read more

Michael's - Chicken Cesar wrap, Cheese Fries - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

My husband and I stopped in when we were looking for a place for dinner in Highland Park and I mentioned it had been years since I had eaten at Michael's. The restaurant has been reconfigured and updated since I last visited. The decor is modern and comfortable. It was a nice evening so we took advantage of their outdoor seating. The service is efficient and friendly. One worker was running non-stop to bring cars their orders. My husband had the double turkey burger with regular fries and I had the grilled chicken sandwich with cheese fries. I found the food to be good but not what I remembered it being. That being said there were no shortage of cars coming to pick up orders so it's no surprise Michael's will soon celebrate 50 years in business. read more

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Why would one buy a successful business like Michael's was and then completely change it. In the end only relying on the good name. It makes absolutely no sense. But that is what happened with this restaurant and it's a real shame. The prior Michael's had scrumptious food but that is no more. So sad! read more

We used to eat here as kids and I remember getting the cheese fries. I ordered them and it was just ok. I got the cheese on side. It was about $1.50 for a small thing of cheese that was kinda like paste. It took 18 minutes to get my food. It was just me and I got a hot dog, cheese fries and a shake. They brought my food but forgot shake. The food was ok but the bun a bit hard. Maybe a bit stale? Not steamed. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Most of the seating doesn't have any natural light.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] One of the workers was in the restroom when I used it. It was around $16 bucks for the meal. read more

Michael's - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

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I've lived in this area for a very long time and come to Michael's often because the food is decent. However, I will never be coming here again as I was charged four dollars for a Coke. I'm fairly certain that Coke does not figure in for a tariff, which means that they are gouging their customers. Maybe the rest of my neighbors don't seem to care, to me it's ridiculous. read more

Michael's - Coke, 24oz Fountain - $4.00. - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

As a Highland Park staple, I was excited to come back after moving to Minnesota! Objectively, Michael's is nothing too special - a suburban version of a classic Chicago hot dog/fast casual joint with the addition of a good salad selection. But what keeps people coming is the HP spirit and nostalgia. I had the Asian salad, chopped & dressed. It tasted the same as it did when I grew up! It's nothing crazy/special, but was a wonderful light dinner. We sat outside on a beautiful summer night. It was great that they bring your food straight outside - except I feel a bit of the ambiance is ruined by curbside orders being next to the tables and having employees running food out every minute. Overall, fine food & good for the nostalgia - but nothing I would recommend to an out-of-towner. read more

Michael's - Asian Salad - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

75% of the time when I order curbside, they do not come out and my order is incorrect. I keep paying money for my order to come wrong everytime. read more

So frustrating to drive 25 minutes to order food and get home and realize that my order wasn't even right. I could tell as I was ordering my salad that the kid taking my order wasn't even listening and lo and behold, I was right. I was missing 5 different items I asked for in my salad. Not only that, but the fries I ordered were way overcooked. Really disappointing considering how good the salads and service used to be here. I'm done spending my money here anymore when they can't be bothered to get it right. read more

We started with their Vanilla Malt with Sprinkles, it was solid and standard. Next I also wanted to try something from the salad bar, so I had a Caesar salad Wrap with Chicken in a Spinach Tortilla. The wrap was great and all of the proper ratios in my opinion as well as the size of it being generous as well. Next a couple of the sides we had were the loaded fries and the mike's bites which both have their own premium melting cheese. The melting cheese was sharp, and I was more partial to the Mike's Bites because of the crispy potatoes being a better base for the cheese, but loaded fries were decent as well. The jumbo chili cheese dog was charred perfectly, and genuinely I think they do their hotdogs better than their burgers. The Diner Burger I tried was chargrilled which is not my preference, I'd prefer if it had some more uniqueness in flavor profile, but essentially it is exactly what it is, a simple diner burger. Overall, I'd come back for the hotdog and the caesar wrap read more

Michael's - Jumbo Chili Cheese Dog - Hot Dogs Near Me - Highland Park, Illinois

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I have no real complaints about the food tho you need to know what to order and what to avoid. It's certainly not what it used to be: chicken sandwiches and hamburgers are not made-to-order but instead, are pre-made with add-ons allowed. If you want a really dry chicken sandwich, this is your place. As for service, ha! It's beyond atrocious. Curbside pick-up means pick up inside the restaurant. They will not come to you unless they deem your parking spot to be one of their curbside pick-up spots. You can honk. You can roll down your windows. No matter. Not in one of maybe three spaces? Out of luck. This matters because other customers are not nice! They're aggressive troublemakers. And the restaurant managers/owners couldn't care less. So. Where to go? Any take out joint would be better. For salads, go to Dengeo's in Northbrook or to Once upon a Bagel in Highland Park, right around the corner. The sad truth is that this place has had its day, and it should have closed years ago. Avoid. Zero stars. read more

I'm done with Michael's. Multiple times we have received the wrong food. No one enforces the curbside pickup spots out front, so you have to drive around the block hoping someone comes back to their car (tonight an unoccupied Range Rover was parked in one of the spots for the 30+ minutes I spent trying to get the correct food). Salads and wraps are still fine, but grill items have not been good lately (maybe that's because we usually do carry-out/delivery and they don't travel well). It's just not worth the hassle anymore and staff seem checked out and unconcerned about complaints. Maybe they should have kept their Covid-era limited hours, because it is no longer a place to pick up a reliably quick, tasty weeknight dinner for the family. read more

Michaels Food Truck in Deerfield at a Concert Event was exceptional. Professional, friendly service...and the cheeseburgers were perfectly cooked. The large fresh tasting french fries were so good, we could hardly get to the hamburgers ! When you get great food at a fair price with friendly service it's rememberable. Made my evening ! read more

Food truck was terrible and I assume it similar quality food in-store. Charbroiled burger and unremarkable fries. Cheddar sauce with too much rue. read more

Michaels used to be an outstanding place to eat, high quality food, reasonably priced. I could give you examples of where their prices have doubled but that's not what prompted me to write today. I used to live their Asain Salad, chopped. The snap pass, for a long time now, are not edible, stringy... no snap, not at all sweet. If you add chicken to the salad... it's $20. Twenty? I'm tired of greed-flation, being taken advantage of. I know a $12 Asian Salad with sweet peas that snap, aren't stringy like an old carpet. The chicken breast sandwich used to be $8.95, now it's TWICE. I'm sorry, I'm done with Michael's. read more

Haven't been to Michael's for years, but my husband and I were in Highland Park today for the Port Clinton Art Fest, so we decided to go remembering great meals having good meals there in the past. Many reviews here say that the food is bad. That was not our experience...my husband ordered a jumbo char dog with a half order of fries and I ordered the char turkey burger with Merkt's cheese and an order of onion rings. Both meals were tasty...and the fries and onion rings were crisp. The prices are indeed high...for example, my burger with the cheese was $10 and the onion rings added another $5. Those are sit-down restaurant prices! But food prices have been going up lately, so it was not as shocking to see higher prices as some have mentioned. We ate outside, but I came back into the dining several times for water refills and to use the washroom. My biggest complaint is that they had a half dozen television sets in the dining room and half of them were tuned to Fox News! I think that it's in bad taste to show any politically-motivated news programming (Fox, CNN, etc.) in a family restaurant. Why does this restaurant need to wear its political affiliation on its sleeve and turn off half of its customers? Seems like a bad business move to me. Michael's is worth a try if you're in the area, but I would not go out of my way for it. And if your political affiliation leans toward the left, avoid the televisions in the dining room! read more

The mighty have fallen. Soggy lettuce in the $9 salad. Ants crawling on the floor in the dining area. Get it together. 30 year customer who for the first time was turned off. The well oiled machine needs help. UPDATE 6 years later than above post. It's worse. It's more expensive. It's greasier. It's just not good anymore. If you want a better, more authentic hot dog experience, head over to Deerfield "franks" It's a shame that top quality Michael's of our childhood is gone. read more

My out-of-towner go-to on North Shore - a charred jumbo dog, Chgo style (everything but ketchup) and a mountain of crispy fries. Whenever possible, outdoors. Bliss. read more

Here's what you need to know : food is just OK. Always has been just serviceable. Ambiance is improved since they re-did the interior a couple years ago, but ultimately unmemorable. The service was decent and friendly (we went at 3PM on a weekday when the restaurant was empty). What got me was that a single kids soft serve ice cream scoop (think McDonald sized) with sprinkles was over $5. WHAT?? There is no value or justification for the pricing for a commoditized product like vanilla soft serve. No added skill or value add from the restaurant. I'm more than happy to generously compensate a restaurant for their IP of service or anything that they do by themselves. But $5 for a kids soft serve with sprinkles in Highland Park at a casual grill?? Unjustified. The only reason I'm not giving 2 stars is they are a family owned business read more

Quick, tasty, salads are very fresh. My daughter says their burgers are fabulous. Delivery takes things down a notch, fries are inedible and sometimes condiments are forgotten. read more

Michael's has really changed in the past few years. I have been going there since I was a child, but it has gone downhill. The layout doesn't make any sense. I loved when I used to be able to see the salad bar in front of me while I ordered so I could ingredients as they went down the line. The last time I went here, i ordered carry out and the order was so wrong it was laughable. They got the gist of 2 burgers, a hot dog and 3 orders of fries.. but the toppings on each were no where near what I ordered. Unfortunately I didn't notice this until I got home and had to go back to have it all remade. The manager didn't seem at all concerned except for the fact that I received 2 hot dogs instead of the 1 that I had ordered. The redeeming quality of Michael's is that their burgers, fries, and salad ingredients are still good. The service is not. read more

Not the same as it used to be AT all. One cashier now, towards the back of the shop, taking orders. Slow very slow. Doordash etc pick up in the front ( again only one person checking orders) ( makes zero sense) Prices are outrageous- small salad and drink: 19.00. WTF. They probably Instituted these changes due to Covid, but they need to go back to the way it used to be or at least add more cash registers. Oh, and revisit their pricing. read more

HP must go - there is a reason it's been around forever. Best salad and cheese fries in all of IL. Service is great [[HIGHLIGHT]]place is clean[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] and food is incredible read more

What happened to this place? Cashier was begging for a tip. Michael's needs to go back to the way it was! During the week this place closes at 7 & on a Saturday night they were closing at 7:30 pm. I'm so disappointed in this place . Highland Park is clueless. Stores moving out & the old staples have changed owners. Beyond disappointed in Michael's! read more

Had major sticker shock at Michaels- prices are very high with food being nothing special. Person at the register was not the friendliest.. i know its Northshore but prices are absurd read more

A friend just introduced me to Michael's for their chopped salads to-go. It was life changing. Unlimited toppings for a medium sized salad, all chopped together to perfection-- perfect bite of salad with every bite. All ordered ahead by my friend and ready for pickup! It is not easy eating healthy during quarantine times, and sure I put bacon on my salad, but I felt super healthy eating a big chopped salad for my lunch! read more

Solid BYO salad with a ton of ingredients throughout. Every bite was delightful. Next time I won't include peppercinis. I preferred the ranch dressing to blue cheese. The hot dog was tasty, but not my favorite in the area. Maybe better fresh and not as a take out. Same with the fries. Definitely will order the salad next time I am in the area! read more

Waste of $ and disappointed given high reviews. Ordered 2 chicken wraps (Caesar and California) and both came without chicken.

Generally really good food. Old diner vibes. The cheese they use is really an acquired taste. My parents love it but it makes my friends sick. Great salads, get to pick tons of toppings and they're massive. Fast service generally. read more

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After hearing Michael's being compared to Josh's of Northbrook and Teddyfabz (or Cookers) of Deerfield, I was excited to try this restaurant that is popular with my friends in Highland park. Some of the good things: The restaurant is quite large, has a good variety of menu items, and is located conveniently in downtown Highland Park. However, the food is where it fell short for me. First in price, being much too expensive for what I was getting (averaged around $12 a person) with mediocre portion sizes. Value aside, there was nothing special about the food that really made me really crave more a few days later. The burger was fairly plain, lacking juiciness and char that I'd find in a Portillos burger. The fries were very plain, crispy but bland. The skirt steak sandwich was juicy, but this may have been more due to the sauce than to the actual meat. For this price, I could've gotten a full steak elsewhere. The Italian Beef was piled on with tons of beef, but the flavor and texture was once again lacking. The hot dog was probably the best item I tried, a more neat, presentable, and refined version of the classic Chicago favorite. The flavor combination wasn't perfect but it was still a satisfying hot dog. Overall, not a bad place to get a meal if you're in the Highland Park area (you can't expect any restaurant here to be that cheap), but there's nothing particularly special about the food. read more

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