BJ’s Hotdog Shoppe

Kudos, Brian R.
You trying to get me fat?
Another great tip.
Shortly after my visit to Mobil Mini Pac Grill, Brian tipped me off on this place. He knows his hole in the wall, down home, gut bomb places. Figured I had consumed enough calories at Mobil Mini that I should sit it out for a little while.
Had an errand on Suburban today and checked my Unilocal mobile app and saw that BJ’s was nearby. Decided today was the day to loosen the belt a notch and get some tasty, tasty grub.
The place is a little tricky to find. I drive this stretch of Suburban somewhat frequently, and I never knew it was there and they have been open for two years now according to the owner (I am guessing) whom I met today. Drove past it twice before finding it. It is behind the Family Dollar just east of the TCF and across from the ALDI. Glad that I was persistent.
Ordered the Italian Combo. BJ, I presume, said I have two questions for you. Fire away (there were actually four questions). First, do you want your bun dipped in the Au Jus? Thought I would be driving it all the way back to RF so decided against the dip as I did not want a totally soggy mess when I got home. Second, what kind of cheese do you want? There were about five choices. Went with the Provolone. Third, onions: raw or sauteed or none? Sauteed, please. Fourth, what add on veggies do you want? Went with just sweet peppers.
BJ showed me the final product which met with my approval. Decided I could not wait to get back to RF to eat this sinfully good creation. Paid $ 8.44 and took it out to my car and ate it Best Daym Takeout style. As Adam Richman would say, OH MY GOODNESS! Yeah, that is what my Doctor told me not to order. Why do Doctors always have to be such killjoys?
Quickly scanned the reviews for the ratings just now before writing my review. Of the non-​filtered, there are three fours and ten fives (now 11). If you are within five miles and have time and an appetite, check it out. 14 Unilocalers can’t be wrong!

Well, I finally got the BJ’s I was yearning for. It was 8 inches of hot juicy meat. Italian meat. I still think about it…
The people that run this joint are astoundingly cool. Like, invite to your wedding cool. Like, sneak into their pool party and they let you stay and drink their beer cool. Super helpful, super friendly and super don’t give a shit ’bout nothing but making your hungry ass happy. Gotta give them props for their customer service. It’s top notch.
The food is everything that was promised.
I’ve been burned, man. I’ve been burned bad. My girlfriend and I made the mistake of going to Chris and Rob’s Chicago Barf Authority (pseudonym used for the safety of the offenders). It was a sloppy, lukewarm disaster. I suppose there is a chance it was a one time thing, but we will never be back to find out.
BJ’s was nothing like that experience. The dipped Italian sandwich was hot, flavorful and juicy, but not soggy. The man is a master at dipping the meat. Kudos to that guy, kudos.
Great food and great people making the food. Not to mention that since we went in while they were in the process of closing, we got to see them scrub stuff clean. It’s always good to know your food is safe for consumption.
Definitely give this place a go.

Without BJ’s, there’s no love.
I’ve been painstakingly adapting a screenplay ever since I ate here the other evening (keep an eye out for me at Sundance).
_​_​_​
*an enormous mass of white doves fight their way to the skies, their wings clashing violently together before the scene fades to a man and a woman sitting at a dirty vintage kitchen table*
«Oh, my darling, I love you so deeply.»
«But… if you love me, why haven’t you given me BJ’s?»
«…W-​what?!»
«Giving me BJ’s would prove you loved me!»
«YOU FILTHY MANPIG! I SCRUB MY HANDS OF THEE.»
«…But! My… my hot Italian beef…»
*cut scene to a depressed smoking clown tandem biking with a mime*
~ LA FIN ~
_​_​_​
Who knows, maybe I’ll Shyamalan the ending. Stay tuned.
Seriously, though. If Brian R. recommends going somewhere to any of you, you go. YOU GO NOW.
We were immediately greeted with huge smiles when we came wandering in about ten ’til 7pm, unaware they were soon to be closing. We almost left when we found out (no one wants to deal with those asshole last millisecond customers) but they more than insisted we stay.
The guy took the time to explain the menu with a smile and give us a couple generous shots o’ Italian beef.
Though these in and of themselves are clinically proven to cure veganism, they offer a veggie sandwich (he said his wife makes a kick ass one – I’ll never be able to testify to that). I went in wanting a hot dog, but after taking that meaty shot, I knew I was walking out of there with a giant Italian beef.
Jenny concurred and, being ravenous, we decided to get a chili cheese dog to split as well.
We both went with a light dip on the bread (highly recommended if you want the flavor but not ridiculous sogginess) and opted for no cheese like idiots.
I got copious amounts of fried and raw onions as well as jalapenos on mine. Jenny ended up getting sweet peppers and a myriad of other veggies (she likes all that fresh tasting stuff).
It would be prudent to note that, the whole time they were prepping our food, they were laughing and joking with us and we weren’t made to feel rushed at any point. I genuinely appreciated this and the quality of the service very much reminded me of Cecil’s in the sense that they all seemed very genuine, hardworking and polite without all the frilly bullshit.
I must confess that I’ve never had an Italian beef sandwich before, though I’ve spent many moments licking the TV when one has made an appearance on the screen. I’m so glad this was my first one.
It was loaded with tender, perfectly seasoned, paper-​thin slices of beef and the two types of onions really elevated the flavors instead of drowning them out. I like a little kick, and the jalapenos were just enough to spice it up though, as a whore for dairy, I found myself missing cheese. Don’t get me wrong – it was delicious without it – but we both agreed we’d be bigger fatties from now on.
The hotdog we split was good, too, though I agree with a couple other reviewers that stated they like more of a snap to their dog. Regardless, all the toppings (chili, cheese sauce, onions and mustard) were in perfect proportion to one another and the bun was buttery soft. I think I found a new place to quell my hotdog cravings. The lady that prepped it and wrapped it up took so much care in doing so that it made me feel good to see someone taking such pride in their product. Not a drop of cheese or chili strayed from that dog and ended up on the bag because she took the time to do it right even though they were seconds from being closed.
It’s a small thing, yes, but I know a good number of businesses that could benefit from taking notes, and I’m sure you guys do too.
Truthfully, if you love good honest food prepared by good honest people, you absolutely can’t pass this place up. You’ll walk out of here with a smile on your face, guaranteed, and a newfound passion for beef.

A Little Slice of Chicago on the East Side of St. Paul!
BJ’s is a tiny, nondescript, kinda hard-​to-​find place tucked away in a strip mall off of 94 and White Bear Ave across from Byerly’s. Don’t let that slow you down. If you’ve got a hankering for real Italian Beef or a Chicago-​style hot dog, this is the place!
I had the Italian beef, dunked in a nice au jus, with sweet peppers, onions and a sprinkle of celery salt (I passed on the cheese). The owner is a sweet woman who offered me a taste before making up my mind.
I’ve had Italian beef at places all over Chicago, and this ranks right up there! Tender meat with savory au jus that wasn’t salty at all. Then the owner let me in the secret: she and her husband are originally from Joliet! Well, they make food like true Chicago-​ans, and it’s wonderful to be able to get authentic Chicago-​style food in St. Paul.
Oh, and she makes all of the desserts too, and the caramel cake will have me coming back for more!

I used to live in Chicago and have eaten a lot of Italian beef. This place definitely has the Best Italian Beef the Twin Cities! I ordered the Italian beef combo with the sausage, of course with Giardenera peppers and cheese sauce. It was huge! Not only was the food out of this world the owners were some of the nicest people I’ve ever met. This blows Chris and Rob’s and Uncle Frankys outta the water!

We (my wife and I) had been looking for a really good Chicago Hot dog and other then at the Fair had not found one. Some had promise like Sonics but they were always mushy from the bun absorbing moisture by the time we got them unwrapped.
Any way after driving by the address for BJ’s about 4 – 5 time and not seeing it I happened to get stopped at the light in front of the building its located in and noticed for the 1^st time there was a whole side to the building I hadnt noticed. DuhHHHHH, not to quick on the uptake here. So I turned in the next day and Wow there is nothing here that isnt good.
Ive been back like maybe 6 – 7 times and had something different each time. First off the guy who owns it is super friendly. He and his family (looks to be a family operation with maybe a few employees) keep this place spotless. They are always cleaning when they arnt serving peole. There are Pioneer press papers on all the tables. The combinations are endless starting with the filling you want for your sandwich then adding condiments from a seemingly endless array. He has like 3 different pepper combinations. But to simplifiy this if you cant find a combination that you like here then your either Vegan (fine by me, your choice, leaves more for us carnivores) or you are not tryining.
One thing did piss me off one day I was there. Some one had thrown a brick through the front window and they had a Glass company replacing the glass. I couldnt wrap my head around that this was simply a random act of violence as the owner was reporting. First of all there was no destruction anywhere else to any of the neighboring business’s or buildings. And it obvious that some one had targeted this families business since you literally have to know where this place is or be intentionally looking for it to find it. So I am convinced the owner was soft balling this to not worry any customers but he had to know some one was jealous of his success and violent in their actions and desperations. Oh yeah did I mention the color of the owner skin. NO I DIDNT AND IT DOESNT MATTER. Senseless violence is just that senseless and should be uiniversally condemened.
Ok off my small soap box there.
Go try this place. I am pretty sure you will like it.
Dave K

We checked out BJ’s for the first time yesterday evening. It had been on our list for a long time (I’m a sucker for a Chicago-​style hot dog), but I wish we had made it there sooner!
The hot dog itself was OK… I was a little disappointed that the hot dog was not made with a natural casing. But that little nitpick was more than made up for by the sweet, friendly owners. It felt like we had walked into their home, rather than a restaurant. They chatted comfortably with us, gave us our food and waved our money away until we’d been able to sit down and enjoy a few bites.
The sign out front advertises «Best Italian Beef in the Twin Cities». Bold claim, right? So I had to call them on it. The owner served me up an enormous sandwich full of flavorful, tender beef, giardiniera (a spicy pepper & vegetable mix), sauteed onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and cheese, all dunked in warm au jus and topped with celery salt. I have seriously never had a sandwich like this… and it was less than $ 7. Definitely skip the hot dog, and just ask for the Italian beef with everything.
I haven’t explored all the famous Italian beef places in Chicago, but as far as I can see, BJ’s lived up to the bold claim on their sign.