Email from Hecky's: The "Mutt" Special is Back.

Just received an email from Hecky's. Thought I would share:

Damn! I was going to post on this, but you beat me to it!

Is this special at both locations?

Hecky's thanks you both for helping promote his business.

Now to make this post truly an Eating in Chicagoland worthy post, I challenge you both to order it, eat it and report back!

Frankly it looks like a deal because all those things are a la carte at Hecky's plus a drink was pushing $10 and you needed buddies to help eat it. However, maybe this $5 lunch is more a sampler quantity and not quite enough for lunch? Let us know.

Hecky's promotional items and other coupon alerts are very welcome on Useful STuff Coupons and Time-Limited Deals

Cathy2 wrote:Now to make this post truly an Eating in Chicagoland worthy post, I challenge you both to order it, eat it and report back!

Frankly it looks like a deal because all those things are a la carte at Hecky's plus a drink was pushing $10 and you needed buddies to help eat it. However, maybe this $5 lunch is more a sampler quantity and not quite enough for lunch? Let us know.

Obviously, a number of us did try it today for lunch. For those who weren't there, it ain't nothing like a sampler platter. Think Rosebud-sized plates of pasta, except mostly meat, not pasta. Hecky stopped by for while, and virtually admitted that he's not making any money on the Mutt Special "but sometimes you do something just for fun - it's not always about making money." I think CrazyC was right when she suggested Hecky might be using it to see what response he's getting to his e-mail program, particularly because it's not listed on the menu anywhere in the restaurant. You have to ask for a Mutt.

nr706 wrote:I think CrazyC was right when she suggested Hecky might be using it to see what response he's getting to his e-mail program, particularly because it's not listed on the menu anywhere in the restaurant. You have to ask for a Mutt.

Sorry... I believe it was Cathy2 that made that comment... =) Cathy2, CrazyC...

Apologies to Cathy, then. My mind was on the food, not the appropriate attributions.

nr706 wrote:

Cathy2 wrote:Now to make this post truly an Eating in Chicagoland worthy post, I challenge you both to order it, eat it and report back!

Frankly it looks like a deal because all those things are a la carte at Hecky's plus a drink was pushing $10 and you needed buddies to help eat it. However, maybe this $5 lunch is more a sampler quantity and not quite enough for lunch? Let us know.

Obviously, a number of us did try it today for lunch. For those who weren't there, it ain't nothing like a sampler platter. Think Rosebud-sized plates of pasta, except mostly meat, not pasta. Hecky stopped by for while, and virtually admitted that he's not making any money on the Mutt Special "but sometimes you do something just for fun - it's not always about making money." I think CrazyC was right when she suggested Hecky might be using it to see what response he's getting to his e-mail program, particularly because it's not listed on the menu anywhere in the restaurant. You have to ask for a Mutt.

nr706,
At which location did you have your lunch? I plan on going this weekend and want to be at the right place. Is this a lunch special or can you order the mutt special anytime? Thanks

We were at the "real" Hecky's in Evanston. (Reports are that the one on Halsted isn't as good - I believe CrazyC said that, and I'm reasonably sure of my attribution this time.) I don't know if it's also available for dinner, but it's worth asking.

Hi,

When I met up with everybody the other day at Hecky's, I also made a last minute invite to a friend. Who should arrive first? My friend, whom I asked to order two Mutts. She read the complete menu, looked at all the specials, then called me back to report there is no Mutt. "Oh, then it must be an e-mail only special, just go ahead and order two Mutts!" "No, I'll wait for you."

I arrived at the same time as CrazyC, GAF and The French Couple. We laughed when it occured to us 'The Mutt' was a really secret menu item, then ordered 6 sets for the grand price of $5.44 each, with nr706 to follow soon after to order a seventh Mutt.

Each Mutt included two large chicken wings, a really hot link (just under the top chicken wing), a whole mess of tips, fries, a piece of Wonder bread and a drink. Each carry out carton weighed several pounds with enough food to very generously feed two people:

My only quibble is really my error, I should have asked for sauce on the side.

Once we had our food, we trooped over to the other Hecky's secret: a small dimly lit (hence the flash) dining room just west of his corner entry.

This is a transitory deal which may disapeer at the owner's discretion.

Hecky's Barbeque
1902 Green Bay Road
Evanston, IL 60201
847-492-1182

I had this for lunch on Friday, it was great. Not the best BBQ in Chicago but easily the best BBQ deal. Plus, it's 5 minutes from my house:)

Not the best BBQ in Chicago but easily the best BBQ deal.

Precisely!

Hi,

When I met up with everybody the other day at Hecky's, I also made a last minute invite to a friend. Who should arrive first? My friend, whom I asked to order two Mutts. She read the complete menu, looked at all the specials, then called me back to report there is no Mutt. "Oh, then it must be an e-mail only special, just go ahead and order two Mutts!" "No, I'll wait for you."

I arrived at the same time as CrazyC, GAF and The French Couple. We laughed when it occured to us 'The Mutt' was a really secret menu item, then ordered 6 sets for the grand price of $5.44 each, with nr706 to follow soon after to order a seventh Mutt.

It might have been a secret menu item then, but it certainly isnt anymore - there
is a big sign out in the window (readable even if youre just driving past)
advertising the "Mutt Special" (and the tag line "Free at last, free at last").
There isnt much sign of it inside, but for a little scrawl in chalk on the
little blackboard thing where they scribble their specials (the specials all
looked almost rubbed-out by the end of the day, but the Mutt was listed
first among all of them).

Each Mutt included two large chicken wings, a really hot link (just under the top chicken wing), a whole mess of tips, fries, a piece of Wonder bread and a drink. Each carry out carton weighed several pounds with enough food to very generously feed two people:

My only quibble is really my error, I should have asked for sauce on the side.

Made the same sauce error myself, unfortunately (hadnt read your post then). I
will disagree with your bit about "enough food to very generously feed two
people" - it was a pretty good deal IMHO, but I did finish it all by my lonesome
and without too much trouble at that

It is a good deal, however, and maybe one of the best around (and definitely the
most convenient, being in Evanston). Iam still partial to BA's however - better
BBQ all around IMHO, and for 9.52 there you get two links (better and maybe
each twice the size of Hecky's link), and probably more than twice as many tips
as in this particular Hecky's order... minus wings, minus drink, plus slaw.
There are fries in both orders (BA's fries are very ordinary, Hecky's fries, on
a couple of occasions when I havent gotten them doused in sauce, are
usually much better).

The Mutt is a better "special" by far however - Hecky's is in general a lot
more expensive than BA's, so this is a bigger reduction in price for them.

c8w

speaking of specials in this area, if anyone shops at Jewel in the Evanston area, you should take a look at the receipt coupons - Evanston Chicken shack started including their buy one four-piece meal, get one free coupons on these - this may be a better deal even than the Hecky's mutt

I have also seen Evanston Chicken Shack coupons in those envelope coupon mailers (valumailer or whatever they're called). Also usually has a Kabul house coupon in there too. Next time I get one I'll post to the special deals area!

Out of the blue I stopped by Hecky's on Sunday and they still have the Mutt special. I ordered the Mutt special. Not ever seeing this msg thread I thought for $5 it would be a sampler size and so I made the mistake and ordered 2 Mutts. That was a mistake because in 1 mutt special there is enough food to feed 2 people.

I think the quality is not as good as Honey 1 but for $5 it is by far the best deal in probably all of the Chicago land area!

/polster

Well I order the Mutt Special a few months back and It didn't look anything like that pick. Wings were smaller. Tips were lacking. Link was really hot. Maybe i got them at the wrong time.

From what I remember, their sauce was heavy on the brown spices, (nutmeg, clove like Russell's BBQ) and I'm not a fan of that.

gp60004 wrote:Well I order the Mutt Special a few months back and It didn't look anything like that pick. Wings were smaller. Tips were lacking. Link was really hot. Maybe i got them at the wrong time.

From what I remember, their sauce was heavy on the brown spices, (nutmeg, clove like Russell's BBQ) and I'm not a fan of that.

The mutt special is better ordered with sauce on the side. I agree the sauce is not the greatest, but for $5 this is the greatest deal for that much food in Chicago. There is no doubt the owner losing money when he sells these specials.

Doesn't really matter what a great value, just never been a fan of Hecky's. If I'm in a Q mood up in that area I like the rib tips of the BUFFALO JOE'S Howard Street location, but of course there are better tips elsewhere in Chicago.

polster wrote: There is no doubt the owner losing money when he sells these specials.

Funny. When I saw it, I had the opposite reaction, that he was racking in the $$$.

the breakdown would be:

1/2 lb tips @ $.79/lb = $.40
6-1 link @ $1.49/lb = $.25
1/4 lb wings @ $.98/lb = $.25


$ .90 raw food cost at a selling price of $5 isn't loosing money. Add in the upcharge for the drinkand bingo.

gp60004 wrote:

polster wrote: There is no doubt the owner losing money when he sells these specials.

Funny. When I saw it, I had the opposite reaction, that he was racking in the $$$.

the breakdown would be:

1/2 lb tips @ $.79/lb = $.40
6-1 link @ $1.49/lb = $.25
1/4 lb wings @ $.98/lb = $.25


$ .90 raw food cost at a selling price of $5 isn't loosing money. Add in the upcharge for the drinkand bingo.

Drink is included with the $5 price. I think your cost might or might not be on par. I just know the weight of the final product was about 2 lb.+.

oops...forgot the fries...another .25 cents.

well, those prices are pretty spot on.....5-.10 cent swing either way

Is it a can or a fountain drink? If the former, add $0.25. If the latter, add $0.10 or so.

And of course there are other costs, fuel for the smoker, fat for the fryer, staff wages, rent, and their ilk. Isn't raw ingredient cost normally 20% or so of the food cost anyway?

i believe average food cost is around 30%. higher for more upscale rest. And I do believe its a fountain but not for $.10 cents. Syrup prices have gone up as well.

Personally, I think it is a heck of a deal for $5 compared to what you get in most Chicagoland eateries ... who cares about the food cost. he is NOT making much money off of it.

Out of the blue I stopped by Hecky's on Sunday and they still have the Mutt special. I ordered the Mutt special. Not ever seeing this msg thread I thought for $5 it would be a sampler size and so I made the mistake and ordered 2 Mutts. That was a mistake because in 1 mutt special there is enough food to feed 2 people.

Ive read this comment 2 or 3 times now, and will reiterate my disagreement -
the Mutt Special is definitely not "sampler size", but IMHO it is also definitely
not "enough food for 2 people"!

Ive had lots of Mutt Specials now - its my go-to BBQ in some ways over the
past 3/4 months, simply because it is very convenient (and cheap). Ive probably
had near a dozen Mutts in the past few months. A few were just ordinary,
a few were decent, and a couple were very good - depending on the luck
of the day.

On weekends the quantity seems less - at least only the one or two occasions
Ive picked it up on a weekend it felt that way. Its sort of variable in quantity
anyway - usually a fair bit of food, on a couple of occasions maybe a tip or
two less than at other times. Always a decent amount of food - never ever
"sampler size", and 2 mutts for one person will always be excessive. But,
again... I personally have *never* been unable to finish a Mutt by myself, not
once (and thus in the case of this one person at least, a Mutt is sufficient food
for only one person

I think the quality is not as good as Honey 1 but for $5 it is by far the best deal in probably all of the Chicago land area!

/polster

Id say one of the better BBQ deals, yes - I wouldnt say *the* best myself.
Definitely a very good deal - the tip/link combo at Honey 1 for example has
about the same amount of food, and costs 10 bucks as opposed to
Hecky's Mutt costing half that amount (ie 5.44 with tax). Honey 1's tips are
far better than Hecky's usually, the link might be better at Hecky's (neither
is a great link IMHO, both are too smoothly-ground and like spicy dogs
almost... but Hecky's is spicier which is better to me). But Hecky's is
more convenient for me, and half the price, and so its not worth making the
trip to Honey 1 nearly as often.

OTOH, in the great old days at Barbara Ann's... does anyone know if theyve
opened again, BTW? Please please let us North Siders know if they have....
anyway, in those great old days at BA's, you could do a tip/link combo
which was spectacular. It was 9.52 with tax, and you got about twice the
amount of food you get in Hecky's Mutt (thus a better deal IMHO - now *that*
was enough food for 2 people Also, the tips were among the best in
town, Id say about as good as Honey 1's. And the links.... you got 2 big
fat links (as opposed to one small skinny link in the Mutt)... and those were
*the* best links on the face of the earth, bar none. Coarsely ground, flavourful,
spicy, with a snap to it when you bit in... if anyone could assure me of
similarly coarsely ground links anywhere in town that are still available
at any BBQ spot, Id promptly drive there this weekend (preferably within a
100 miles of Chicago please

Anyway. Hecky's Mutt *is* a very good deal, dont mean to suggest otherwise
(despite the above paen to BA's). I dont care nearly as much for their
Seafood-Mutt deal, however.

c8w

gleam wrote:Is it a can or a fountain drink? If the former, add $0.25. If the latter, add $0.10 or so.

And of course there are other costs, fuel for the smoker, fat for the fryer, staff wages, rent, and their ilk. Isn't raw ingredient cost normally 20% or so of the food cost anyway?

Its a fountain drink - can is not included in the price (they now serve a cream
soda at Hecky's, but when I asked they said that could be purchased
separately, not included in the "drink" that is part of the Mutt Special). The options
are like Nehi, Grapefruit Soda, Fruit Punch etc - all part of the fountain.

As for the cost above - I agree, in terms of food its not much at all. Total weight
might be 2 lbs plus as suggested - but thats including fries, which are a fair
bit (layer of fries under all the meat; if you get "fries separate" as I often
do, the quantity of the meat itself seems much less). 0.5 lbs tips etc may well
be about right, in terms of food.

Thus, I dont think Hecky is actually *losing* money on the Mutt at all - he is
still making money on it Id suspect, and probablya fair bit because it moves
*very* well, its a very popular item. Heck, Ive gone back for it far oftener
than for anything else at Hecky's myself. His rent etc is probably not
excessive, given his location in Evanston etc.

However, as for the deal... note, the amount of food in the Mutt is about as
much as in the Tip/Link combo at Honey 1 IMHO, and that costs about twice
as much. So, if the Mutt is still making money... how much more is Honey 1
making on their beloved tip/link combo?

c8w

I stopped in to get a Mutt yesterday and talked to Hecky for a minute. I also ordered a seafood Mutt to try. The Seafood mutt was not good, the shrimp were edible but the catfish had a nasty off taste. I'll chalk that up ot experience as it's been years since I've had catfish fried, it might just taste like that. The Mutt was very good as usual.

Hecky confirmed he has some misgivings about the Halsted St. location that he licensed his name to. He has been telling them how to do things but "they haven't been listening". He made a vague comment about possibly "taking it over" in the future to get the quality back to where he would like it but nothing definite.

Just drove past Hecky's this evening and according to a big window poster, the Mutt Special is here to stay!!! Take that, PC weenies on the Evanston School Board!
>>Brent

Driving by Hecky's this afternoon I noticed a sign in the window for an "Obama Mutt" (it's the chosen one!)

The Obama Mutt is the same as the Mutt, but with barbecued moose ( ). (It is actually the renamed Mutt).