Chicago Louie’s Is Making Sandwiches You Can’t Refuse

We’ve been waiting for this a long time, folks! Chef Michou of Chicago Louie’s first contacted us over the summer and we’ve been eagerly awaiting their emergence onto the street food scene ever since.  Below is a guest post from our partner in crime, Len, who runs the Denver Street Food Facebook page. Len braved the bitter cold on New Year’s Eve to catch Chicago Louie’s on their maiden voyage. A HUGE thanks to Len for helping DenverStreetFood.com ring in the new year with such an awesome post and pix. I owe you a pizza and a beer!

It’s just after midnight on New Year’s Eve, the temperature is four degrees and there is a black & white paddy wagon parked outside of a bar at 11th & Lincoln. However instead of hauling drunken late night revelers off to the pokey, this paddy wagon is feeding them. This is Chicago Louie’s “Paddy Wagon”, Denver’s newest gourmet food truck, and this is its inaugural run.

The creation of several investors led by Chef Michel Wahaltere, or “Chef Michou” as he’s affectionately known, Chicago Louie’s dishes up many varieties of American regional and international specialty sausages, sliders, soups, and sides which are, as their motto states, “TO DIE FOR”.

I stopped by shortly after the New Year began to check out the truck and meet Chef Michou in person for the first time. It took a little time to find some parking; but I noticed as I circled the block a couple of times that, even in the bitter cold, there were people constantly at the paddy wagon’s window. After introducing myself to the chef and placing my order, he invited me to take a look around inside while my order was being prepared.

The truck, which was built by master builder Chuck Courter and his crew at Team 20, LLC, had just been completed and handed over to Chef Michou at around 4:00 PM that day. By 8:00 the chef was stocking the truck with food and supplies, and shortly thereafter Chicago Louie’s Paddy Wagon was open and ready to sell its first sausage; all in time to welcome the New Year. The truck looks great inside and out and was running like an old pro by the time I arrived.

Chicago Louie’s menu is inspired by sausage specialties from around the U.S. and Europe; think of it as European gastropub meets American hot dog cart. As the name implies, the paddy wagon has a special affinity for the city of Chicago; its food, and its history as a hotbed of organized crime. Many of the menu items share their names with some of history’s most notorious gangsters…Al Capone, Lucky Luciano, Baby Face Nelson and others (It can be said that Chicago Louie’s is the first paddy wagon in history to contain such a litany of notorious criminals).

I ordered The Bugsy Siegel – a smoked beef-pork Polish sausage topped with grilled onions, sport peppers and yellow mustard, served on a steamed bun – inspired by Chicago’s famed Maxwell Street Polish. The sausage, hot off the grill, was flavorful and just slightly spicy; the grilled onions were delicious and retained a slight crunch and, combined with the sport peppers and mustard, delivered an all-around great sandwich. A taste you’d have to drive over a thousand miles to otherwise experience.

There were many other menu items that I’d have liked to try but it was very late and very cold and a food truck kitchen can only hold so many people at one time. I thanked Chef Michou and the crew for showing me around and retreated back to the warmth of my own car to finish off my sandwich, but I’m certain I’ll be back. I am happy to welcome the Chicago Louie’s Paddy Wagon to the swelling ranks of Denver’s food truck scene and thankful to Chef Michou and his crew for their hospitality.

You can keep track of where the Chicago Louie’s Paddy Wagon will be “on the scene” through their Facebook and Twitter pages.

Thanks again, Len. And just one last note: How freaking awesome is it that Chef Michou gave props to Chuck and his minions by crediting their awesomeness in the wicked paint job on the truck itself? Check this out!