Dog Day at BrightSide: The BrightSide × Chaatdog Collab

Regular readers know I can’t stay away from BrightSide Kitchen on McClure Ave. (See my Bright-O Bagels post and the Temaki Party.) Josh and his crew are always cooking up something different, and on September 2 it was hot dogs: a special lunch called BrightSide via Brooklyn. BrightSide opened for an extra day that Wednesday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., for a collab with Chaat Dog in Brooklyn. While Chaat Dog served a Dirty Curry Dog special at its Time Out Market shop in New York, BrightBird served the same dog right here in Peoria. Same hot dog, two cities, same day. As BrightSide put it: “Brooklyn gets a Dirty Curry Dog. Peoria gets a Dirty Curry Dog. Everybody wins.” Margaret and I weren’t about to miss it.

Chaat Dog is a Desi-American street food spot out of Time Out Market in Brooklyn. Founder Pervaiz Shallwani mashes up his Chicago-area childhood and his Pakistani heritage: think an all-beef hot dog topped with chaat, the savory street snack found all over Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. Seeing that idea land on McClure Ave, by way of BrightBird’s kitchen, was a treat.

The collab was Drop 13 of Chaat Dog’s “Hot Dog with Friends” series, where guest chefs create their own dog. Josh flew all the way from Peoria to Brooklyn for it, and the Dirty Curry Dog is his creation: a mix of his Peoria roots and the Japanese flavors and techniques he picked up working at SingleThread Farms in California. It ran at Time Out Market through September 6, with one day only back home at BrightSide.

The Menu

The lineup was short and sweet, and every dog came with a side of homemade ripple chips:

• Dirty Curry Dog: Vienna Beef hot dog, American cheese, Guinness onion jam, housemade Japanese curry, jalapeño relish, crispy onion, and fries
• Chicago Dog: Vienna Beef hot dog, tomato, relish, sport peppers, “bird dust,” celery salt, and a pickle on a potato bun
• BrightBird Loaded Waffle Fries

Certified halal hot dogs were available too, which is a nice touch.

The Dirty Curry Dog

I went straight for the Dirty Curry Dog, and Chaat Dog called it a “multi-napkin dog” for good reason. The hot dog is wrapped in American cheese, then topped with a Guinness-laced caramelized onion jam (a beer tie-in, so you know I approve), French fries, a potato-apple-ginger Japanese curry, jalapeño relish, and a pile of crispy fried onions. It’s flavor on top of flavor on top of flavor. Or, as Josh puts it, “it’s all about the surprises.” You need both hands and a stack of napkins for this one.

A Chicago Dog with a Twist

Margaret went with the Chicago Dog, with all the classic fixings plus a dusting of BrightBird’s “bird dust” seasoning and bright green relish. It’s a Chicago dog, but with a little BrightSide swagger.

Don’t Skip the Fries

And then there were the BrightBird Loaded Waffle Fries: a basket of crispy waffle fries buried under chicken, drizzled sauces, and fresh herbs.

BrightBird Loaded Waffle Fries

The Takeaway

Josh is always traveling to find new inspiration for his food. He heads to New York every so often, and I know that’s where some of his bagel menu ideas come from. This collaboration with Chaat Dog was phenomenal, and I’m looking forward to more menu items and special one-offs like this.

This is the type of food I live for: fresh and different. The specials are always rotating, but there’s a backbone of solid go-to items waiting for you whenever you stop by. Keep an eye on BrightSide’s Instagram, because when something like this pops up, you go.

BrightSide Kitchen
106 E. McClure Ave, Peoria, IL
brightside.kitchen · Instagram

Chaat Dog
Time Out Market, Brooklyn, NY
chaatdog.com

Cheers!