Given the plethora of hot-dog options in Chicago, a new dog peddler would surely have to provide something no one else in the area has. No longer does serving Vienna Beef make an establishment stand out; that should be a given. But installing a stripper pole in the middle of your restaurant? That's something new. Rockstar Dogs creator Dion Antic decided it was just the gimmick his late-night spot needed. For added fun, the restaurant stipulates that patrons who actually perform on the pole past 10 p.m. will get a dog on the house.

This has become quite the bustling late-night stop (it's like the Ukrainian Village's Wiener's Circle, but indoors—and not rude), and it's likely that many diners are scoring a free meal on their way home from the bars. To make things interesting (as if the too-close-to-the-wall pole doesn't do so already), perhaps the restaurant should implement a scoring system. Manage to do something relatively entertaining without falling on your face: 10. Slamming face-first into the pole to little fanfare: zero?

Peculiar entertainment and drunken stripper-wannabes eager for free dogs aside, Rockstar has great, rock 'n' roll-themed food. The Tommy Lee, for example, is an "extra long tribute," while the Flaming Lip is a jumbo dog covered in cheddar cheese and topped with spiced jalapeno and hot giardiniera (dogs run $6-$8 and come with fries, a can of soda and occasionally temporary tattoos). And, to stay true to the Chicago-style hot-dog tradition, Rockstar's menu says "no ketchup unless you're under 13." We hope there are age limits for the pole, too.

Centerstage Reviewer: Jamie Murnane