‘Punk rock, street food and video games’: Legit Dogs & Ice brings owners’ passions to South Elgin

After starts and stops and openings and closings with several different concepts, a restaurateur is going back to his roots and his first loves with Legit Dogs & Ice in South Elgin.

“Punk rock, street food and video games,” Matthew Habib said while describing the resurrected restaurant he owns with wife Jennifer Polit, which opened this week in a strip mall at 322 Randall Road. “I wanted every day to come to work and it be the happiest place in the world with everything that I like to do.”

The hot dog, burger and Hawaiian shaved ice restaurant takes over the space previously occupied by their more austere concept Red Poppy Bistro. A drastic redesign reflects the new sensibility.

The walls of the one-time Panera are now splayed with colorful graffiti done by local skaters and artists. An elevated stage can hold tables by day and concerts by night. The back corner of the restaurant features eight classic video game stations with multiple retro games you can play for free, as well as several pay-to-play pinball machines.

Polit said the punk rock aesthetic permeates beyond the restaurant’s appearance.

“Punk is antiestablishment, but also accepting of anyone,” she said. “And the menu is a reflection of that, because it’s not what you would normally expect, but it’s a celebration of food and anarchy in the most positive way possible.”

At first glance, the soft-opening menu of hot dogs, hamburgers, fries and shaved ice might not seem to be the things of anarchy, but none of these are run-of-the-mill offerings of their respective genres.

The artisan hot dog creations start with proprietary, locally made wieners using Habib’s recipe. They’re nestled in fresh-made buns, then piled with a bevy of toppings.

The Max n’ Cheese, which weighs in at about a pound, is covered in homemade mac and cheese and then topped with bacon, ham and more melted cheddar. Adding sriracha to it makes it a Mad Max. As much as it may be a blow to your Midwestern hot dog sensibilities, I had to take a fork to it when trying it recently. Mortifying, but delicious.

Many of the hot dog concepts date back to the circa 2016 Legit Dogs & Ice food truck menu, but improved, Habib said.

The Bad Hombre is a jalepeno cheese dog topped with papaya and mango, sprinkled with chile y limon seasoning, their creamy Hombre sauce and crunchy fried corn and cilantro. Habib bills it on the menu as “The perfect balance of love, flavor & cultural appropriation.”

Polit said people can order a plain hot dog, but it might come with a side of mockery from her husband or some gentle counseling from her.“I have literally told people, ‘You didn’t come here for that. I know it’s scary, but we’re going to find something you like. I’ll hold your hand,‘” she said. “And if they hate it, we’ll give them a free plain hot dog.”

The burgers are all double smash patties served on brioche buns. The Legit Burger is their take on a classic with standard toppings, while others like the Gouts of Flame take a more extreme approach with grilled jalepenos and onions, cheddar and Swiss cheese, banana peppers, bacon, gochujang barbecue sauce and red hot ghost pepper sauce.

After a soft launch period to get their bearings, the menu will be expanded with street tacos and more. The Hawaiian shaved ice offerings will go beyond the usual family-friendly fruity choices, with a unique adult beverage lineup made with the finely shaved snow-like ice.

Habib and Polit started Legit as a food truck in 2016. After one successful season, they opened a restaurant in Dream Hall, a food hall in downtown Elgin in 2017.

They closed a couple of years later before opening Red Poppy Bistro, their European-inspired restaurant, in 2020. That restaurant had a few incarnations, including moving from Elgin to South Elgin last year.

Red Poppy was shuttered abruptly last year with only a cryptic social media post to explain the closure. Polit and Habib blamed a contentious partnership gone very awry for the awkward episode that saw them close just a few months after opening.

“We really thought that was it,” Habib said. “That was the zero hour where I was like, ‘I am done.‘”

But Habib had always been drawn back to the Legit concept, which he originally conceived as a “tapas on hot dogs” mash up. A trip to Hawaii had the couple hooked on shaved ice, which he saw as a perfect complement to the dogs.

A little time, some new, trusted partners and a whole lot of spray paint later, Legit Dogs & Ice has him excited again.

“This is the first time I’ve made my food where I am saying I wouldn’t change anything,” Habib said. “I’m satisfied with it, and I’ve never had that happen.”

The couple hopes fans of the original concept and loyal customers of Red Poppy who might have felt jilted by the closure can appreciate what they’ve been through to get to their new happy place.

“Everything has led us to this point,” Polit said. “It’s been really stressful and hard in a lot of ways, but if you don’t embrace the journey and take the lessons, then what’s the point?”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250326/dining/punk-rock-street-food-and-video-games-legit-dogs-ice-brings-owners-passions-to-south-elgin/