“Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago)” Season 2 Premiere – Monday, September 22 at 7:00 PM CT on NBC Chicago’s YouTube Channel;
NBC 5 Chicago Premiere: Sunday, September 28 at 11:30 PM CT
Chicago, IL (September 18, 2025) – Fresh off the palate of its Emmy-nominated first season, NBC Chicago’s hit culinary/comedy series Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago) returns for its eagerly awaited second season as the dynamic, offbeat duo will take viewers on yet another wild ride exploring the “unknowns” of Chicago’s unparalleled food scene.
The Season 2 / Episode 1 premiere of Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago) will take place on Monday, September 22 at 7:00 PM CT on the NBC Chicago dedicated YouTube channel with additional episodes airing on Mondays evenings. On the NBC 5 Chicago linear channel, the Poochie & Pang Season 2 debut will air on Sunday, September 28 at 11:30 PM CT (time approx.) immediately following Sports Sunday with additional episodes airing on Sunday nights in the same time slot.
After focusing on Chicago’s burger scene last year, Season 2 of Poochie & Pang is a celebration of the mighty sandwich. As legendary Chicago anchorman Bill Kurtis says in the premiere episode’s cold open: “Sandwiches! They’re not just great, they’re freakin’ awesome.”
In this season’s four-episode arc, Poochie (of the legendary Wiener Circle) and Kevin Pang (James Beard Award-winning food writer) visit all corners of Chicago — from Crest Hill to Evanston, Bronzeville to Chinatown — in search of the city’s most unique spots for a great meal between two slices. Along the way, they live out their pro wrestling dreams, pay homage to the Mayor of Flavortown, and spend an incredible 12 hours on an epic Chicago sandwich marathon.
Said Poochie & Pang Executive Producer / NBCU Local Chicago Vice President of Multi-Platform Content Matt Knutson: “Our mission continues, find the best sandwiches in Chicagoland, have fun and showcase the small businesses that make our food scene so wonderful.”
Please note the following Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago) Season 2 episode details:
Episode 1
Chicago’s most unexpected (and possibly best) Italian beef sandwich can be found in a North Shore butcher shop that doesn’t even sell sandwiches most of the time (it’s only served intermittently and announced on social media). Everything about this butcher shop’s version of the Italian beef is memorable — from the tender beef slices to the giardiniera from a fourth-generation giardiniera maker (and Chicago fire fighter). Elsewhere, Poochie & Pang try the most famous sandwich from the Mexican state of Jalisco, sample a deep-fried turkey sandwich on the South Side, and find one of the very few places in Chicago to serve the Japanese egg sandwich.
Episode 2
In this episode, Poochie and Pang learn they share a mutual love of professional wrestling — then go train and get humbled from AEW professional wrestlers Kyle Fletcher and Skye Blue. The group then visits Chicago’s first Australian cafe and tries a sandwich that reminds Aussie native Kyle Fletcher of home. If that weren’t enough, Poochie & Pang visit one of the area’s finest and longest-running Italian delis, devour a legendary Chicago sandwich from a shop that didn’t want to be on television, and close out at an Irving Park Mexican restaurant where the chef pays tribute to his beloved mother…in sandwich form.
Episode 3
What’s a Chinese interpretation of the McRib sandwich? Poochie & Pang visit Bridgeport to find out and discover along the way what possibly may be the city’s most delicious fried chicken sandwich. They then head to Evanston to a Venezuelan food truck-turned-restaurant, an Irving Park sandwich shop serving sandwiches seldom seen in the Midwest and end the day at a unique, frozen-in-time Supper Club in the Southwest suburbs.
Episode 4
In one marathon 12-hour stretch, the duo tries what Kevin in The New York Times calls Chicago’s best breakfast sandwich. Then it’s off to Hermosa for a Cambodian take on a fried chicken sandwich. After lunch, Poochie & Pang head to Bronzeville for a slick and delicious hoagie and top off with a nightcap at a Chinatown cocktail bar with a spectacular grilled cheese sandwich with an Asian twist.
For those of you who still aren’t that familiar with the show’s wildly-entertaining stars…here you go:
POOCHIE
For 28 years, Poochie has been the lovable face of the iconic Chicago hot dog stand The Wiener’s Circle. Customers travel far and wide to experience Poochie and Co.’s singular customer service — profane, offensive, and hilarious.
Poochie is also a viral internet sensation: Her appearance on Conan O’Brien with Triumph the Insult Comic Dog has over 15 million views. Poochie starred in a truTV reality series filmed at The Wiener’s Circle and has guest-starred on the CBS sitcom The Great Indoors with Joel McHale. She also voiced the part of Medina in the Comedy Central animated series, Legends of Chamberlain Heights.
KEVIN PANG
Kevin Pang is a longtime Chicago food writer who wrote the Amazon #1 Bestseller A Very Chinese Cookbook and is currently a contributing writer for The New York Times.
While on staff at the Chicago Tribune in 2009, Kevin created and starred in The Cheeseburger Show (alongside Poochie & Pangexecutive producer Matt Knutson), a TV / web series that went on to win a coveted James Beard Award. He is also the director of the critically acclaimed documentary, For Grace, which premiered at South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival and was acquired by Netflix.
Poochie & Pang (eat Chicago) is executive produced by Knutson and Pang. NBCU Local Chicago Multi-Platform Producer Hannah Lindvall and Poochie serve as producers.
ABOUT NBCU LOCAL CHICAGO
NBCUniversal Local Chicago, a part of NBCUniversal Local, is the home of NBC 5 Chicago (WMAQ-TV) and Telemundo Chicago (WSNS-TV). Together, the duopoly serves diverse English- and Spanish-speaking audiences in the third largest U.S. television market. The NBC and Telemundo owned stations deliver the latest local news, consumer and investigative reports across multiple linear, streaming and digital platforms, along Chicago’s most accurate forecast, extensive local sports coverage, a range of original documentaries and series and entertainment/lifestyle content on “Chicago Today.” All original content is available on-air, digitally via NBCChicago.com, TelemundoChicago.com and on the stations’ mobile apps, as well as the NBC 5 Chicago News live streaming channel, which is available for viewing on Peacock, Roku and Samsung TV and numerous steaming platforms, as well as free apps available on Roku and Amazon Fire TV.
###
MEDIA CONTACT
Jeff Nuich
Jeff.Nuich@nbcuni.com
