Chicago, Dawg!

This past Thursday, I was in Chicago. Well, probably closer to a suburb of Chicago but you get the point. Anywhoo, I decided to try a Chicago-style hot dog. I have been curious about these creations and when in Rome, you eat the fare.

Mr. Wonderful and I stopped in a Fuddrucker's-esque eatery and I ordered a Chicago-style dog with onion rings. The onion rings were meh and the dog was even worse.

I'm all for trying new things. But I will never have one of these hot dogs again. The best part of it: all beef frank. The worst: tie between suuuuper spicy sport peppers and celery salt. Ick. The peppers, o.k., they were just too spicy. But the celery salt was like tasting bad air. And I couldn't see it to remove it. Everything was standard: the pickle was large but fine, the relish was fine, onions, fine. Tomato: meh. But those two items alone ruined the hot dog for me. I ate it because I was hungry but no relishing (and no pun intended) came from my first and only experience with this hot dog.

Then I started thinking: how did people decide to combine these ingredients? I believe it was out of desperation. Hot dogs are cheap and easily made (I assume, I mean, you don't need choice cuts of meat), pickles, relish, sport peppers, and onions keep for a long time, and the tomatoes may have been a later addition or perhaps these were a summer food?? The celery salt: I just don't get. But whatever. To each their own.

We tried getting some Chicago-style pizza but it just didn't work out. Even more reason to go back! :)

Dog Almighty: a review

We had dinner at Dog Almighty last night. We went to the Guadalupe location because the Burnet one was closed. I had two Deep Eddy dogs (the plain dog with either ketchup or mustard) and I nibbled on Melinda's fries. I also had a frosty $2 beer (a perk of that location) to wash the delightfully tasty and completely satisfying hot dogs down.

Melinda had one of their corn dogs. These are awesome -- they're battered and fried with a corn and buttermilk batter when you order. Mark and Stef finished their specialty dogs and went back to order corn dogs for themselves. I can't recommend this place more! It's filling, delicious, and cheap! Oh, and you can get the veggie-version of any of their menu items if you're not a meat-eater.

LOVE IT!

The Impulsive Diner

After a very long day of tree trimming and shopping, I craved a frosty beer and something to eat. What better to compliment said beer than a tasty hot dog on a bun? So we went to the grocery store and Ball Park turkey dogs caught my eye. Not only were they "bun size" dogs, but they had only 45 calories per frank! So I ate two!

Made from all-white turkey meat,
I took comfort in knowing I wasn't eating any "mystery" parts of cows or pigs. The flavor was a little different from the standard hot dog, but quite pleasant. So, toast some buns, get out the mustard, and enjoy!

Alamo Drafthouse: a review

I love going to Alamo Drafthouse to see a movie! Where else can you share a pitcher of cold beer, a basket of fried pickles, AND watch the latest flick or see a cult favorite? The menu is your typical American-fare type stuff, but it's usually expanded with yummy specialties for certain movies. (For example, when we saw The Simpsons Movie, Buzz Cola was on the menu.)

Last night we saw Stardust, a fairly entertaining film adaptation of the book by the same name. There were no fairy-related food stuffs*, so Mark and I split a frosty pitcher of Shiner Bock and Melinda helped us nosh on a basket of fried pickle spears. Alamo's pickles are quite tasty. For my meal, I ordered the "Over the Top Dog" which is a 1/4 lb hot dog in a toasted hoagie bun. The dog was great, but the bun was wayyy too big. I ended up eating only half the bread. Ketchup, mustard, and relish come on the side so you can dress it how you like. The fries were crisp and potato-y, just the way I like them. Overall, a very filling meal.

*What do fairies eat, anyway?