Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
1 x sloppy dog with grilled onions, mustard and relish, $4.25
I spent extra money to get what I hoped was a deluxe Chicago dog, but really turned out to be just some sausage toppings on a hot dog. The hot dog itself had been grilled. Mine was grilled for a few hours too long and had some parts that were just a little too crispy, but overall, it imparted a nice flavor. It was definitely nowhere near a Chicago dog though, which is traditionally steamed. The grilled onions nice and sweet and very tasty and helped assuage the disappointment I felt after purchasing yet another inferior Chicago dog.
Portillo’s, 100 W Ontario St., Chicago, IL
1 x dog with everything, $2.20 maybe
I was pretty psyched when I noticed the Portillo’s across from the Rock and Roll McDonalds (yes, there really IS a Rock and Roll McDonalds). Portillo’s had been one of the top places on my list, but I didn’t figure I’d have a chance on this trip. But it was my birthday and fortune smiled upon me.
Portillo’s was super-speedy in delivering my order. It was ready in under a minute and it was really excellent. The condiment portions were about half the size of those at Bryons, but they were perfectly proportioned to each other. The overall effect was that the dog flavor stood out a bit more over the condiments. The sport peppers added a nice level of spiciness that really rounded out the whole dog. Although I really liked Byron’s extravagance, this hot dog was really tight and I’d put it right up there at the top of Chicago’s finest.
Demon Dog, 944 Fullerton Avenue, Chicago, IL
1 x dog with everything
This place was near the hostel that everyone was staying in. They had tried it out the night before and told me not to expect much, but it had somehow made it onto my list so I decided to try it while we were in the neighborhood. Devil Dogs is owned by some guy who used to play in the band Chicago. The whole place is decked out in Chicago (the band) memorabilia. Like Chicago, the hot dogs suck, so I guess the theme is consistent. I was hoping for a nice Chicago dog, but they weren’t offering any of the expected condiments. I think I got mustard and relish and that was about it. This place is a dive, but not one of those good dives where you can get an honest hard-working dog. All you get here is a greased up ballpark frank. Lame.
Byron’s Hot Dog Haus, West Irving Park Rd. (4 blocks N. or Wrigley), Chicago, IL
1 x hot dog with everything, $2.10
Hell yeah! Now that’s a Chicago Hot Dog. Two dollars and ten cents and this dog had EVERYTHING on it. As I watched it being assembled, I was simply astounded. It was like a Hungry Herbs sub – far more was put on that bun than could hope to fit. Start off with the normal Chicago Vienna beef dog, then add tomato slices, lettuce, mustard, onions, cucumber slices AND pickle slices, all topped off with some sport peppers. This was like being in Fantasyland. It all tasted so good together and it was sloppy as hell and I just felt like I could hang out at this place all day eating these things. This moves far beyond what the average American would call a hot dog. Is it excessive? Yes, but it works much better than you can imagine. All I can say is that it must be tried. If you don’t like it, I’ll give you your two dollars back. Yeah!
Wrigley Field, Chicago, IL
1 x Wrigley Dog with mustard, onions and relish, $3.50 or so
I guess all I can say is that I’m glad this wasn’t the first hot dog I ever had in Chicago. For a town with so much going for it in the hot dog arena, it’s pretty sad what gets sold at Wrigley. Surprisingly, the Fenway Frank blows away the Wrigley Dog. The Wrigley Dog comes all crushed up in a wrapper and initially appears to be a very thin burrito. Available toppings at the condiment stand include chopped onions, package relish and a mustard that seemed inferior to Fenway’s slightly spicy yellow. Definitely no pickle spears in sight. Otherwise, we had a nice time at Wrigley, despite seeing the Sox get schooled while sitting in the sun for 5 hours.
Dave Murray’s parent’s house, Latham, NY
5 x tiny hot dogs with chili sauce and mustard and onions
It was a crummy drive to Latham. It took like 20 minutes to start our van after we stopped for gas on the Mass Pike, and then we got lost in the Albany outskirts. It was definitely not a good way to start a tour, but Dave’s mom tried to fix all that with some of Gus’s local dogs. We pulled up and were greeted by a near-ecstatic Big Irene (a 5 foot, kindergarten teacher). She ushered us in the house and made sure we had our fill of the local delicacy, Gus’s tiny little dogs. These guys are maybe 2 inches long and you put them in tiny little buns and then throw on some yellow mustard, diced onions, and the special meat sauce – which is akin to the Coney Island sauce, but with less meat and maybe a bit more paprika. She had gone to Gus’s in nearby Watervliet and brought all the ingredients home, so it was nearly an authentic experience. We felt honored that such an effort was made for our visit. The dogs were pretty good. It was definitely a new experience. I’m told that these tiny dogs were created by Charlie’s Hot Dogs in Troy, NY, and apparently Hemboldt is now the manufacturer, so if you’re in the area, I guess that means you can pick them up at the supermarket. There are lots of possibilities for these little dogs, but I wasn’t about to do any experimenting. I put down 5 of them and decided I better save room for Chicago.
Thursday, June 2, 2005, Fenway Park (Sox vs. Mariners), Boston, MA
Life is pretty good when an April game gets rained out and there’s a make-up on a beautiful Thursday afternoon in June and you don’t have a job, so you don’t have to worry about skipping work, and you go to the park and you sneak in a bag of nachos and salsa, then later, grab a dog and find a condiment table that actually has pickle spears (fucking FREE-ass pickle spears at Fenway), then get to watch David Ortiz hit a walk-off three-run homer to win it with two outs in the bottom of the ninth. Yeah.
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