As a result of this thread I have decided to gauge interest in a Chicago Dopefest, specifically a hotdog cookout. If you’re interested sign up here. If we get enough people who are committed I’ll find a good spot on the lakefront, make sure we have plenty of grills/charcoal/cooking equipment etc., and we’ll have a good ol’ wienie roast!
Won’t work because dogs fade from glory five minutes after they are created. The buns get soggy, the wieners limp, and…
What the hell. Sounds like fun.
Those sound interesting, but from head cheese** to Jeppson’s Malört, we do not shrink from our duty, as men and women, to choke down anything to show how masculine or feminine (in Chicago there’s not that much difference) we are. Need to make one soon.
** - Grandma’s recipe started with “Take one pig’s head” and went downhill from there.
Whenever I see posts about a Dopefest in some city, I always wish, “Why not Chicago?”
BUT, not ever having the incentive to start it myself.
I’m a northside kinda guy, myself.
Should be fun
David
I’m in, provisionally. Things are a bit complicated around here right now, but let me know what the plan is. Does this wienie roast include s’mores?
I think that’s a great idea!
OTOH, from fish to pigs, the missing jewel of meat is cheek meat. Sweet and tender.
And I’m thinking more a slightly sweet sauerkraut (with caraway–DUH!), onions, and brown mustard dog. With maybe some of pulykamell’s fresh dill. I’d say we need something other than a “garden on a bun,” but that’d be heresy. Need to check out the dogs by a local butcher. He’s expanded, so I don’t think he’s et’nic, but hope springs eternal.
I have a 24 hour layover in Chicago on the 26th. I would be up for something on that day!
Can a mostly-lurker jump on this band wagon? If so, count me in if it’s on a weekend!
Hey! That’s actually one of the very few Wikipedia articles I had a hand in. 
Well, I got 10 pounds of Vienna Beef natural casing wieners, so if I’m not working, I’d definitely be interested.
ETA: As for the “garden on a bun,” as much as Vienna beef wants you to believe that’s how a “real” Chicago hot dog is made, that’s not true. That’s just one version. I grew up with skimpier dogs: just onions, mustard, relish (dill, and not neon green), maybe a dill pickle on the side (and optional sport peppers). No poppy seed bun, even. This was standard at most of the hot dog stands in my area. Tomatoes were almost non-existent on hot dogs (and for a good reason, in my opinion. The types of tomatoes you get at hot dog stands are awful, awful, awful.) The sprinkle of celery salt was seen occasionally, but I’ve always thought it kind of silly. The hot dog should be spiced appropriately–it should need any celery salt. Gene and Jude’s is an example of this minimalist style of Chicago hot dog, and it’s the type I grew up with on the Southwest Side.
So how bad is that shit? Jeppson’s Malört, I mean. I like celery salt.
Superdawg has that minimalist dog, but with the dog and fries steaming away in a box the five minutes back to my office meant the bun and fries were soggy glop. A good dog is an ephemeral thing.
Malort? I don’t think it’s bad at all. Bitter as all get-out, but not terrible. I introduced it to my mother and father, and they both loved it and started buying it. I was surprised when, upon offering a shot to my SO, she didn’t screw her face up into tight ball but instead shrugged it off and said, “Eh, that’s okay.”
It has the unmistakeable taste of wormwood. We often had Polish wormwood tea growing up, which I found absolutely impossible to drink, yet Malort was fine with me. Still, it’s just an all-out assault on the bitter taste receptors in the back of your tongue. Drink this at the end of a night, after your meal, because the flavor is hard to wash out.
If you want to imagine the flavor, the best I could think of, as far as common analogies go, is think tonic water, without any sweetness, and with the bitterness up at least one level of magnitude.
I like it enough to order it at a bar when I see it–it’s not that common anymore.
I’m in, as long as I don’t get any guff for bringing some veggie dogs. I have a weird schedule, so can’t be sure until a date is set. Also, very much a North Sider, and CTA user!
So M & D are, if I may be presumptuous, of Polish extraction? How about SO?
Wife might like it. Should try to find some.
Sounds fun. Just moved to the NW suburbs from Dallas. I have an odd schedule also(weekend graveyards), but if it fits I’ll stop by.
SO is of some sort of German-Central/Eastern-European extraction but a few generations back. M&D are OTB Poles. SO’s tastes are much more American than Polish (she doesn’t like beets or pickled herring or anything like that.)
And you still married her?
ETA: I only started eating beets a few years ago, but I’m only 1/8 Bohunk.
Almost (got four months to go…getting close). I figure, more beets and herring for me!
I would be interested depending on who else says they are interested.
You’re a funny guy, Rand. 