Chicago Has GREAT Hot Dogs

Day 44: Almost home we are. Shower we must. But first, the Windy City visit we go.

SUPER groggy from last night’s drive from Niagara Falls (12:30 a.m. arrival), we woke at 7:30 a.m. due to the bright sunlight beaming into the car. It’s like a little conservatory because Chad’s feet smells [yes, totally bacteria or something] are multiplying to the point where we can sniff his boots (the culprit) from the closed trunk. It only happens when we walk. So all the time.

Camping: Cracker Barrel, Merriville, Indiana

Soon we will be home! The view outside was pretty, though.

I had reached out to our friend Glenn to ask about places to eat in Chicago as he used to roam and school there. He supplied a variety list of foods and we tried to complete the mission.

We were on the road by 8 a.m. and were stuck in semi traffic, making our 20-minute skip to the first destination take over an hour to get to… Yikes! We hopefully thought traffic wouldn’t be as bad at Manhattan, NY (neither one of us has been to Chicago).

This was a fun little space to be! We scored $2 parking for 3 hours because we were going to visit a participating restaurant 😊 Hurray! (After we had spent about 20 minutes driving around frustrated because they were attempting street cleaning and all the parking spaces were taken). The little town was clean, neatly set up and there were tons of people on the streets saying hello to each other.

We tried dim sum and a noodle beef dish at MingHin Cuisine. They were super good! Obviously, it was good because we were the only white and English speaking guests there.

“We get a free iPad and a hot plate at our table!” I exclaimed. No, it’s not free and there was a cool hot plate (that’s puny), that we didn’t need to use.

After food, we walked around the little mall space and I accidentally stepped on a bird egg that had fallen from its nest. There was a little embryo in it…oh, I almost lost my dim sum because I felt the crunch under my shoe…. Rest in pieces, my little friend. This happened just after Chad had teased me about having a clean record of NOT hitting animals with my car….

Sneakers – 1, Car – 0.

Searching for: good Cannoli
Location: Ferrara Bakery
Parking: Street, metered

We tired two cannolis, a brownie and tiramisu. The tiramisu was the best one of three, but the cannoli still wasn’t as awesome as the one in Philly. We might have to give up on the Midwest cannoli search because obviously the East Coast knows what’s up.

We did the “walk-it-with-your-eyes” tour of Little Italy, the green spaces of Chicago near the harbor, Buckingham Fountain, and I didn’t see the shiny jelly bean. We will have to fly back sometime and actually explore 😊 At this time, it was mid afternoon and rush hour could begin at any moment.

We got turned around a few times going under buildings and over the streets we wanted to get on, but we eventually turned up the Magnificent mile and looked at the tulips coloring the streets. It was lovely.

We parked at our next destination and I exclaimed, “Chad, you parked really close to the bushes. I’m in the bushes.” And Chad swiftly mentioned, “you belong in the bushes. You’re a bush kind of girl.” 😉 thanks! I’m nimble, I climbed out through the driver side.

We tried Detroit style ‘Coney Dogs’ and now it was time to try Chicago Dogs. They weren’t a disappointment. Tucked between larger buildings, a little hotdog shack, named The Wiener’s Circle, was booming with customers and people honked at the shop while passing to wave high. Alight? So, this is a great place to be.

While waiting for our dogs to be charred on the grill (real flames!), Chad snagged seating on the picnic benches outside while I chatted with the locals inside. An older lady called me Minnesota and made me try her fries because “they are the best fries in Chicago”. They were pretty good fries. She also made Chad try her fries too. Lol 😉

I asked if I should put ketchup on the hotdogs and EVERYONE in the hotdog shack (behind the counter, at the grill and the waiting customers) all shouted, “NOOO!” I told them ketchup is a stable for Northerners and they all laughed. I skipped the ketchup.

REALLY good hotdogs: char wiener, a pickle, relish, mustard, tomato, pepper, onions (raw on one and sautéed on the other) ALL hanging out together in a poppy seed bun. The bun was rockin’ because it didn’t break the whole time.

Super full from our adventures, plus eating the left over Detroit pizza from last night, we didn’t have enough steam to dive into Chicago pizza or polish yummies. We will have to come back 😊 We did drive through a bunch of little main streets in the suburbs of northern Chicago, our favorite was Boytown because it was super colorful and full of plants. The other strips were bland and commercial. Happy people make the place better!

Only a few hours away, we spent the evening driving around the city and checking out the water front from highway over passes. On the way in, traffic was backed up for MILES because of a car crash and construction work. They actually shut down the highway and were filing vehicles onto the on ramps to get out! Glad we weren't stuck in that.

We tried Wisconsin custard from a local custard shop called Gilles Frozen Custard (no, we haven’t tried Culver’s yet to compare which one was better) and attempted to hit the movie theater. But, it was $5 movie night and pretty much all the seats were sold out.

Instead, we buzzed over to our sleeping space at Cracker Barrel in Menomonee Falls. The last night of the road trip. It’s bitter sweet, but we both are ready to go home. Mainly because there are showers lol. We watched some Trump and Hillary spoof/fail complications, people fails and caught up on news for our alternative entertainment.

What a day. Tomorrow, the Harley-Davidson Museum.