Tag: Hot Dogs

Hot Dogging It

Fun times in the city

Yesterday I took a stroll through the neighborhood to once again visit the Windy City Hot Dog Fest. It’s an annual weekend event for hot dog lovers and street fair aficionados, blocking off Milwaukee Avenue for a few blocks in front of the under renovation Portage Theatre. 

Of course visitors can order up a typical Chicago hot dog, but that’s not the point. There are also a few exotic creations available. I mean, you can get a typical Chicago hot dog any day of the year, but ordering up a rattlesnake and rabbit sausage is something else entirely. I did order up one of those, along with a snapper and alligator sausage as well. Both were excellent. 

In addition to the hot dogs there’s a variety of beers available as well as the other street or county fair staples like funnel cakes and of course corn dogs. 

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There’s even choices for those not looking for hot dogs.

You can also find all of the usual civic and social organizations with booths and information, as well as a variety of merchants selling their non-edible wares. 

What impressed me the most this year was the large number of families with small children enjoying the day, the food, and the fun. I’m sure they’ve been there in past years, but this year I was struck that so many chose to take a break from all of whatever we’re living through to enjoy fun, food and the day together on a few blocks in a very wonderfully diverse city.

More shots in the gallery below.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above. This site does not use affilate links. 

Chicago Bears Coach Rips His Shirt Off In Hot Dog Challenge After Bears Win

Free Hot Dogs!

Chicago is one crazy town. Especially when it comes to sports. Multiply that by a very large number when it comes to the Chicago Bears. After today’s win over last year’s Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles the crazy is out of this world. 

So much so that new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson, who has become famous for his post game chant of Good, Better, Best after the Bears have been on what once seemed like an improbable winning streak, took up a challenge today and ripped his shirt off in the locker room to lead his now famous chant. 

 The challenge came from another wonderfully crazy Chicago favorite, The Wieners Circle, famous not only for its Chicago hot dogs, but also it’s wonderfully witty and irreverent statements on its sign, challenged the coach to take off his shirt during one of his post-game rallying cries. And Coach Johnson did so today after a thrilling victory. 

Johnson’s acceptance of the challenge means the Wieners Circle is serving up free hot dogs this week. 

Meanwhile the Chicago Bears keep serving up wins to a hungry sports town heading into the stretch run before the playoffs. There’s no question Johnson has changed the culture of the Bears. It’s a far cry from a year ago on Black Friday when the Bears fired head coach Matt Eberflus the day after a huge Thanksgiving day loss at Detroit. Perhaps equally important, Johnson is also rallying the entire Chicago Metro area after all we’ve been through this late summer and fall. 

Put it another way that Chicagoans understand. He’s on his way to owning this town and certainly giving new meaning to the slogan, Bear Down! 

Edit: Added the photo below from The Wieners Circle later in the evening.

You can also find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.

Checking Out The Windy City Hot Dog Fest

Choosing between reptile sausage creations can be tough

Beautiful day, yet chillier than I’d like, so I thought I’d take a hike through the neighborhood to check out the Windy City Hot Dog Fest in Portage Park. 

PXL 20250531 174832619.MP.Chicago’s neighborhood festivals are always a good time. Obviously there’s food, but there’s also music and the usual vendors selling all sorts of crafts and the occasional artwork. Of course there’s also just the fun of people watching. 

But today was about hot dogs. To kick it off I had a traditional Chicago hot dog as an appetizer before strolling down the street. But then I decided to check out the gourmet sausage creations from Chicago’s Dog House. It was a tough choice between the rattlesnake and rabbit sausage and the smoked alligator sausage but I chose the rattlesnake and rabbit. 

Good choice as it turns out. Since I had eaten my fill and didn’t want to mix reptiles on the same day, I strolled away satisfied. Given that the weather looks similar for tomorrow I’ll probably head back to try out the smoked alligator version. 

 As you can see from the gallery, there’s plenty of different varieties of hot dogs and sausages available, although I’m not sure how successful the selections from L.A. Style Hot Dogs will go over. 

I also didn’t see too much ketchup around, though I can’t say I looked that closely.

You can find more of my writings on a variety of topics on Medium at this link, including in the publications Ellemeno and Rome. I can also be found on social media under my name as above.