It's official....

goodbye summer. 

hello football. 

I myself am excited. 

Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoosiers! 

(Nick's pint courtesy of the lovely Jen Goins...love you!)

a hidden jem....

i love our new neighborhood in chicago....

so instead of hot dogs today, 

i enjoyed an afternoon of exploring

....which was lovely....

if you live anywhere on Damen Ave between Addison and Belmot, 

you know this guy....

Let's call him Buster.

 

See Buster.

See Buster cruise the town with no leash. 

See Buster spot a nice lady walk onto his "turf".

See Buster intimidate the nice lady.

good to know someone is watching the neighborhood :-) 

*****

 and something lovely from our little place....

sport peppers, tomatoes, and pickle spears, oh my!.....

On my first hot dog excursion, 

I decided to go to the Vienna Beef Factory,

aka Hot Dog Mecca. 

******

After hopping off my bike 

(and practically skipping to the counter with excitement),

I giddily ordered my first "real" Chicago hot dog from Rufus, 

the guy behind the counter.

 

I was at a loss as to what to add to my "Mecca Dog", 

so my new chatty friend Rufus told me that I had to "load it up"

with all nine hot dog elements. 

Which I quickly learned meant no (no?!) ketchup, 

and something called "sport peppers" (huh?)

But, when in Rome, right? 

Also, not wanting to miss the opportunity, 

I asked Rufus the same question I ask all food servers...

"What is your favorite thing to eat here?"

(please say hot dog, please say hot dog, please say hot dog)

He didn't. 

"I get the Ruben, dogs are for kids"

*Crap*

Hot Ruben on a Cold Night?   

eh, maybe not. 

I'll stick with my dog, thanks. 

I grabbed my kiddie meal, held my head up high, 

and marched into the Chicago sunshine to experience it for myself.

Much to my chagrin, I was disappointed.

All condiments aside 

(which were quite tasty I must add), 

there wasn't much flavor from the actual dog. 

The hot dog seemed like a bit of a side note. 

"Where's the Beef?" I wanted to ask. 

But that would be cliche, right?  

.....time to regroup....

I quickly snooped around to see what this packed house was noshing so happily on.  

No one was eating hot dogs. What did they know that I didn't?! 

According to the nice ladies next to me, 

 Vienna Factory is much better known for Corned Beef 

and, yes, the Ruben.

*Crap*

Maybe I should have listened to Rufus.

*****