By Kevin Finch on July 11, 2010
From down the street, it looked like the line waiting for a hot dog or sausage at Hot Doug’s spilled out the front door.
Talk about an understatement.
The full line not only spilled out the front door but twisted out of sight to snake back alongside of Hot Doug’s for half a city block. If it had been a little shorter I would have given up, but a line this long in the middle of a residential neighborhood usually means something epic. There was even a guy in line who had brought his own folding lawn chair… apparently the line was a normal part of the experience.
Then there is the fact that Hot Doug’s actually has a theme song with three separate mixes: rock, techno, and a hybrid. And the full name: Hot Doug’s: The Sausage Superstore and Encased Meat Emporium. I’ll stand in line to meet a guy who opens an encased meat emporium and hires a band to sing about jonesing for a hot dog.
One hour and 15 minutes later we get a glimpse of the line INSIDE and after a little over an hour and a half we are seated on stools along one wall with our hot dogs and hand-cut duck fat fries (a specialty Doug only offers on Fridays and Saturdays).
Was it worth the wait? Yes.
I ordered the basic hot dog ($1.75) and the duck fat fries. The dog was a classic Chicago dog with essentially a salad on top. I skipped the pickle (which I think overpowers the dog) and I tried Doug’s grilled onions rather than opting for the more common raw.
The verdict? A decent dog.
Yet it wasn’t life-changing. There are plenty of other spots around Chicago for a good basic dog. Next time I’ll spring for something you can only get at Doug’s… something like the “Game of the Week” sausage made that this week was made out of alligator.
I’d certainly get the duck fat fries again. I was braced for more ‘duck’ that there actually was. Yet after a moment of disappointment, I tucked into what turned out to be a great basket of hand-cut shoestring fries with just a hint of the exotic every few bites. I wasn’t expecting subtlety after Doug’s garish decor, but here it was in the last place I expected it: in the fries.
Doug is obviously doing something very right. I’ve never been in line this long where everyone seemed expectant and hopeful rather than angry or resentful. Doug also managed to get my daughter Megan and her friend Alyx to eat something clearly not vegetarian: encased meat and duck fat fries.
The Sausage Superstore and
Encased Meat Emporium
Posted in culture, dining, kitsch, travel | Tagged best Chicago dog, best hot dog, Chicago dog, Chicago IL, Chicago restaurants, duck fat fries, encased meat, fries, hot dog, Hot Doug's, Hot Doug's Encased Meat Emporium, Illinois restaurants, Red Hot, waiting |
By Kevin Finch on July 8, 2010
Twenty years ago on a trip back to school in New Jersey I pulled off Interstate 90 and headed into the heart of Chicago for one reason: pizza. A friend had suggested that the sausage pie at the original Gino’s East on Superior Street was life-changing.
That pizza remains one of the most wonderful meals in my memory.
But rather than attempt a repeat of it today, I instead decided to try the original deep dish pie: Ike Sewell’s pie at Pizzeria Uno. How would it compare to the pizza I remembered from grad school?
The result was quite good. Not life-changing, but good. I probably wouldn’t stand in line too many times for only ‘quite good’ but an hour once was fine.
I ordered two house signature pies: a Numero Uno and a Spinach and Mushroom. The crust reminds me of a cross between a buttery cracker and slightly savory shortbread. The sauce is both tangy and sweet and both pies are every bit as thick as remembered.
Unfortunately, the sum of all the parts didn’t live up to my memory of my first Gino’s pie, but I’m aware memories can be a bit tricky. I might have been disappointed at Gino’s East tonight as well. This said, I need to go back to Superior Street and see. And I’m also hearing rumors about a third spot that might be a real contender: Giordano’s.
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged Chicago IL, Chicago restaurants, Chicago style pizza, deep dish pizza, Gino's East, Giordano's, Illinois restaurants, midwest, pizza, Pizzeria Uno |
By Kevin Finch on July 7, 2010
Given a few more days in Kansas City, I might have managed an exhaustive BBQ survey. Given just one day and two vegetarians for travel companions, I opted for a solo progressive lunch that set two popular BBQ destinations up for showdown: Rosedale Barbecue and Oklahoma Joe’s.
Local insiders independently suggested both: Rosedale with 3/4 of a century of BBQ experience in the city and relative upstart Oklahoma Joe’s with only 14 years of operation out of a gas station in the south end of town.
Rosedale has only been in their current location since 1990, but it somehow managed to pack quite a few more of its distinguished history into the space. It feels like BBQ whereas Oklahoma Joe’s feels more like a cafeteria at a truck stop (which isn’t all that far from the truth). Ambiance goes to Rosedale.
Both serve up tasty pulled pork sandwiches. Rosedale’s is bigger with a great bun and good smoke, but Oklahoma Joe’s was the better sandwich. It’s meat was moist and smokey while Rosedale’s larger portion was on the dry side. I also preferred Joe’s two sauces (one sweet and one hot) to Rosedale’s single signature tangy sauce. Locals claim you either love or hate Rosedale’s sauce. I liked it. I just liked Joe’s more.
In addition to the pulled port I ordered at both places, I also tried one additional meat at each. At Rosedale I ordered Burnt Ends: good flavor again, but also too dry. At Joe’s: a single rib which turned out to be fall-off-the-bone tender and brilliant slathered in either of their sauces.
Yet possibly even more memorable than anything else I tried were the unexpectedly wonderful “corn nuggets” that come as an optional side at Rosedale. I expected something along the lines of a deep-fried cornmeal hush puppy only to be surprised by biting into one to discover a sweet creamed corn inside a crunchy shell. Like their sauce, I expect you will either love the nuggets or find them bizarre. I loved them.
I also appreciated the service at Rosedale. Joe’s is a machine with a line sometimes stretching like a snake through the restaurant out the door onto the gas station asphalt. Rosedale is slower, steadier with a single woman waiting under the “Order Here” sign at the end of the bar. Without out the pressure of Joe’s line, she had the time to talk me through their menu and suggested I try the corn nuggets. I would have missed them on my own and life without having tasted one of those nuggets would be a less wonderous thing.
Here then would be the showdown winners by category:
Ambiance: Rosedale
Best Pulled Pork Sandwich: Oklahoma Joe’s
Best Sauce: Oklahoma Joe’s
Best Side: Rosedale
Service: Rosedale
By unweighted totals, Rosedale wins, but Joe’s meats and sauces (the heart of barbecue in my estimation) were superior. I believe I’m going to have to call it a draw and come back to try them both again. Tough duty that.
When I do I plan to replace the vegetarians with other omnivores so we can and take our run at legendary barbecue as a team. And if we do this, it would be unforgivable not to expand the field to include other storied spots. You are welcome to suggest who should be on the list for round two and any critical categories we must include.
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged barbecue, BBQ, corn nuggets, Kansas City, Kansas City barbecue, midwest restaurants, Missouri restaurants, Oklahoma Joe's, Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue, pulled pork, restaurants, Rosedale Barbecue |
By Kevin Finch on July 6, 2010
Of the hundreds of billboards along Interstate 90 for Wall Drug, I think my favorite driving east from Rapid City SD is one about 40 miles from the exit. It says simply “Pretty Near.”
On the food front, I was quite unimpressed with the grill food, but 5 cent coffee and a caramel pecan role will set you back less that $3 and might be one of the best deals on the premises beyond the FREE ice water.
Posted in culture, dining, kitsch, travel | Tagged buffalo burger, caramel pecan roll, coffee, Rapid City SD, tourist trap, Wall Drug, Wall SD |
By Kevin Finch on June 29, 2010
I love opportunities to eat my way across a swath of the country. During the first two weeks of July my daughter’s need to visit several potential colleges has provided a great excuse to load up the car and go eating. Here is where you come in. I simply hate “wasting” a meal in a new town on food from a chain that I can eat back home.
So I’d like your suggestions of places to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner along our planned route. Of course other suggestions of things not to be missed along the way are also welcome, but there is a reason this blog is called Traveling Feast.
Here is our planned route:
Day One: Spokane WA to Bozeman MT
Day Two: Loop down through Yellowstone Park
Day Three: Bozeman MT to Gillette WY
Day Four: Gillette WY to Sioux Falls SD (with a Badlands/Rushmore detour?)
Day Five: Sioux Falls SD to Kansas City MO
Day Six: Kansas City
Day Seven: Kansas City MO to Chicago IL
Day Eight: Chicago
Day Nine: Chicago IL to Madison WI
Day Ten: Madison WI to Sioux Falls SD (again)
Day Eleven: Sioux Falls SD to Billings MT
Day Twelve: Billings MT to Spokane WA
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged Billings MT, Bozeman MT, Chicago, Gillette WY, Kansas City, Madison WI, Road Food, road trip, Sioux Falls SD, travel food, Yellowstone Park |
By Kevin Finch on April 1, 2010
I tend to eat as if I’m late for my next appointment. I blame it on the years when the twins were both in high chairs and plastic bibs with expansive bottom pockets designed to catch all the food that didn’t quite make it to their mouths (or did and was rejected).
Eating became frantic and little more than a survival skill for a few years.
The high chairs left the home over a decade ago, but the habit of eating pell mell persisted. I make a fitful effort to slow down for company, but still tend to be the first one wondering if it would be polite to dish up seconds.
Thursday night the wait for a table for six at Toro Bravo in Portland technically stretched dinner from 7 pm until 10 pm, but this mainly enforced leisure rather better pacing at the table. Apparently I’ve still got work to do on the bad habits.
Posted in dining, travel | Tagged Northwest restaurants, Oregon restaurants, Portland, Portland restaurants, restaurants, tapas, Toro Bravo |
By Kevin Finch on March 13, 2010
Steve, a friend of the Feast, just sent in this picture of a memorable meal in Jakarta.
Here is what he said:
Had my most interesting lunch in years in Jakarta with our business partner. Four kinds of chicken, plus fish. Certainly not Anthony’s or Milford’s!
The picture reminds me that fish served outside the United States often looks much more like fish than the fillets and steaks we tend to find on our menus.
Ring any bells from your adventures overseas?
Posted in culture, dining, travel | Tagged fish, friend of the Feast, Jakarta, travel food, whole fish |
By Kevin Finch on January 30, 2010
Last week I followed up on a tip from Josie Urbick about a Seattle taco truck with a unique item on the menu: a Mexican hot dog ($4.50). She described it as an almost unthinkable gut bomb that had to be eaten to be believed.
At 9 pm last Thursday I decided it was time.
I found Flair Taco on just off the main drag between Fremont and Ballard (North 36th Street that turns into Leary Way). The beat-up truck sits in a parking lot at the corner of North 36th and Phinney Avenue North. When I arrived, 0wner Angel Aguilar was unloading food for Flair’s Friday and Saturday bar close rush.
“The cops stand right over there on the corner,” he said, “and when guys come out of the bars they have a decision to make: try to drive or come eat tacos. Most choose tacos. This parking lot will be packed tomorrow night.”
I had already ordered my Mexi dog, and asked about the story behind it. I make it a point to eat at nearly every taco truck I drive by and never had seen a hot dog on another menu.
“These are how everyone eats hot dogs in Mexico,” Aguilar said. “I grew up eating them just like this. Then I came to the states and saw a hot dog on a menu. I ordered it only to be stunned. This wasn’t a hot dog. It had nothing on it! Finally I saw the relish off to the side and thought at least they had jalapenos. But when I took a bite, I said ‘What the hell is this?’”
Long story short, when he opened Flair Taco with Johnny Flair, Aguilar added to the menu a hot dog the way Cardiac Arrest intended it.
I doubt I’ll eat another dog again without thinking about Aguilar’s Mexi version. I’ll also be back with friends. Sure it is a gut bomb, but some gut bombs are worth it once in a while.
I’m also making a note to bring my passport because Flair has another unique item on the menu called the Passport Meal ($9.00). It is whatever Aguilar decides it is when someone orders it, but he categorically refuses to sell you one without seeing your passport. His iPhone has picutres of everyone who orders the meal and comes with proper documentation.
Posted in dining, play, travel | Tagged Fremont, Mexican food, mobile restaurants, Northwest restaurants, Seattle restaurants, taco trucks, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on January 14, 2010
I’m in love. Mocha love.
This comes from a guy who only orders coffee if it might go well with what I plan to eat. It is a good thing I don’t live anywhere near Redmond WA or my wife might look at our VISA bill and begin to ask questions.
“What are all these charges at Kitanda Brazilian Bakery and Espresso?”
“Uh…”
“This isn’t like you. Are you meeting someone?”
“Well… um…”
“What is it? Tell me! There are 100s of dollars of unexplained charges here.”
“I’m too embarrassed. I didn’t think it would go this far.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m in love… but wait… before you do anything rash. It is only coffee. Nothing more. Delicious, beautiful Brazilian coffee, but that’s all.”
Counseling would probably be required. Things would be rough for a while. We’d make it. I’d probably be drinking green tea again within a few months, but there would be times I would break down and cry.
Yet since I live in Spokane I hope to never need to have the imagined conversation above. Our VISA bill won’t reflect daily charges at Kitanda and I won’t need to invent excuses to drive to Redmond day after day. But you can be sure I’ll be back when I’m in the Seattle area and I suggest you do the same.
One sip and you just might be in love too.
Posted in dining, drinks, play, travel | Tagged Brazilian mocha, coffee, good coffee, Kitanda Brazilian Bakery and Espresso, love, mocha, Northwest restaurants, Redmond WA, Washington restaurants |
By Kevin Finch on January 13, 2010
I claim that Spokane’s Donut Parade has the best maple bars in the Western Hemisphere (possibly the planet since large swaths of the world have no access to this pinnacle of raised donut perfect). Yet food gurus Jane and Michael Stern have a different opinion in their fun volume entitled 500 Things To Eat Before It’s Too Late.
They claim the best maple bar they’ve had is at Voodoo Doughnuts in Portland where the iconic bar comes topped with strips of bacon. I’m looking forward to trying a Voodoo bar, but believe a truly classic maple bar needs to stand on its own without a pork assist.
This leads me to their second recommendation: Countryside Donut House in Mountlake Terrace in the Seattle metro area.
Chance would have it that I’m in Seattle today for a family emergency, but I have a break this morning in my duties long enough to head to Countryside. Who knows? Maybe a fine maple bar delivered at the right moment could help in the family emergency. I’m willing to try. And I’ll get a chance to see how the bars at Countryside compare to Donut Parade.
Posted in culture, dining, play, travel | Tagged 500 things to eat before it is too late, Countryside Donut House, donut, Donut Parade, donuts, Jane and Michael Stern, Jane Stern, maple bar, marple bars, Michael Stern, Northwest restaurants, Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Voodoo Donuts |
By Kevin Finch on January 3, 2010
One of the best moments of my East Bay eating tour last week was the first bite of the Zachary’s “pride and joy.”
That would be the Spinanch and Mushroom pie that you can’t even order thin. It is deep dish or nothing.
Up to that moment, the only Bay Area pizza worth a drive was the New York style pies served up with a bit of borough attitude at A Slice of New York in San Jose. But Zachary’s Chicago Pizza is a real contender.
New York pies and Chicago pies really are only distantly-related culinary cousins. Comparing them is essentially impossible. You find your favorite NY pie and compare other thin crust pizzas against that standard. The same is true for Chicago deep dish pies. I have a vivid taste memory of my first real Chicago pie. On a tip from a friend I left the Interstate and drove into downtown Chicago in September of 1990 and ordered a sausage pizza at Gino’s East. It was a revelation.
Zachary’s Spinanch and Mushroom pie didn’t recreate the Gino’s sweet crust, but it is a remarkable pie in its own right and one I’ll be back to eat again as soon as I can find another excuse to fly or drive to Berkeley or Oakland. If you beat me, expect a wait and enjoy the art while you do.
The text on The Forbidden Pizza poster:
The Forbidden Pizza
In Gargantuan Portions
Staring Psycho – Mad Max – Bleu Velvet
Spinanch Mushrooms – Cheese
Directed to your Alien Jaws
Produced by Zachary’s
Posted in culture, dining, travel | Tagged A Slice of New York, Berkeley, deep dish pizza, East Bay, mushrooms, Oakland, pop culture, spinach, thin crust pizza, Zachary's, Zachary's Chicago Pizza |
By Kevin Finch on January 1, 2010
The second to last day of 2009 started with an early morning visit to Psycho Donuts for the Cereal Killer and my first ever “hamburger donut.”
Psycho opened in 2009 to community protest and picketers on the sidewalk of their tiny strip mall at the corner of Winchester and Campbell in California’s South Bay Area. It could have been the name. Or offense at a case of donuts with names like Jekyll & Hyde, Headbanger’s Evil Twin, and Psycho Panda. Maybe the protesters don’t like fried food.
I’m guessing, though,that the protests just helped business, and I would humbly suggest that there might be more urgent targets for protest than a donut shop with a slightly deranged theme. Psycho Donuts staff wear nursing outfits reminiscent of Halloween, and they have an actual padded room inside the door (okay, it is more like a three-sided padded phone booth designed for photo opportunities).
Just for the title we had to try the Cereal Killer with its cargo of Cap’n Crunchberries on top.
The title is better than the donut truthfully. But just the opposite should be said for the Apricotology. It has my vote for the worst name on a menu with some other doozies, but the donut itself is brilliant. I’ll never eat another apple fritter again without wishing it was a Psycho Donut apricot monstrosity.
Yet there is another great reason to go out of your way to visit Psycho and cross the picket lines (if they happen to reappear). It is the Hamburger Donut. For the sheer cheek of saying you ate one, it is worth $2.50.
But the truth is that this donut actually works: a donut sprinkled with sesame seeds is sliced in half and slathered inside with honey butter and strawberry jam before several sliced of bacon are slipped inside. It is not what your taste buds expect of a donut, but by bite two or three, you just might have an epiphany and begin to ask why donuts are typically sugar bombs rather than pastries that combine sweet and savory in creative ways.
Or you can dismiss me as ‘nuts.’ You won’t be the first or the last.
Posted in culture, dining, kitsch, play, travel | Tagged apple fritter, apricot, Campbell CA, Cap'n Crunchberries, donuts, fries, hamburger, protest, Psycho Donuts, South Bay Area, South Bay Area food |
