We walked ourselves to the end of the line smiling from ear to ear. I couldn't figure out why the people we passed didn't seem to think this was as roaring of a good time as we did. Here's our view from the back;
And then we waited. We placed bets on where we'd be by the time we got to a certain landmark. For instance, how long would it take us to get to that first tree in the picture. I believe it was 40 minutes. We'd been there for an hour and still thought - aw, what the heck, let's do this. And then two hours rolled around. The boys took a walk down the alley and almost bought a telescope off of someone. Nat and I took a break in the car with the AC on. A passing car even livened things up by throwing a lit firecracker at us. By the time we got inside, three hours later, we were hungry and ready to make the trip worth our while. Thankfully, we didn't document our darkest hours. You'll see that we're back to being all smiles once inside the joint.
The novelty of this place is that Doug offers some crazy hot dog combinations like Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with Truffle Aioli, Foie Gras Mousse and Fleur de Sel or Cognac-Infused Lamb and Pork Sausage with Spinach Raita and Manchego Cheese. And don't forget the duck fat fries.
Doug takes every order himself and is said to mastermind the waiting process so that by the time your food comes up a table is available. I would be aok with him moving things along so that we could get our food in under three hours. I'm just sayin'.
I believe we ordered a total of 11 dogs and two batches of cheese fries, one regular and one duck-fat. Everything really was delicious and I loved my Saucisson Alsacienne: Bacon Sausage with Creme Fraiche, Caramelized Onions and Tomme de Savoie Cheese.
When we were done mowing our food, we were talking about our favorite dog. Matt said that far and away his favorite was the Chicago Style Dog. Ruh Roh. We could have gotten him a divine Chicago style hot dog at Portillo's in less than 3 minutes. But what would be the fun in that? Once fully sated, we headed off to Lolla where we met up with my cousins and brothers. It was a gorgeous day and it was so fabulous to sit on a blanket and listen to great music. I was bummed we missed the XXs during our hot dog adventure, but I thought Spoon and The Metric were great. Halfway through Phoenix, we'd had enough and headed home with the fantastic idea of picking up Lou Malnati's deep dish. We, very seriously, asked Matt and Natalie if the pizza was as good as we think it is. (We think it's the perfect food and eat it once a week. Do you think people in Philly eat cheese steaks once a week? Or is that gross? Thereby, making us gross for eating deep dish weekly.) Anyhooters, they told us they loved it. And if they were lying - thank you.
After hearing about this "ice-ing" business, Dave had to try it out for himself. Here's Matt getting iced alongside the 'za.
Not to be overlooked was our breakfast the next morning. Matt really showed us what he was made of. In addition to some bizarre combo of breakfast items, he ordered a side of ice cream. You know what goes really well with ice cream? Everything. Pancakes, waffles, corned beef hash. For real, it was so delicious with my lemon poppy seed waffles. It was a welcome addition at the breakfast table. And other non-pregnant people agreed.
It was such a fun weekend and we were so lucky to have them come into town and play with us. There has been talk of another Midwest trip to see Frank Lloyd Wright's homes in Oak Park and God's country (Wisconsin). Can't wait to see what we eat then.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment