The Royce Files

As winter melts away the taste for hot dogs grows. I found myself in Chicago at the end of May for business. Hours after landing I was in pursuit of a delightfully delicious dog from one of Chicago's famous stands (at least those accessible by public transit.) But in doing so, I kind of got lost downtown trying to find the Elevated and then I got off at the wrong stop. It pays to do deeper research when getting on the L train. Apparently on the line I took, it had stations on the same road but about 3 miles apart because the route is U-shaped. I spent a lot of time walking and running to get to The Red Hot Ranch  to order a double dog. Fortunately the right "L" station was a few blocks away and I returned to downtown. Red Hot Ranch on Western On my way back to the hotel I spied Devil Dawgs . Actually I knew it was there before I had just wanted to try something outside of the Loop first. The Ranch really is a small stand. Some would consider it a hole in the wall...

The Mayor enjoys a hot dog The weather has been extremely kind in these parts. Sure we got our share of ice and snow, but this season the intensity of winter did not appear. On the doorstep of spring we'll be peering into a 70(F) degree day for St. Pats. It is time to eat the hot dogs again! Yep, it seems there is a certain time of year where I don't crave those franks- but now I do. And so does a Chinese aquaintence of mine. Fortunately for my birthday, my MFB (mostly Finish bride) bought be a copy of Never Put Ketchup on a Hot Dog . This is a volume for Chicago dog enthusists. I count myself as one. I think I read most it before the new year. Although I am not sure I'll be visiting Chicago any time soon. Crazy as it sounds, I came across a blog post by musician Phil Wickham proclaiming the joy visiting a Nashville hot dog emporium called Hot Diggity Dog. You can read it here . I have not met Phil yet. He does not travel much to our open plains. But if he does I...

T he last few years I have developed a taste for the Chicago Hot Dog . This is sort of like the Whopper of the hot dog world- a dog with everything on it. A few places in town serve it- Bertrossa's Chicago Cafe (one of my favorite spots to eat in the downtown) and Orange Julius. I found a place in near downtown St. Paul that also serves up the Chicago and other Chicago culinary delights. I sometimes try to make my one knock off version with ingredients I can find. I have yet to find the sport peppers and poppy seed hot dog buns. It would also be great to find the neon green relish. Needless to say I try my best. I usual grill the cheap dogs (not the Vienna one's but I should find a natural casing one.) but today I steamed them like a street vendor. They were delicious- and go good with a beer.