Doing Chicago "Doggy Style" at The Wieners Circle and The Dog Joint in Lincoln Park

Before we arrived in Chicago, I carried out a little research into what a real Chicago dog is all about. I wanted to ensure we were up to speed on what we should expect.

From several sources, I discovered that a real Chicago hot dog consists of:

A poppy seed bun

All beef steamed or simmered hot dog

Sweet relish (the green kind)

Mustard

Chopped onions

Pickle spear

Small pickled chillies

Dusted in celery salt

Some have cucumber and some include fresh mint.

But under NO circumstances is there to e ketchup... Oh no no, ketchup is a sin for the dogs of Chicago. (although all the vendors seem to offer it, so I'm sure they don't mind that much).

First place we hit up was the Wieners Circle by Lincoln Park.

The Wieners Circle Chicago

It was a bit like a trailer inside a building and they offered both redhots and char dogs. But the red hots it what we were after, with all the toppings - mustard, relish, onions, pickles, tomato, celery salt, sport peppers.

The Wieners Circle Menu

And this is what we got.

 

Wieners Circle Chicago Hot Dog

Oh momma! It was Gooood with a capital G! So fresh, with all the toppings. I thought I might miss the ketchup, being an avid lover of the red stuff, but I didn't even notice it's absence. I think the secret ingredient is definitely the celery salt.

Delicious Chicago Redhot hot dog

Later on in the day, hunger struck and I still had the faint taste of the celery salt lingring on my tongue, reminding me of how delicious the dog was. So, we had another.

This time, we went to The Dog Joint, not far from the Wieners Circle.

The Dog Joint Chicago

The dog was slightly cheaper than the Wieners Circle, and the main difference was the addition of cucumber. I must say it was a very much welcomed addition and we both preferred this dog, although they were both pretty special. Let's here for the Chicago Redhots!!

The Dog Joint Chicago Hot Dog

Travel from Toronto to Chicago via Buffalo

After six months in Toronto, we decided after much deliberation that we would live out the rest of our visa on the west coast in Vancouver. We’re sorry to say bye, bye to TO but we’ve got to see a lot of Ontario and the city while we’re here so we think we did it justice. 

The one place however, that we didn’t get to see was Chicago. After looking at prices of air fare we thought we would look at options to include Chicago in our journey. The Amtrak was a really good option to Chicago, but it seemed impossible to buy a through ticket from Toronto through as they are two different companies. So we booked the Megabus from TO to Buffalo Airport. It’s only about $17 each one way. Our train left at five to midnight but as you can get caught up in customs we allowed ourselves (probably too much time) at Buffalo. 

If anyone thinks they might hang out at Buffalo Airport to wait, maybe have some food while you wait? Well don’t there’s literally nothing there! Luckily there was a sports bar where we managed to get a microwaved sandwich (bleugh) and sat and watched UFC on a big screen. I’m not sure if any of you have seen UFC, but it’s a lot of oiled up muscly men wrestling with each other. Not really my idea of a Saturday night – ha!

Finally, headed over to the Amtrak train station. There was a massive group of people waiting in the station also. I thought that there must be another train or something as we were so early. The big group were hanging out eating pizza and looked like a mix of ZZ Top and truckers. After a train went flying by and they all got out their pads – I realised... they’re not waiting for a train they’re train spotters!! A very distant cry to those dweebs at the end of the platform at London Bridge recording all the commuter trains. I was glad they were there however, as there was also this guy who was sat near to us swearing to himself every other second who was just off his head. Oh how bus stations are just a magnet for alcoholic weirdos, no matter where you go in the world. 

One great thing with Amtrak is that you can check your luggage so you don’t have to worry about it if you fall asleep or go to the buffet cart.

The train arrived and we were escorted down a snowy platform along the side of this huge train in the dark. It was a little bit like something out of a Harry Potter film.  After the others had disembarked we were guided onto the relevant carriage to match our “boarding pass”, which was basically our end destination scribbled on a piece of card to stick on top of your seat so they can wake you if you fall asleep. 

All I could think when I got on the train was wow! After traveling Asia and also living in England your expectations of trains isn’t generally very high. Especially when you have paid for the lowest price ticket (in this case $70). We settled down in our massive seats and the next thing I knew I woke up 10 hours later and we were in Chicago! Best night transport ever.

Toronto Distillery District – Free Mill Street Brewery Tour

We’d been in TO for nearly six months but we hadn’t both made it to the Distillery District yet.

As on their website “you must experience it for yourself. The Distillery District is an internationally acclaimed village of brick-lined streets and dozens of vibrantly restored Victorian Industrial buildings.”

55 Mill Street is claimed to be one of Ontario’s hottest tourist attractions - home to live theatres, galleries, fashion, design and jewelry boutiques, unique cafes and award-winning restaurants and of course the Mill Street Brewery! The area has a real historic vibe to it, which you don’t really tend to find in many places in TO.

There was even an English bakery which sold proper meat pies, we tried to get a cup of hot chocolate from the chocolate shop, but the queue was ridiculous and filled with staff who acted as if there were only two people in line.

There are also great art instillations around the area which contrast with the old bricks and cobbles.

We made our way over the Mill Street Brew Pub.

We had thought about going to the Steam Whistle brewery tour, but neither of us like Steam Whistle that much (although I was slightly tempted by the ride on the train!) but $25 vs free, we went with free!

The tours are available on weekends at 3pm and 5pm. We congregated in the retail store to the side of the bar at 4.45 and waited for our “tour”. At 5pm we were all walked through the busy bar and restaurant into a tiny microbrewery at the back of the bar. As we all shuffled into the small area we all listened in to a great talk on the history of beer.

How it’s made. The different stages it goes through to create the different types. It was really interesting. I never knew the reason why the Irish drank stout was because dark beer never used to be taxed.

We also found out the Mill Street bar was actually built for a set for the film Chicago! So all in all, it wasn’t really a tour, but more of a talk, but a really great one at that. We then washed our new found insight down with a nice pint of Mill Street Organic. Ahh.

Up the CN tower

Our final weeks in Toronto and we realised that we hadn’t been up the CN Tower! The tower stands 553.33 metres (1,815.4 ft) tall and you can see it from pretty much anywhere in the city. Every time we thought about going up, the weather was really bad or the sky wasn’t clear. We decided to go up just before Sunset to try and get both day and night. It was a really clear day. As it’s off season too we hardly queued. In the summer you can wait for up to two hours to go through security and wait for the lifts.


   


The view is amazing. And I try not to think that I’m standing on a round bulb sticking out of the top of a long thin spike. The lift when you go up is pretty scary as it has glass panels on the floor.


  
You can also go out and walk around the bottom. It’s a bit of a shame for pictures that they have the mesh, but I think I would be on my knees if it wasn't there!


  
There’s a glass walk way where you can see straight down to the ground. I couldn't stand on it, but managed to get this pick.


  
 There was the most stunning sunset, we were so lucky.





 
After the sun went down, the city illuminated with lights. I'm so glad we got to experience both.


 

Amazing sunset across Toronto

Walking home from work and was rewarded with the most amazing sunset. I think the pictures can speak for themselves...

Dave does the Habitat for Humanity’s Polar Bear Dip 2012!

Most people on New Year’s Day are hugging the china thrown or crawl out of bed late afternoon followed by a trip top the greasy spoon or a painful family roast. Not for us. We had a good night but surprisingly not very drunken. Dave saw this dip and was adamant he was going to take part. Of course being the doting girlfriend I volunteered to cheer him on from the side and keep his clothes dry…

Each year Polar Bear Club’s across Toronto arranges the Polar Bear Dip to raise money for Habitat for Humanity. This is basically where people turn up on New Years day, strip down to their swimming costumes and at midday all run into freezing Lake Ontario for a dip, plunge, swim!

Sound a bit mental? Yes I think so.

To be honest I was pretty sceptical that he would want to do when it was time to get out of bed, but before I could really think abut what was happening, I was out of bed trudging down towards Lake Ontario in the rain at 10.30 am. Luckily the temperature was at 5°C and not minus, but still pretty cold to get almost naked and swim.

We arrived by the lakeshore at Sunnyside Beach and I can tell you – it was NOT sunny. It was absolutely pouring down. You also don’t realise how windy it can be by a lake shore, but these great lakes aren’t like lakes at home. They are called great lakes for a reason – they are massive. Lake Ontario is apparently larger than the English Channel. You forget it’s a lake when you’re there and it just feels like being by the sea. 

The time came for Dave to strip. Thankfully the rain had stopped slightly. He realised he didn't have any decent shoes to run in with, so remedied it by taping (with Canadian maple tape of course) my Haviana’s to his feet.

I must say I was very impressed with how up for it he was. Even if a little unprepared!

Along with the 359 other Dippers he ran into the flagged off section of the beach.

“Five … four … three … two …” called an announcer.

“One!” A surge of very brave “swimmers” surged from the beach into the freezing water. It was so hilarious.

And made me glad I was the one holding the clothes.

Can you spot Dave?

Within seconds, people were running back to the refuge of the beach, with bright red faces, legs and arms. There was a real mixture of relief, elation and pain. But I could still see Dave in there splashing around.

I was freezing, and I was fully dressed with gloves on. He finally came out and was soaked by dipping all the way up to his over his shoulders. I was mighty impressed.

Extreme close-up!!!

We got him dry and dressed and went to a café on Roncesvalles for a delicious New Year’s brunch to celebrate his triumph.

What a way to start the year - Happy 2012!