Hot Dog!

    

Pink's did not get very good reviews on Yelp; I'm glad I read the reviews after I went. Even though I'm from Long Beach I've never been to the world famous Pink's in LA. I've been to Vegas countless times and have never been to the one in at Planet Hollywood either. A friend from Florida wanted to go so we did. I had the Brooklyn Pastrami. It was a classic hot dog with a slice of swiss (I think, I can't remember; some white cheese), pastrami and mustard. It was good. The pastrami did not compare to Carnegie, but it was tender. The hot dog was better than what I make at home and definitely not the most expensive thing I've eaten on or off the strip. I'd totally go back!

Chicago: Beer and Snacks

Goose Island

I'm definitely not a beer drinker by any means. I don't know much about beer, except how to tell if the glass is clean enough (Thank you Bar Rescue). Actually I might be a beer snob. Lately I've been trying (and liking) craft beers. While in Chicago I tried a few craft brews from Goose Island.

At a reception held at the conference I was attending I tried Matilda. It was pretty awesome. Because everything at the conference was included I had no idea what the beer cost. While I was out and about in the city I asked if anyone had it. Most bars and restaurants didn't carry it, but the one I found that did charged $12 for the bottle. That was the moment I realized I might be a beer snob. Why is that the only beer I like is the most expensive? Apparently it's like the wine of beer.

Headquarters Beercade

Headquarters is a beer bar and arcade. Pretty cool concept. They have a variety of beers on tap so I ordered a flight. I'm kind of a beer snob so I only liked two of the five. I played Snake, Asteroids, Pacman, and Street Fighter. I felt like a kid again. Did I mention that you play for free? That's right no carrying around a pocketful of quarters for a good time! You're probably not going to beat the high score after a few drinks though!

Garrett

One of the vendors at the conference was giving out popcorn. It happened to be from the most famous place in Chicago for popcorn, Garrett. I was handed a small cup with cheese and caramel popcorn (Chicago mix). The least likely combination for me since I don't like cheese popcorn. I ate it anyway because I was starved and I'm glad I did. It was o good. Somehow they perfected the cheese so it doesn't have that weird powdery flavor that I usually loathe on my freshly popped kernels. I found the nearest Garrett shop and bought some butter, caramel, and pecan-caramel mix. Yum!

Portillo's

After trying my first Chicago dog I had to have another, so my colleague and I ventured out to  find Portillo's. You know what I ordered! It was great. It was also different from the one I got from Downtown Dogs. The hot dog itself was heartier, the relish was regular, not neon, and the pickle was more sour. All in all not disappointed.