Foot long Coney dogs:

Grocery shopping can be perilous for those susceptible to impulse buys. Yes, those interesting and unplanned purchases that are never on the grocery list but somehow make it into the cart. There you are, trying to keep it on the straight and narrow, checking off staples on your list, and then you see it. You may wander over to the strategically situated display or aisle end cap and pick up the item. Usually by that time, it's too late.

It is an impulse buy. Resistance is futile. You will make your purchase.

David's somewhat immune to impulse purchases, but I am woefully liable to them. He's tried to curb my impulses various ways. For a while he insisted that we only purchase items on our list, which I solved by sneaking "miscellaneous" on every grocery list. He’s also tried beguiling me with sophisms or even making me carry the item around the store for 15 minutes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

Which is why he was keeping a close eye on me as we were in the process of selecting hot dogs for our cheese coney dinner that night. But not close enough. I'd spotted the foot long hot dog buns and that was that. I could not be dissuaded, and David could tell it was a losing battle. Exchanging the hot dogs we selected for foot long hot dogs to go with the buns, we continued shopping.

Giant coney, to scale

size matters, you know

We picked up some tater tots to make tater tachos (like nachos but with tater tots), and the dinner plan was complete.

I can haz coney?



Haha, no, kitty.

Hot Doggin’ It:

A few months ago, David trekked out to a suburb of Chicago for a work expedition. When he returned from the windy city, he chronicled his adventures for me--and told me of the strange beefy beast that is the Chicago style hot dog.

“At first I didn’t understand it.” He said, after a detailed break down of the hot dog’s components. “It’s like someone tripped and dropped an entire salad on a perfectly good hot dog. But it’s actually really good. And nearly impossible to eat neatly.”

A Chicago style hot dog must have all these items on it, or it loses points:

It must start with a all beef frank, from Chicago, usually Vienna. It must have diced white onion, sweet pickled relish that’s usually bright green, mustard, a dill pickle spear, 2 little sport peppers, 2 tomato wedges, and a teeny bit of celery salt. And it must be on a poppy seed bun.

Also, do not forget. No Ketchup allowed. They’re serious about this.

It was around that time that I learned of Hot Doggin’ It, a restaurant specializing in authentic Chicago style hot dogs located in Symmes township. I was very curious about what David had encountered on his trip, so we visited a few months ago and met Ava and David Baldwin, the owners. We stopped in for lunch, chatted with owners a bit, and had a great time.

HDI’s location is a little tricky to find, it’s on the backside of one of the shopping centers on Montgomery road. After our second visit this Sunday, we feel justified saying it is definitely a hidden gem. A delicious gem covered in melty, golden cheese sauce.

moar cheese please

Chicago style hot dogs are very good, though messy, and the variety of condiments do compliment each other very well. In the same way that some people will never "get" Cincinnati style chili, I'm sure some people will never "get" the Chicago style hot dog. That said, I was pleasantly surprised. I opted to get a chili cheese dog with Vienna chili, while David ordered the Chicago style hot dog, which he shared with me.

I assure you, my hot dog is under there...somewhere

Considering my love of spicy things, we also tried some hot giardiniera. It has quite a kick.

We spoke to Ava in a little bit more detail this time, after she was done taking care of her regulars. As I walked up to the counter to get my free ice cream (twist, which I think is superior to chocolate or vanilla alone, with sprinkles) I heard Ava call out after a departing patron,“Give that baby a kiss for me!” We heard several people arrive and order their “usual.” and I also watched Ava and David interact with a native Chicago couple and their young boy.

Sometimes actions speak a lot louder than words, and you can tell that Ava and her husband really care. HDI won best hot dog last year from Cincinnati Magazine, and this year, were also part of the Best of the Best, serving up hot dogs at Cincinnati Magazine’s “Best of the City” party. “I think we served over 400 hot dogs.” Ava recalled. “People kept coming back for more!”

There is a map on the wall with pins representing native Chicagoans who have visited and the neighborhoods they came from. I overheard Ava taking down the family from Chicago’s address to add to the map.

It’s a bit of a drive from downtown for us, but our trips to Hot Doggin’ It have been worth it. The service is great, and Ava and David are passionate about their business; serving authentic, delicious hot dogs, and befriending their customers. They are, simply put, good people, making good food. And Ava sports some awesome, classy and sparkly eye glasses. I asked to take her picture, but that will have to wait until our next visit.

A-Team Chili:

Winter in Cincinnati means different things to many people. To David, it means that he’s in for another season of fighting with his rear wheel drive Mustang in the snow. To my Dad, it’s time to break out the jeep, attach the snowplow and help out some grateful neighbors.

Me, I have a thing against winter. I suppose it really isn’t Winter’s fault that I’m short and my jean hems drag the salty, mucky ground, or that I spend most of season glaring out the window at the frigid air, wearing my winter coat indoors to be comfortable. Winter is what it is and doesn’t care what nobody thinks. I still don’t like it. I want my flip flops back.

To recap: winter to me means that I wreck my jeans and my winter coat gets a workout. I also eat chili and soup. A lot. Probably while wearing my coat inside. Potentially glaring out the window at the frigid air.

David was making a nice tomato soup for me for awhile, but sometimes tomato soup doesn’t cut it for lunch. Resolving to eat out less and cook at home more and eager to continue using our Le Creuset French oven, we decided to make our own chili.

I spent Saturday morning scouring recipes on the internet to find a good chili recipe. I found some solid recipes. Nothing was wrong with them, except I wanted our first batch of homemade chili to be a little less conventional.

I began to think of unusual, tasty things to put in the Chili and drawing up a list. Dark beer! Chipotle peppers! Ground bison! Camel meat!

“You know…” David remarked from the futon, doing his own chili research. “Making a chili is not like assembling the A-Team.”

“Whatever. Garbonzo beans!”

“No.”

“Fine, well I still want the camel and bison meat in it. It will be delicious, you’ll see.”

Camel is a very interesting meat. It is very lean and red, and smells delicious when you are browning it. Don’t feel bad for the camel, camels are not very nice animals. They have cranky, sour dispositions. I would be too if I always had sand stuck between my toes.

it is important to sort dried beans. Seriously. David found two pebbles. Dental work is expensive.

Camel, one of the tastiest Jerks of the animal kingdom

The chili came out very nicely for our first try. We are now on our 4th batch. We’ve been messing around with the meats and the spices. I firmly believe that we will stumble across the perfect chili by the time winter is over.

we finish with a roux to thicken the chili