Chicago Dogs and Bowling

 Chicago, IL

It's only when I write the blog that I realize I forgot to take a selfie of the day.  Here is the back of Donna's head.  It was supposed to be used as a shot to give you a sense of place at Redhot Ranch.

Carl's List

One of the things that was very appealing for us about San Francisco was the food.  Not just the food but the food culture.  Both Donna and I had good friends at work that were foodies and we could talk to them about all of the places we should eat, all of the new places opening, and all of the places closing down.  It was their hobby and we benefited from it.  Carl was my go to for foodie talk and I still get his recommendations from time to time.  One of the good things about Carl's List is that it doesn't have to be fancy to make the list, it just has to be top notch good.  In fact if the dining establishment has a white tablecloth it probably won't make Carl's List.  Redhot Ranch was a recommendation from Carl.  It's delicious and cheap and the one we went to was right under The L (Blue Line) so it's also iconic.  Their website appears to be down (they are a food joint and not a tech company) so here is an Eater article with them on the list.

The entrance (this is actually us leaving but the narrative wants an establishing shot of going there so I put it first.  I don't think people will notice). 

Not fancy, just good.

"Their idea: Replicate the In-N-Out Double-Double for Chicagoans. In our fair meat-and-potato city, one could throw a rock and hit a corner grill with a mediocre burger."  (The next photo would have been the one of Donna reading the stuff on the wall but I had to use it in "The Selfie" spot).

I was going to go for the free earplugs but in the end I didn't.

Iconic eating spot.

The Train was quite loud when it went by.

We both got Double Dogs with Fries.  They came wrapped up nicely.

As you unroll the fries and double dog reveal themselves.  Some of the fries were in the dog which was fine.  You can't see it here but it's a hot dog bun with 2 dogs, Mustard, Hot Peppers, Onions, and never ever, ever ketchup or catsup.

Waiting is the hardest part!

Donna got a new phone so the quality of the images are much better.

We Are Becoming Bowlers

After our hot dog experience we decided to go bowling.  Donna has been wanting to go go Waveland Bowl since doing research and it's cheap during the day M-Th.  We hopped the bus and soon we were at Waveland Bowl.

The Entrance is pretty iconic.

This is what I look like when I do a bad bowl.

We didn't roll ourselves into The Finals.

Not the most hygienic place but I guess being born in a bowling alley would make a good story.

On the way out I took pictures of their bowling tie collection.  It was the largest of it's kind that I have ever seen.

Dinner

After all of the adventure and hot dogs we went home and made a light dinner, Spicy Cold Tofu with Century Eggs.  It tuned out great.  It was my first time having preserved duck eggs and I can say I don't mind them but I also don't think they added anything to the dish, especially for the price.  I would add a soft boiled egg next time.

Yum!

After dinner I went to Logan Arcade to play a few games of pinball.  I got 100mil on Addams Family.

That was it for the day.  If you missed Free Pinball and Expensive Beer check it out.  I played pinball.