Not surprisingly, July is National Hot Dog Month in the United States. It’s not hard to guess why this is, what with the 4th of July kicking off a whole summer or opportunities for grilling and outdoor cooking!

Hot dogs have been part of the national diet since 1870, when German immigrant Charles Feltman began selling sausages in rolls at Coney Island. Though the creation of the hot dog itself is long-disputed, with some claims going back as far as 1480, the summertime favorite was an instant hit in the States.

The original Feltman shop even spawned one of the more famous hot dog shops — Nathan’s Famous in New York City. Apparently, Nathan Handwerker, a Polish immigrant and a worker of Feltman’s, was encouraged by a couple of celebrity clients to start up his own place using a hot dog recipe created by his wife Ida, and he undercut his new competition by selling his dogs for only five cents each, whereas Feltman was selling his for ten cents each. [wikipedia]

Much like pizza, New York and Chicago both have a long-standing “feud” over who has the best food. Make a dog of your own and judge for yourself!

New York hot dogs are pretty simple. Typical toppings include only mustard, sauerkraut and sweet onions.

Chicago, on the other hand, goes all out, and can include any or all of the following:

~ Mustard
~ Catsup
~ Sweet relish
~ Chopped white onions
~ Chopped green pepper
~ Hot peppers
~ Dill pickle spears
~ Cucumber spears
~ Tomatoes
~ Shredded lettuce
~ Celery salt

What’s your favorite hot dog topping? What’s your favorite hot dog brand?

[image: flickr]

Today I have a guest post from Amanda, one half the blogging duo at Married with Miles.

Chances are, with the large corporations and the local convention business, if you travel for work, you will have opportunity to spend some time in Chicago. It’s also a great city to visit with your family.

We recommend a day trip to Chicago’s neighbor to the near west, Oak Park, Illinois. Many visitors find themselves in Oak Park to explore the Frank Lloyd Wright sites of his home and studio or Unity Temple.  Each of these are early examples of Wright’s work, but essential for the Wright tourist.

However, there’s more to Oak Park than these anchor sites and it also happens to be where Married with Miles calls home.

The main attractions for most of the tourists we see in our city are the Frank Lloyd Wright home and studio and his Unity Temple. Wright’s philosophy on architecture seems very relevant to many people now concerned with the environment and merging design with the natural world. I also recommend the book Loving Frank for background on him and a sensational true story set in this very town.

But what else is there to do to make this side trip from exciting Chicago worthwhile?

First, getting here from downtown Chicago is a breeze via either the blue line or the green line. The best way to get to the heart of Oak Park, Lake Street, and the Wright sites, is via the Green Line. Stop at either Oak Park Avenue or Harlem. Oak Park’s business and shopping districts will be along the way to the Oak Park Visitor’s Bureau or to the Home/Studio itself to buy tickets.

The best place to stop to eat is our new Marion Street Cheese Market for artisanal cheeses and meats, a great beer list, and a full menu of small plates with big taste. Take a seat at the bar for some good conversation and enjoy the beautifully designed restaurant space where every detail of the (green, environmentally-concerned) design, down to the plates and the tiles on the floor is impeccably chosen.

Along Marion Street are some boutiques for browsing and unique gift-buying from several locally owned boutiques (mostly home and gift-oriented). If you walk all the way east to Oak Park Avenue, you’ll find another cluster of great shops: Magic Tree Children’s Bookstore, Gepetto’s Toy Box full of imported, handcrafted toys, and Fly Bird for more unique design items for your home. You won’t find a Restoration Hardware or a Pottery Barn, but instead a growing locally-owned economy with laid-back shopping experience.

If you found yourself in Oak Park as a side trip to enjoy more history and architecture, note that it’s also the birthplace of Earnest Hemingway and you can also visit his childhood home.  We also have a beautiful main library that’s a treat to you if you’re interested in public space or books.

This is also a city of parks and on the corner of Lake and Oak Park is Scoville Park, a great place to relax in the outdoors before heading back to the bustle of Chicago.

Rob and Amanda stay connected despite work travel through their blog, Married, with Miles.  It allows them to see more of the world together and write about it.

Photo credits:  amanda.rea.also @flickr (Unity Temple) (Cheese Market) – all photos used with permission

Anyone traveling in the midwest probably has a story about O’Hare airport in Chicago.  Whether it’s air traffic congestion, weather delays (summer and winter), or crowded facilities, there are lots of ORD anecdotes – and they’re usually about how long a traveler was stuck at the airport.

The City of Chicago’s Office of Tourism can’t solve those airport delays, but they can help make any airport delay time a little more pleasant with its new website Explore Chicago, and two technology lounges in Terminal 2 and 50 computers located throughout the airport.

With help from technology sponsor HP, each high-tech lounge offers a comfortable place to relax, amidst large scale panoramas depicting attractions around the city.  With some pretty cool technology, any traveler with even a modest camera, can take real looking photos of the panoramic city skyline, Millennium Park, the inside of the Field Museum, and more.  Put yourself in the photo and no one need ever know that you never left the airport! 

OK,so the real point is to allow you to use this cool technology to explore the city while at the airport, not fool your friends!  So check out Explore Chicago and learn about area events, tours and attractions, Chicago neighborhoods, and more.  The multi-media content includes slide shows, audio tours, video clips,and download brochures and maps.  It’s designed so even the least tech-savvy traveler can access information before setting off for the city.

I haven’t been to Chicago for quite awhile, and while I’d never hope for any airport delay, I hope that I’ll have some ground time to check out this display.  It sounds pretty cool.  Anybody see it yet?

Photo credit:  flickr

Shopping is one of the most popular vacation time activities, and if your travel plans have you headed to Chicago, you’ll want to take advantage of some shopping time along the Magnificent Mile.

The Magnificent Mile is eight blocks of Michigan Avenue, running from the Chicago River to Oak Street, and is the main street between the Loop and the Gold Coast.  It’s also about a block off of Rush Street, home to lot of great bars, nightclubs, and music.  Here you’ll find exclusive stores and boutiques, hotels, and restaurants.

Shopping choices range from elite upscale stores to simple specialty shops.  You’ll find Nordstrom’s huge 271,000 square foot store, Sak’s Fifth Avenue, NIKETOWN, lots of high-end retailers (like MaxMara, kate spade, Burberry), specialty stores (like American Girl Place, Sephora), Chicago Tribune Gift Store, Hershey’s, and the classic Chicago popcorn store, Garrett’s.  You’ll also find hotels, restaurants and cafes.

Through May 31st, the Magnificent Mile is decked out like a spring garden full of hundreds of thousands of brightly colored tulips.  It’s a green, eco-friendly display of art, that turns Michigan Avenue into a beautiful garden site.  Take a closer look at those tulip beds and you’ll spot some artistic sculpture interspersed as well.

A stroll down the Magnificent Mile will appeal to the shopper in everyone!  And that will give you something to write home about!

Photo credit: wikimedia

If you are heading to Chicago for the weekend, don’t miss out on the latest hot spots. Whether you are looking to indulge in a day of shopping or you want to hit the late night clubs, it’s all at your disposal in Chi-town. When hanging out in Chicago, here are some things you should check out.

All Day
Chicago is a shopping Mecca that features not only unique shops, but also is home to very reasonable prices. Whether you are looking for clothes, shoes, jewelry or accessories, you can find the latest and greatest in Chicago. One place you should hit up is A.Okay Official, if you are looking for urban streetwear. Located on the northside, this boutique store contains fresh fashions, local urban art, custom kicks, designer toys and much more. On the weekends, live artists and DJ’s are laying down their rhythm in the store. Visit aokayofficial.com for more info.

Downtown Chicago - Image: Flickr

An Evening Out
Though they aren’t Jordan’s Bulls, the young Chicago team is still worth a look. While in Chicago, head to the United Center to catch Ben Gordon, Derrick Rose and the rest of the Bulls squad as they try to make a statement in today’s NBA. Bulls tickets start at only ten bucks to get you in the door, or you can drop a few hundred for floors seats.

Late Night
Club 720 is one of Chicago’s hottest clubs. The good-looking crowd hangs out all night while the DJs spin just about everything including hip hop, R&B, reggae, salsa and house. There’s also live music nightly. The club features five floors and serves top-shelf drinks. The first floor is a cabaret lounge. On the second, you will find a large pool and game area, while the third level is the large dance floor. The top floor, dubbed the “Cityscape Show Lounge,” has a view of the dance floor below as well as Chicago skyline. Where’s the fifth floor? It’s down below with seven underground “Catacombs,” sexy style and more dancing. Keep in mind, this place gets packed. So if you’ve got the cash, email ahead and reserve a VIP spot. Club 720 is open ’til 4:00 a.m. most of the week and 5:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Image: Flickr

For Brian Wolf, the Chicago marketing manager, the best solution for combating his own undateability was to take matters into his own hands. This spring, he launched Settleforbrian.com. Mr. Wolf says his site is what major online dating services would be if everyone were honest. Though he writes on the site that his nose is big and he doesn’t want kids, he also touts his sense of humor and good job: “I’m by no means perfect, but you could also do a lot worse. … In the end, you’d probably be happier with me than chasing the dream of Mr. Right.”

The upfront technique appears to be working. So far, Settleforbrian.com has netted more than 86,500 visitors in just over three months. He has received about 600 emails, gone on three dates, and says he’s feeling more hopeful about his love life than he ever has before: “I’m going to keep this up until I meet the right girl.”

Brian has a Great approach - an obvious desire to be honest and be respected for that honesty!

Even if you’re not looking for someone in the Chicago area, you’ve just got to check out his website!  If only for entertainment purposes!  It’s worth it