Food: Chicago dogs
I love hot dogs. I mean, I really love hot dogs. I wanted to marry one when I was 5 or 6. Seriously! I mean, I know they're 'low class' and my daddy raised me to appreiciate good quality food, but there is nothin like a good hot dog!
So I was really lookin forward to this. I had wanted my Chicago dog as soon as I heard we were comin. And Murphy's didn't disappoint.
Murphy's was, quite literally, a hot dog joint . There is no other word to describe it.
(ignore the hungry people)
You walk in, and the guy behind the bar yells hi over the tv playin sports in the corner. You sit down, then go to the bar to order. You order your size, and whether you want it chargrilled or steamed. Then you order your sides.
We got cheese fries.
Yay cheese fries! They were hot and fresh! Like burn your mouth fresh! They were super crispy and still had the skin on, makin them taste very non-fast foody. They were lightly seasoned and thick, but not overly potatoey, like steak fries. I liked the cheese on the side, so the fries didn't get soggy and you could dip them. The cheese was nacho cheese so it had a slight kick. It was very creamy and melty and stayed that way throughout the whole meal. It didn't get a skin over it.
I ordered a foot long Chardog with the works. Also known as having been dragged through the garden. You're sittin there, and all of a sudden the guy goes, "I gotta footlong out!" and so you go up and get your dog and tell him how to dress it.
Now, let me accquaint you with the all-mighty Chicago dog. You start off with a seamed poppyseed bun. Then it's an all beef hot dog, Vienna in Chicago. Next is the salad. Mustard (no dijon, just yellow), tomato wedges, a dill pickle spear, onions, neon green sweet relish, sport peppers (little bitty hot peppers), lettuce(which is not required, but I enjoyed it and it's all topped with celery salt.
So you get this hot dog that's absolutely buried in stuff. Daddy cut mine in half because it was so huge! So you just kinda grab it and squeeze a bit so most stuff stays on. And then you just bite any way you can. There's no way to do this neatly.
The first thing you notice is the bun. It's sooo soft, but not soggy. It holds all the stuff on but doesn't fall apart or rip too far when you bite it. Then you get to the salad, which is so fresh. The dill pickle is so superior to relish, crunchy and juicy. The tomatoes are fresh and juicy, soo much better than ketchup. I will only use ketchup as a substitute now. The onions and lettuce add a lovely crunch and crispness. The sport peppers were my favorite topping. They pop when you bite into them and skwirt a little hot juice in your mouth. It's not overwhelming, just a nice quick "Uhoh" and then it's passed. They are never sliced, always whole, so you can get that nice pop-skwirt. I normally don't like sweet relish, but that little edge of sweetness works with the spicy and sour of the other stuff. Then you get to the dog. Murphy's butterflies their dogs so the toppings stay on. So you can see the beautiful grill marks. The hot dog has wonderful beefy flavor, but the really special thing is the snap. It's all natural casing, so when you bite it, it bites back. It's got more of a snap then a brat because the meat bites back too. You have to pull a little to get itoff the bun.
Now of course, I just gave you a blow-by-blow of a bite. When you actually eat it, you don't really zone in on individual things. The yumminess of it comes from how the toppings compliment the dog. In one bite you get soft, crunchy, crisp, juicy, smoky, sweet, sour, spicy and a tad salty. The toppings actually stayed on fairly well and your last bite you can scoop up all the rest.
This was without a doubt the best hot dog I've ever eaten. I've had three hot dogs (just regular ol' hot dogs) since Murphy's, and I was very sad when I was done. Its just not the same. And eating on stools in a room covered in stuff while the guy behind the bar talks to you was one of my favorite atmospheres. Murphy's may be a hole in the wall, but it was my favorite.
Rating scale:
yummy
awesome
yummyfuliscious
awesomefuliscious
awesomefulyummiliscious
Rsting: awesomefulyummiliscious
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