I lost my Mad Dog's Chicago Dog virginity today via their food cart on the Square. I complained earlier this week about their poor Italian beef but I must cheer their Chicago Dogs. Paul Soglin has given a review already and I think he's on the mark but have to dock him points for eschewing sport peppers. Thusly he only ate an inferior simulacrum of a Chicago Dog. But I'll let it slide. Needless to say, my dog was a beautiful mess and I think I need to wash my goatee because I can't get the smell of mustard out of nose. Everything was there in the right proportions and so the bun was overflowing with Chicago Dog goodness.
While I'm on the topic of food, I'll note that Jerry Minnich has a review of Alchemy in this week's Isthmus. Alchemy replaced Wonder's Pub recently. One thing that I'll point out right away which I didn't notice until it was too late is this: while Wonder's was a pub, Alchemy is a café.
The Dulcinea and I went there a couple Saturdays ago in the late afternoon. Walking in, we found that it looked pretty much like Wonder's did. Cozying up to the bar, I checked out what they had on tap as well as in bottles. While it was mostly a microbrewed affair, I was disappointed to find only a couple lagers and I ended up with a pint of Victory Lager. (Methinks so. It was a Victory lager of some ilk.) Count me out of the hoppiest-IPA-you-can-brew race. And it's ales, ales everywhere and not a lager to drink. I am about ready to start a Love Your Lager campaign to counter the never-ending onslaught of ales. As the bartender was placing the glass on the bar, I found myself disappointed that I was served a pint instead of a pilsner glass. I looked at the back of the bar to see if there were any but saw none. As we were drinking, a baby started crying and I realized what was wrong. I wanted to be in a pub or a tavern and not a café. This feeling was compounded when I was outside having a smoke and a shiny new SUV pulls up before me. Out pops an urban outfitted Yuppie couple with the man clad in Jesus Land Rovers (i.e. – Birkenstocks) and they amble inside. I became even less interested in being at Alchemy.
Again, the problem was with me. I wanted to be hanging out with grown-ups, not toddler-laden families; I wanted my pilsner in a pilsner glass; I was hoping to see adults disregarding propriety with dice being rolled and parlay card being filled out. Instead I found myself at a really nice café - a café that served a very tasty burger & fries and green beans. And one that should be highly commended for seeking out local ingredients, including the hot sauce, the name of which I cannot recall, which was made up nort somewhere. One of the waitresses either knew or was related to the hot sauce maker. It was very good indeed, although the maximum strength stuff was a little on the weak side for my palate. I also want to give props to Alchemy for hosting live music. There was much to like about the place.
It was just me. I really wanted to be across the street at Players instead of Alchemy yet we somehow ended up at Mickey's.
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