Hot damn that's a good hot dog!

So after only three days into the trip I've finally gotten to the good stuff.  Food!  Now as far I can tell Chicago is really known for two things: hot dogs and pizza.  Thankfully these are two all time favorites of mine so its going to be fun trying some newer better quality variations of a good thing.

After getting to the hostel last night, a massive 500 something bed place for $30 a bed, I showered and hit the town looking for my first authentic feast.  With the help of my yelp app and a little bit of walking I found myself at a kind of mall-esq upscale food court place with an article on the wall claiming to have Chicago's best hots.  So I ordered the Chicago style, a chili cheese dog just for comparison, and of course some fries.  You can see the two dogs in the pic, but if you can't tell what's on the Chicago style dog don't worry because neither could I at first.  It's an incredible beef dog buried under slices of tomato, pickle, pepper, relish, ketchup, mustard, and celery salt!  And for around $3 this has to be one of the most... Healthiest tasting dogs I had ever had, but it was great!  And just to be sure I wasn't being too health conscious I followed it up with the most delicious chili cheese dog I've ever had the pleasure of wolfing down.  Even under all those toppings the quality, taste, and texture of the meat burst through making it by far the best hot dogs I'd ever had hands down.  Although the place was packed with so many people forcing them to churn out the dogs as quickly as possible leaving very little love wrapped inside each package, the new flavors were well worth it, and for the amount of food I order and consumed for only ten dollars I was really almost ashamed of myself.  Almost...

Now about my digs here and just in case you've never heard me ranting let me reiterate: I am a huge fan of hostels and no that isn't my swipe function misspelling hotels.  I know most American's have never stayed in one and probably never will, but if you are one of those people on the fence please try one out sometime.  They're so much fun! I'm staying at the HI (Hostelling International) Chicago international hostel and it is massive.  More like an old hotel this place holds over 500 beds and the atmosphere reflects that.  While the other people staying here are super friendly lost is the get to know your neighbors charm of normal size ma and pa style hostels.  Either way its super clean, full of great amenities, and reasonably priced so after a good nights sleep and free breakfast in the morning I was happy.  It's a little funny though and a lesson I'll have to remember that although my hostel is only $30 a night parking is $25 for 24 hours bringing my total cost per night shooting up to $55 dollars.  Not to bad overall I guess but not too friendly on the budget either.  Good thing its at the beginning of the trip where I have a little more cushion!

Next up: i will be investigating the qualities of the Chicago deep dish and hopefully looking to find more love at a hot dog stand to really discover where the best cheap food in Chicago really is.  Spoiler: I get yelled at by an obnoxious woman at a pizzeria  and refuse to name the pizzeria in my blog because of it: Ha!

*Update the toe is doing much better!  I should be riding in relative comfort tomorrow and even found some things to hopefully read ease the burden on my backside.  Turns out its quite common and called monkey butt.  Who knew?