All-American Pass Times - Baseball, Hot Dogs and Fireworks
If you are visiting us the week, we look forward to celebrating the Forth of July with you! The Cubs are at home all week and there's nothing better than enjoying America's past time to celebrate our independence. At the ball park you can indulge in another all-american favorite - the hot dog! In the stands hot dogs are served out of hot box carried by vendors - nice and steamy - with packets of ketchup, mustard and relish on request. These hot dogs may be basic but sometimes there's just nothing better. If you are craving something fancier and happen to be in the bleacher - head over to Hot Doug's stand where you can get a foodie fix of sausage. Menu items rotate but you'll find things like "The Bill Bonham" described as atomic pork sausage with cherry marmalade and smoked gouda cheese or "The Thad Bosley" which the menus declares is a Portuguese Lingica sausage with smoked paprika mustard and Swiss cheese. Most items are $10.
If you're not going to Wrigley, or if you still want more hot dogs, we have one of the best Chicago Style hot dog stands just a few blocks from the Old Chicago Inn. Murphy's Red Hots has been in Lakeview since the mid 1980s. The restaurant,at 1211 West Belmont, is a nostalgic step back in time and offers the classic Chicago dog - a char-grilled or boiled Vienna Beef hot dog with all the fixins. Which in Chicago means NO ketchup - but lots of other toppings that I call the salad: bright green relish, chopped onions, tomato, a pickle spear, sport peppers, yellow mustard and a dash of celery salt. This is a great stop for guests who want to have a true Chicago treat!
After all those hot dogs you might want a good walk. Head down to the lake front for a great view of the Chicago fireworks on Wednesday night. The city's display will start at 9:30 pm on Wednesday. The fireworks are launched from Navy Pier and can be easily seen from the lakefront park without having to go downtown. Just a little over a mile walking east on Belmont will get you to some prime viewing.
Happy Forth of July!
