The Great American Mid-West Hot Dog Tour

Many people were a bit disappointed that I didn't do my National Hot Dog Month Tour this year. For the past three years, I ate a hot dog a day at a different place every day in July. This year, I took a break.

To make a long story short, I ran out of places to visit close to home! Sure, I didn't hit every hot dog joint in a 50 mile radius, but I hit most of them. I also wanted to spend more time with my family during the summer. My wife usually spends a LOT of time coaching in July (including weekends), but this year, like me, she took a break.

So where does that leave the Hotdogman? Well, I still have a few surprises up my sleeve! This year, the family and I are going on a road trip to Chicago, Niagara Falls, and Montreal. On the way to Chicago, we'll stop at an iconic Hot Dog Joint.

While in Chicago, I will be guests of the good people at Vienna Beef - the makers of THE Chicago Hot Dog! I will tour their factory, attend Hot Dog University, and serve patrons at their factory hot dog shop. I also plan to hit several Chicago Hot Dog spots, ask Chicagoans "The Question," and a few other hot dog related surprises. On our way to Niagara, we're stopping for some Coney Dogs at another iconic joint in Michigan. Once we get "north of the border," Mrs. HDM will use her skills as the world's most renowned Poutine expert.

We'll be shooting video throughout the entire trip and our escapades will be featured over at Hot Dog Stories.

Stay tuned and KEEP ON DOGGIN!

The Weiners Circle

WARNING: R Rated Language!

A little video story about a profane hot dog stand in Chicago.

That Toddlin' Town

I had a cup of coffee with AT&T back in the internet boom. I was hired and flown to Chicago for a week of training. I'll never forget the trip, it was in March and it was sunny and sixty degrees all week in Chicago and Boston got 3 feet of snow! Alas, six weeks after the training was complete, AT&T killed the program my group was being hired for and I was out of work!

I had a nice time in Chicago though. A group of us went out to dinner every night and we did some carousing in the city. Every day I'd take a few walks around the State Street area where our hotel was located.

Whenever I'm in a new city, I check out the real estate for sale and apartments for rent. Since we usually had a few hours to kill, I picked up a Chicago apartment finders "freebie" magazine in the hotel lobby and looked for apartments in Chicago, IL. I even went into a Chicago Property Management Company office in a nearby high rise and got a quick tour of some swanky lake view apartments.

On another tour through the neighborhood, I stopped at a Chicago Condo Management office and posed as a would-be condo buyer. I got a tour of a few really cool condos. A few of us from the training class ended up partying with the real estate sales lady and some of her friends one night. We kept up the ruse of me wanting to buy a condo through the whole night. She called and emailed me for about six months after that with new listings!