Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Postcards from Gluttontown

Greetings from the Windy City, aka the City of Sodden Socks.

Note: this post is about Chicago. Fair city readers who care only for Paris may prefer this new article about the Paris restaurant scene, or this one about February concerts.
I was mildly deported recently, sent back to retrieve a slip of paper, and am making the most of this exile by stuffing my gullet with fried Americana.

The Health Fest began on Saturday when I was greeted by my hosts Nikki and Garen with, among other delicacies, a batch of homemade samosas.

The next day brought a Scotch egg and fried zucchini at the Gage, followed by a bag of takeaway pupusas.



Day three was deep dish Chicago pizza and a trip to Kuma's Corner, a metal bar cum hamburger shack where every sandwich bears the name of a band. Pictured below, the Pantera.



Yesterday began with a pilgrimage to Hot Doug's, one of my top five eateries in the world. My admiration for this man and his sausage is such that I made an offering of illegal foie gras at his alter counter.

In return, I feasted on the traditional Chicago dog, a Polish with peppers and carmelized onions, and an apple & cherry pork sausage with chutney and cranberry Wensleydale cheese. With a mountain of cheese fries, of course. Dinner chez Ed & Kathy offered no caloric respite: fried chicken, fried okra, and slaw.

At this point in the trip, I fear my digestive track may be shutting down. And I haven't even made it to Pilsen yet!

More to come from Chicago, site of my own personal war on moderation...

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Being from Chicago, Pizza in France is the saddest state of affairs. You don't know HOW much I miss it! Or even a box of california pizza kitchen. That is the ONLY thing I miss though. PS if you have any good suggestions for pizza in paris (even the likes of non-chicago style) let me know!

The Late Bloomer said...

Wow, Meg dear, did you eat all those dogs YOURSELF? I'm impressed... And damn, they do look good!

I partook of some pretty good junk food of my own when Stateside in January, but none of it looked anywhere near as good as your fixins! I certainly relished the one hot pretzel I had, though -- washed down with the best lemonade ever! You just can't get either one of those here in France...

Enjoy your stay there -- sounds like you're definitely making the most of it!

Adrian said...

Scotch egg?? In Yankieland?!??? What heresy !!!!!

Starman said...

God, it's been forever since I last had a Scotch egg.

Anonymous said...

Dear Meg, the more I read your blog, the more I say to myself "I have to introduce my boyfriend to Megan"

(He's a "chef cuisinier")

Le Meg said...

Zane! The pizza pickings are indeed slim in Paris. Adrian Moore wrote an article for Gridskipper about the best pie holes in Paris. I've been several times to Maria Luisa because, while not having the world's best crust, it's dependably good, the ambiance is warm and fuzzy, and it's close to good drinking along the canal.

Link to AM's article:
http://gridskipper.com/travel/paris/the-best-pie-holes-in-paris-328934.php

Le Meg said...

Bloomer! I shared them dogs with another (sadly).

Nikki! NYC will have to wait (heartbreakingly)until my next deportation.