Portland, OR – Chicago’s Windy City Hot Dogs

There’s a new Chicago hot dog in town, and it’s a real “wiener!” (Oh, I know, “groan.”). Chicago hot dogs aren’t all that easy to come by in Portland, and Chicago Italian Beef & Sausage combo sandwiches are even rarer. Yes, there is that place across the river run by that cantankerous old coot, but… Continue reading Portland, OR – Chicago’s Windy City Hot Dogs

Amsterdam, NL – L’Amour Bakery, Pizza, Hot Dogs

It seems like there is a bakery every 50 feet in Central Amsterdam. Selling delicious baked goods, sweet waffles (a local favorite), many of them also offer dogs, pizza, and/or burgers. L’Amour was one we passed by regularly, and one late nite, after “coffee”, the appeal of a waffle drenched with chocolate and caramel, and… Continue reading Amsterdam, NL – L’Amour Bakery, Pizza, Hot Dogs

Amsterdam, NL – HEMA

HEMA is a Dutch-based department store (wiki reference)  in Western Europe, with over 500 outlets. I read some interesting statistics about how much of a force it is in the Netherlands, something like at any one time, three out of four women are wearing a HEMA bra; and a HEMA smoked sausage (rookworst) is sold… Continue reading Amsterdam, NL – HEMA

Portland, OR – ‘Etta – Violetta

There’s a hot new restaurant called Violetta opening in the spring – high anticipation for that day. Through a series of mishaps, opening has been delayed, but not the enthusiasm of the chef/owners, who want their food in our mouths as soon as possible! So they rolled out a van, to get their gourmet burgers,… Continue reading Portland, OR – ‘Etta – Violetta

Portland, OR – Fried Onion Portland (Food Cart)

Can a New Yawker successfully peddle a Chicago hot dog to Portlanders?   One stop at the Fried Onion will make you coo an utter “oh, yes!” The Fried Onion is another newcomer on the scene, and in a slightly unlikely location, NW Raleigh between 22nd and 23rd. (Actually midway in the block on Raleigh). Update:… Continue reading Portland, OR – Fried Onion Portland (Food Cart)

AM PM Mini Marts – Burgers and Dogs

AM/PM mini marts are co-located with ARCO gas stations;  ARCO (and AM/PM) are U.S. brands of British Petroleum. In the late 70s, AM/PM started offering heat-to-eat hot dogs & burgers, and eventually expanded to a wide variety of snack and to go foods, nestled among a pretty respectible condiment bar. When I first started stopping… Continue reading AM PM Mini Marts – Burgers and Dogs

A & W – Anywhere, and Everywhere

“All American Food” is their tag line these days. The A&W rootbeer concept (started by Mssrs Allen and Wright) is thriving and growing under the YUM (Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers, KFC) unbrella, and it often co-located with one of its sister brands. Not much has changed on their menu since back in… Continue reading A & W – Anywhere, and Everywhere

California – Original Tommy’s

Sometimes, to the uninitiated, searching for a Tommy’s is a akin to searching for a pizza place named Ray’s in Manhattan. Success breeds imitation. So while there are a lot of places in Southern California with some variation of the name Original Tommy’s plastered on the front door, there is only one ORIGINAL TOMMY’s, albeit… Continue reading California – Original Tommy’s

Portland, OR – Beez Neez

Thank god for the Food Carts of Portland people. Their site tells me what’s new, and their commentary does a little pre-screening for me. I can (mostly) skip the bad stuff. The other day, they were talking about Beez Neez, a new cart on the 3rd Street pod. “Reindeer sausage”, said they. This I had… Continue reading Portland, OR – Beez Neez