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| - Da dawgs!
If you live in Vegas, you already know you can visit Paris, the Big Apple or Italy with just a short drive to the Strip.
So often, however, these Vegas versions leave much to be desired. Our Paris is packed with slot machines and plastic Eiffel Towers full of daiquiris; New York- New York is a watered down, corporate version of the real thing and apart from the gondolas, visiting the Venetian is about as exciting as a trip to Epcot Center, complete with bewildered herds of tourists.
But step inside Windy City and bam! There you are in a downtown Chicago hot dog joint, complete with mouth-watering smells, packed with photos from Wrigley and Soldier Fields and staffed by the kind of smiling, friendly Midwestern folk who've made hundreds of hot dog spots in the real windy city longtime tourist favorites.
Like about 80 percent of Chicago vendors, Windy City sells Vienna Beef hot dogs, and the cooks here build 'em any way you want. I recommend you order yours Chicago style: in a warm, soft bun and piled high with tomato, onion, green relish, pickle, sport peppers, mustard and celery salt. (Also, it should be a crime NOT to try the chili-cheese fries.) Grab your dog and head back to any number of the tiny tables lining this narrow, in-love-with-Chicago hot dog heaven. Check out the wall photos of Walter Payton or the Chicago skyline. Lose yourself for a moment in a haze of beef, bun and that warm, world-famous Chicago family feeling.
Unlike other themed hot dog spots in the valley, Windy City offers a superior product at a reasonable price, is meticulously clean and actually feels and sounds (thanks to its funny, outgoing staff) like its namesake.
Las Vegas and Chicago: two cities joined at the hot dog (to paraphrase a favorite writer of mine).
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