So far in Chicago, I've had the popcorn. I've had the deep dish pizza (2x!). Now it's time for the Chicago-style hot dog.

A Chicago-style hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers and a dash of celery salt on a poppyseed bun. It's said to be "dragged through the garden" with so many toppings. And, it's much different from the West Virginia hot dog (chili, slaw, mustard and onions).

Portillo's is kind of a one-stop-shop for Chicago-style food. You can get your hot dogs, Italian beef, and a ton more. They are also known for their chocolate cake shakes, which is a milkshake with bits of chocolate cake mixed up.

The ordering process is a bit scattered and confusing. We grabbed menus, walked up to one of the many lines that were forming and initially told a woman with a handful of bags what our order was. She scribbled some shorthand and then we proceeded to the counter. They confirmed our order (which was actually wrong, and they erased and rewrote it on the bag), and we paid.

We found our way up to a table and dug in. The cake shake, which I know is a THING, is weird. I mean, it's a chocolate shake, so that's not bad. But the small, piecey, almost gritty pieces of cake just disrupted the texture of what I thought a milkshake should be. It wasn't bad, of course, but I think I'll take my future milkshakes cake-free.

The hot dog was SO good. I didn't think I'd be a big fan of a hot dog with so many veggies on it (because, grumble, gimme my chili and slaw), but it was delicious! The hot dog was snappy and good quality, and I loved the steamed poppyseed bun. It's a different experience - one that's fresh and not super heavy. Very good.

A side of fries and cheese was just the cherry on top. Nothing especially exciting, but when they give you a cup of cheese, how can it go wrong?


Grade: A

This past weekend saw another great fundraiser: West Virginia Bites & Brews 2016. The Children's Discovery Museum of West Virginia, which is now known as SPARK Imagination and Science Center, held the food and beer event on Saturday, April 23 from 5-9 p.m. at the WV National Guard Readiness Center.


The mission of the Children’s Discovery Museum of West Virginia is "to inspire children and their grown-ups to explore, discover, and grow together through exceptional learning experiences and interactive play." While I haven't had a chance to visit -- and have no kids to which this caters -- I think it's great to have a place where parents and caregivers can participate in their children's learning experience. The museum operates on admission, memberships, donations, fundraisers, grants and sponsorships. So, the tasty bites and brews event served to raise money for the organization.

Tickets for the event were $30 for "bites" only or $40 for "bites" and "brews." If you purchased before April 4, there was a $5 discount. Not too shabby! Plus an 80s/90s cover band "Cover Me Badd." Unfortunately, I'm pretty stupid, and they sold out before I had a chance to purchase one. They sold 235 tickets! So, I got in touch with the organizers to let them know I wanted to write about this first-time event, and they comped me a media pass! Lucky!

Cupcakes from Alayna's Sweet Treats

So, for the food, there were Hash Browns & New Grounds, Jersey's Subs, Russ's Ribs, and Hometown Hot Dogs. Each had a sample to try, as well as full items to purchase. Dessert vendors included Almost Heaven Cupcakes, Apple Annie's and Alayna's Sweet Treats. Microbreweries included Chestnut Brew Works, Morgantown Brewing Company, Big Timber Brewing Company, and Northern Eagle Distributing with Charleston Brewing Company and Bridge Brew Works beer - which attendees received a souvenir mug in which to drink all the delicious brews.

Food trucks were stationed outside, which was cool, and the desserts and brews were inside.

Hash Browns & New Grounds gave out samples of their gnocchi macaroni & cheese, which is one of my favorite things in the world. The added spice of the grilled pepperoni pulls it all together. Plus, I got to chat with Cody a little bit about the new restaurant he's opening. So excited to see the cool, crazy, awesome, weird stuff he's doing soon!

Jersey's Subs gave out samples of their cheesesteak sandwiches - tasty, as always. And, definitely good for the kinda cool, sunny day outside.

Russ's Ribs handed out samples of a rib and cornbread. At first, I was going to use my fork so I didn't look like a barbarian, but these were so tender, it wasn't even needed.

Hometown Hot Dogs dished out half a hotdog with any of the fixins you would like! I went for chili, mustard and onions, which hit the spot.

Alayna's Sweet Treats handed out these chocolate cupcakes, which, what I think I heard her say, was that it was her grandma's chocolate recipe from Germany. The band was loud, so it was tough to tell. But, this girl, who is 14 years old, is incredible. She makes all these delicious cupcakes (look at the photo at the top for full size ones to purchase), and they're beautiful, too! Just super cool.

Almost Heaven Cupcakes made strawberry shortcake cupcakes, which were very tasty, as well. And, they just look super cute!

Apple Annie's also ended up making cupcakes - oreo ones! Another mini cupcake that was quite tasty.

For the beers, there was:

Morgantown Brewing Company - Brookside Farmhouse Saison
Chestnut Brew Works - Halleck Pale Ale & Class II Wheatwater
Big Timber Brewing - Sluice Dry Stout & Bit Double IPA
Northern Eagle Distributing providing: Charleston Brewing - The Raj and  Bridge Brew Works - Coffee Stout

Our second day in Chicago began with deep dish pizza. What better way to start off a conference day than an indulgent hunk of cheesy, saucy pie?

Giordano's was just a block or two from our hotel, and it is one of the big names in "stuffed" deep dish in Chicago. Because we arrived right at 11, we didn't have to wait; we were seated right away. We put in an order for the "Chicago Classic," which has pepperoni, mushrooms, green peppers and onions.

When it arrived, it was impressive that it kind of stood up on its own. All the others were served in their pans, which acted as a support. This was a Colosseum full of cheese and sauce. After scarfing down half a piece, I realized that this one had sausage rather than pepperoni (so it was similar to our pizza at Lou Malnati's) and that it was likely swapped with the table next to ours. That's OK. This "stuffed" deep dish pizza indeed had a much softer, flakier crust.

This is when I learned there are really three main types of "deep dish" ish pizza in Chicago via Serious Eats:

Deep Dish: The original. It features a moderately thick and crumbly crust, which is topped with loads of mozzarella, toppings, a layer of tomato sauce that is usually on the chunkier side. This is the style you'll find at most of the big name Chicago chains, including Lou Malnati's, Uno's, Pizano's, and Gino's East.

Stuffed Pizza: The first thing you'll notice here is that the ends are actually even taller than deep dish. Instead of crumbly, the crust is flaky, and it's often possible to see distinct laminated layers of dough. But what truly sets stuffed pizza apart is an additional layer of dough above the cheese and below the sauce. Most people don't even know it is there because it's so thin and is the same color as the cheese. Giordano's is the most famous practitioner of this style, though there are a surprising number of places serving stuffed pizza.

Pan Pizza: The distinguishing feature here is a ring of caramelized parmesan cheese, which crisps up in the pizza pan. The crust is also breadier and more in line with pan pizzas you'd find elsewhere in the country. You'll only see pan pizza listed a few places, but they are two big names, Burt's and Pequod's.
So, it was quite good. Even if that crust wasn't super crispy, it was still flaky and the toppings were fantastic. The sauce wasn't bad, but I do like a bit more flavor in mine. But, a very good slice, and a filling meal.

Grade: A

Eataly is an Italian marketplace that comprises retail shops, food counters, a bakery, butcher and cheese shop and more. It has locations in New York and Chicago.

Walking in, this place is beautiful. It's so modern and refined and gorgeous. I suddenly became aware of my jeans and worn out Toms. I felt like I should slip into something much classier so I could just blend into the beautiful landscape here.

We didn't have a full meal here, but I couldn't walk away without some gelato. So, we stopped at ... Il Gelato.

I got a medium of two scoops with salted caramel and sweet milk. It's so soft and buttery and sweet. The combination of these two flavors was phenomenal (I thank myself for that one).

So, in summary, this is one of the best places on the planet.

Our first deep dish pizza experience came in the form of Lou Malnati's. There are a handful of major deep dish contenders in Chicago, and we were on a mission to try them all.

We arrived at this location around 5 p.m. or so, and there was a bit of a wait. The cool thing was, though, that we put our name on a list, and they estimated it could be up to an hour. And right after we put our name on the list, we could look over the menu and put in our order so they could get them in line. Deep dish pizzas take around 45 minutes to an hour to make, so having this sorted out on the front-end was super convenient.

My phone actually buzzed with a notification just 10 or 15 minutes into waiting that our table was ready. Score! We were led up to our table, and they confirmed our order - a small Malnati Chicago Classic with sausage, extra cheese, and tomato sauce. After the arduous wait, our pizza arrived, and the server quickly cut it into four pieces.

Very crisp crust, a delicious, flavorful sauce and like a layer of sausage. This was so good! It may have been a combination of walking 14 miles that day (literally, 14 miles) or the fact that it was my first deep dish or maybe because I was starving. But this just hit the spot. Yes, I love a New York-style slice, but this is something different. It's like a real meal. It's filling, heavy, and oh so delicious.


Grade: A