*Here Boy!*

A wise man once told me about a comfort he has at the end of a bad day. Contrary to the 'norm' it was not an illegal substance, a round of retail therepy or a hooker. No, it was something simple, the all american Hot Dog. I did not understand this in the sense that the Frankurter has never been something that gets my dog hot... until today.

In an earlier post I talked about something special vs something you get in the supermarket... and today was the perfect example. Whenever I think of a hot dog I think of something small and born in a litter of eight that dwells on the stove in a pot of luke warm water until its ready to eat... and may or may not have some 'cheez-like substance' in the middle. All this changes today with a trip down Hallandale Beach Boulevard to Fat-Lous.

I remember tasting the Fat-Fare back in high school when a friend who lived nearby told me about the gyros and insisted on my accompanying him on a gyro man-date. From what i remember I went for the gyro and liked what ensued. However, looking over the menu displayed the chicago theme of the restarant perfectly. Dishes from Itallian Beef to Gyros and even baby back ribs. However, flipping to the back of the menu you find a selection of hot dogs with over 20 different topping combinations. Now, of course, the chicago dog is a must and i must say that Lou is doing it right. The frank is all beef and no filler and the poppy seed bun is steamed to perfection before it is topped with fresh relish, onions, tomato, dill pickle spear, mustard and peppers. I think i might need to go to the windy city just to see which i like more but from what i hear this bad boy was too legit to quit. There is something about the saltiness of the mustard and pickle with the sweetness of relish and fresh tomato. Not to mention the crisp casing on the frank and the aroma of the celery salt. This guy took me back to backyard BBQ's and baseball games, coincidently the only two parts of my childhood i dont loathe to this day. This dog also ate less like a snack and more like a whole meal, no wonder Chicago is 'my kinda town'. However, judging from the size of the dogs i have had before and my magical ability to ake food disappear i asked my Chicago Dog if it wanted to bring a friend.

That. It. Did. Since there were 2 dozen of them on the menu it just became a question of which one wanted to come. This led me to the insurmountable need to choose. What was i craving? Well, the 'BBQ Delight' seemed to have something with the sauce and grilled onions, but the 'Mexican Dog' had the tortilla chips for a nice crunch and... OMG look at the fries that guy over there ordered! The only option was the 'My Way Dog' to which i went for BBQ sauce, grilled onions and French Fries. I kid you not when i say i wanted to make love to this burger. The frank was grilled this time which was a nice new texture and the bun was as well lending the sweetness of toasted bread to the equation... as if the BBQ sauce wasnt gving enough sweetness, right. Needless to say, by the time PanClayke was leaving he was two dogs heavier and as happy as a 'puppy with two peters' (city slickers anyone?)

The food was on point and i intend on going back to sample more but not all was perfection this time around. First off, the owner is a HOOOGE chicago fan, im talking Christ Farley 'superfan' huge. I think i may have gotten a dollar in my change that said 'in Ditka we trust'. Therefore, when yours truly wanted to watch the dolpins go at the Jag's, all I could see were 'DA Bears!' The service was also something to sneer at, as it took me at least 20 minutes from the time we sat to the time we ordered (from 2 different waitresses), and then another 20 to get the appitizers (note: Wings are legit, ergo - were eaten before pictured).

In the end, Fat Lous = 4.5/5 (loved the food and will go back... regardless of the 'waiting game')