Man, sorry on your loss - so it's been a mix of various breeds but the dogs that are about 25lbs or less have lived the longest, and usually mixed breeds have less health issues. The only dog that died suddenly on me was a lab/golden retriever mix, he had some undiagnosed heart tumor and passed at 8 suddenly. The other dogs though have been a mix of a beagle (21), my parent's pomeranians (both lived crazy long 19/20) - they were spoiled and the most annoying for sure, but still good dogs, my wife's smaller poodles (both 19 and 20 before passing), and currently we have just one dog and it's a jack Russell/chihuahua mix (she's about 9 now but not slowing down yet fortunately). Don't get me wrong, I love bigger dogs but after my experience with my lab I'll probably wait a long time. It's always hard when they go, but that time was different, I kind of felt robbed of getting to spend more time, I was hoping for at least 12-15 years. It definitely gets easier with time but still sucks. My brother has had better luck with big breeds lasting until 15-17, but the big ones definitely age faster vs the smaller ones imo too.
Exactly, that's what's crazy, like the white chocolate has even less theobromine in it, a significant amount less vs dark(er) chocolate. I basically feel if it's a reasonable/very smallish amount and you keep it away from the dog later so they don't eat some toxic amount, it's okay. I tried to explain this to someone and just gave up. I'm definitely not advocating anyone feed their dogs a crazy chocolate diet though, but definitely agree with you on some of these dire warnings we've seen. I'd personally be more concerned of my dog getting into cooked chicken/pork bones on the table etc vs finding easily accessible chocolate.
Chicago hot dogs are VASTLY superior to NY dogs. It really isn't even close. As for pizza? Real Chicago pizza is squares, it isn't pizza pie. If you go into the city of Chicago you will see all of the pizza is thin and shaped in squares. It is closer to NY pizza that most people think. I don't personally like the sauce on NY pizza, but it is great for walking and eating or for a snack. Squares in Chicago are more for parties. Here are classic Chicago "squares" or "tavern style" pizza. This is what most pizza is like in Chicago. It is served very hot, it is very greasy, the crust isn't like a cracker, but not as stiff or hard as NY pizza. As for pizza pie in Chicago, that IS from Chicago but it is expensive and not what you will see people eating in Chicago most the times. It is something that is more like a treat, or eating at a restaurant. It is very good though and traditionally is with Sausage and cheese. They will make it for you with other toppings if you ask. Here is a classic Chicago pizza pie. Cheese on the bottom, then a huge patty of sausage, then more cheese and lots of sauce with herbs on top and baked for an hour. It is like $40-50 for one of these bad boys. St. Louis and Detroit have their own types of pizza as well........... St Louis has very under-rated Italian food, and so does Cleveland. There were a lot of Italians that immigrated to the Midwest. This is St. Louis pizza. Extremely thin, its basically a cracker. Detroit style pizza. It has a lot of bread, the corner pieces or popular and are a little crisp. There is a lot of sauce, the cheese is crisp and it is really filling. The best "Italian" food is in New Orleans, it is the most original as well, crossed with Creole food typically. It isn't standard American Italian food but is very good. For "American" Italian food the best in in NYC, then the places I listed above. Los Angeles has the most over rated Italians food in the USA. Another great pizza town is around Phoenix, because that is where a lot of Italian people from Chicago have moved. Pizza in Phoenix is based on Chicago pizza and also has some traditional Italian pizza influences. It is more chewy than Chicago pizza and not as thick as pizza pie. It also tends to cost more and relies a lot on fresh herbs. It is pretty good. FWIW the "old" Chicago and New York cuisine and culture is largely already gone.... they all moved to the suburbs and no longer are really the same culture as their grandparents.
I haven't been to Chicago but we did end up eating Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza once after a relative mail ordered it. I thought it was pretty good.
If you are ever in Chicago or a place with a Lou Malnati's I would eat there.... it is FAR better fresh and worth the cost. There are a number of different Chicago pie places that all are different enough to be worth checking out.
I tried Giordano's for the first time after a manager flew one down frozen and reheated it. I finally understood pizza can taste really different. Most of the time, I really couldn't care less - pizza is whatever to me. Some tasted better, some tasted a bit worse. There was only one pizza I ever had that I said "that was disgusting" and that was some pretzel crust pizza or something from a Pizza Hut that was salty enough to suck up an ocean. Disgusting. There was only one pizza I've had that made me say "damn, that's pretty good... would do again", and that was Giordano's. Every other pizza was more like "yup... pizza".
Hell of a post, almost encyclopedic in its breadth. There are quite a few regional styles of pizza around the country. While we're piling on New York, I'll add my two cents: Montréal-style bagels are superior to New York bagels.
Thank yall for salvaging this thread. I got run over by a Mack truck that looked and tasted deceptively like a brownie an hour or so before posting. OP made sense at the time.
The East Coast and Midwest do hot dogs right. There's a shop on every corner it seems like. It's not mentioned in the doc, but there's a place in Warren, OH called the Hot Dog Shoppe that is FANTASTIC. Chilli dogs for a buck and a quarter and an order of fries enough for 2 for 50 cents more. Gorge yourself for well under a sawbuck.
Vienna is like 7 dollars a pack here in Chicago. FWIW you can use any similar style wiener and get it about 90% the same. The key is to steam them and also to steam the poppy seed bun right before you eat them. Cucumbers and roma tomatoes cut into half slices. The relish used is also a lot different than what you typically get. It is bright green and tastes different. Hot dogs and sausage is just a huge deal in Chicago and as common as hamburgers. Try making some Maxwell Street sausages too, they are really good.
It is going to be a massive hit. It is very good and has a lot of stuff not usually available outside of Chicago. The chocolate shake… burgers … Italian beef (awesome)…. Hot dogs (meh by Chicago standards but worth a try)… the chocolate cake is good too. I think it will be a hit in Texas because the portions are good and the attention to detail is appreciated by Texans.
Dude, someone posted how they make their "chocolate shake". Isn't this the place where they basically cut a slice of chocolate cake, shove it into some milk and blend it? Wth. lol.
If you want to go all the way with St Louis style pizza, gotta have Provel, which tastes much better than it sounds: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Provel_cheese Also gotta have the toasted ravioli appetizer if you want full authenticity.
I think they have a separate chocolate shake on the menu. That is the 'chocolate cake shake, and it's soft serve ice cream, not milk.
Great post. Definitely agree about Chicago Pizza. I also love good New York Pizza. I almost feel like they are different foods. Same with "chain" style pizzas. I can eat a Chicago pizza on Monday for lunch or dinner and a New York pizza on Tuesday but not feel like I ate the same types of food two days in a row. If on a Wednesday I was at a kid's birthday party and they had Little Caesars, I could eat that and still feel like it was a different food. I would even enjoy the Little Caesars though I wouldn't want it again for at least 4 months. I also wouldn't enjoy it as much as the the other two. Hot dogs are a different matter. Mostly it is about the dog to bun ratio. That ratio isn't a constant. The better quality of the bun, the larger the percentage of the bite it can occupy. I dislike almost all "jumbo" style dogs. Grilled dogs on charcoal grills have a flavor advantage over others. I can eat many of them and still want more. I prefer minimum toppings on hotdogs. Fully loaded just means they are hiding poor quality dogs. A dodger dog with just mustard can be as good as another gourmet dog wrapped in bacon with cheese and aoli. But both are great
