Chicago is RED HOT when it comes to eating. I was there for what felt like a minute and a half and put away 11 meals with great happiness. Smudges in one corner of the weekend’s napkin reveal DNA from:
◊ A Mother-in-Law Sandwich at Johnny O’s in Bridgeport.
◊ A Teuben at Hot Doug’s where they serve Green River pop and folks line up for days.
◊ A jibarito (actually two, cold – at two am) from Borinquen, in the kitchen under the cool, dim cast of the hood bulb.
◊ And hillocks of huitlecoche and chicharron sandwiched between handpatted tortillas (the former) and lovingly formed masa (the latter).
“Masalicious!” was the word from my urban-intrepid HoStEsS.
For not much more than 14¢ you can take a world tour of eats, ricocheting about through the 1st, 2nd and 3rd worlds faster than you can say, “I’ll take one with everything.”
A Teuben, by the way, is brilliant: Corned Beef Sausage with Russian Dressing, Sauerkraut and Swiss Cheese.
And while we’re talking Chicago, which means we are just 2 degrees of separation from a hot dog…
HOT DOG HAUTE DOG
Chicago chefs welcome summer by putting their own spin on a Chicago fave.
By Bill Daley Tribune critic
May 28 2008
Classic Chicago-style hot dogs are legendary, with their all-beef snappiness, poppy seed buns, neon-green relish and racy little sport peppers. It’s the summertime nosh of choice for many, residents and visitors alike. But there are times a classic needs updating.
The Lunch Encounter 
i was watching “best food ever” and saw the johnny o’s mother-in-law sandwich. wow, everything seem to look good until you were filmed making one~~~~ with BARE HANDS and NO GLOVES ON…. UGH!! YOU picked up the bun (no gloves, bare hands) and if that wasn’t bad enough, you slapped on the condiments with BARE HANDS and NO GLOVES. NO way would i eat a mother-in-law sandwich made at johnny o’s after viewing that show segment. sorry, but no thanks