Green Bay

I went back to hot dog land in Hartford. Hartford doesn't make it easy in the evening for eateries because it has a lot of Health Insurance companies and most of the people live out in the burbs. The best place I could find was a lunch stop that had amazing hotdogs. It is open sometimes at night, more on that later. 

A full laundry list of original dawgs to choose from but there was one, isn’t there always, that they were famous for. Deputy Dawg at Woody’s is more than just magical, its gonna blow your mind. Take a hot dog and put some home made BBQ on it and then a few slabs of cheddar cheese in a row. Oh we’re not done yet, then put it in the oven and melt the cheese just a little to soften it up and slather some ketchup on it and you're good to go. Its incredible.

Again, not an easy place to find. It's inside an odd indoor food court right in the heart of downtown at 915 Main Street. The only time it's open late is when the Dolphins are on. The bar is full of Miami Dolphins Merch to look at and buy. If you’re a Dolphins fan, you’ll be there during the game for a Deputy Dawg and game of pigskin.

From the Deputy of the Two to you! 

I tried, I really did. I asked close to 100 people where would I get something that is unique after hours. Unfortunately most people just sighed and said that Houston doesn't really have anything like that. I was devastated and found it hard to believe that the 4th largest metropolitan area with nearly 2 million people could be so filled with mediocrity and urban sprawl but I was wrong. Houston has some great restaurants including great BBQ spots like Goode Company but apparently thats all.

8 months later and 3 more week long trips later I have finally found something in Houston worth writing about.

Houston has been a thorn in my side since I first visited it. There are great local restaurants in Houston like Down House and Hay Merchant. However not a whole lot is open late and nothing too much that is unique. For this you need to trek down towards Rice and you will find something you're looking for in the early hours. I finally spoke to someone that gave me this insight.

I am happy to report Oh My Gogi! It seems that food trucks have been a theme for me recently but this one packs a punch. You're going to want to order the Kimchi Quesadillas and the OMG! Fries. I got the rib meat in the Quesadillas and the pork in the fries. The Kimchi Quesadillas are awesome. Talk about an interesting mix of Asian Mexican.

If the Quesedillas don't knock you're socks off then the OMG! fries are bound too. With a nice crunch on the Kimchi and the goodness from the fries that melts in your face, you're good to go. Have fun with this one, a huge relief to the urban sprawl.

The Two shoots, The Two scores.

Indian is a small collection of buildings that don't quite add up to a town. This smattering lounges on the north side of the great Turnagain arm, a massive confusion of water that is sometimes a river, or many rivers, or a bay depending upon the amount of water the glaciers give off to feed it. It is also home to the Bore Tide, a single surge of salt water over the glacier fresh water, which you can actually surf for quite a distance during a full moon. One of the buildings in Indian is home to some very good BBQ and I recommend you surf by.

Turnagain Arm Pit is a St. Louis style BBQ but has a unique sandwich. When you're there you need to order the Boar Tide. The Boar Tide consists of two buns, a mountain of Pork BBQ and a plank of deep fried bacon. This way you too can surf the tide of BBQ on your board of bacon. You're also gonna need to try the Pickle chips and some special dipping sauce. Bust out some Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ sauce and it's a magical mess. Grab yourself an Alaskan beer and other than a huge clean up you should be good to go.

Alaska has a lot to offer if you have enough time to drive it. On the way down to Seward or Homer stopping off at Turnagain Arm Pit BBQ is a perfect way to cap off the evening or for an afternoon snack. Hopefully its nice enough outside to sit on the porch and enjoy some BBQ. Surfs up.

Turanagain for the Two!

If you find yourself near the Beverly Hills/UCLA campus in the northern part of LA then I have found a treat for you. I would tell you to close your eyes and picture this but then you can't read so I'm going to ask you to clear your head as much as possible. Imagine walking into a store front and the temperature raises just a little from the chill air outside. You have an overwhelming smell of freshly baked cookies, ranging from regular chocolate chip to sugar cookies to white chocolate chip in chocolate cookies with nuts. Then after you are engulfed with the smell you notice ice cream to your right and somehow you can taste it, just a little.

I promise you that what's about to happen is of epic proportions. You're going to walk up and choose a type of cookie that has just come out of the oven. Then you're going to slide over to the other side and choose a type of ice cream that is going to get put in-between the two cookies that have been picked up at station one giving you an amazing ice cream sandwich. Trust me when I say one's enough. Where can you find such amazement you may ask? At Diddy Riese, on Broxton ave in between Weyburn and La Conte on the southern side of the UCLA campus. Lucky for you, they're open till 1am. The best part about this entire thing though is that it's only going to cost you a buck fiddy. Thats right only thirty nickels.

Go get em tiger. see you soon at the Two. 

Steamers!! Unlike its 2nd cousin twice removed the Cleveland Steamer, Steamers are original and very tasty! If you happen to be near Meriden, a small town in-between New Haven and Hartford, you have to get a Steamed Cheeseburger aka Steamer. Not only does it taste great, the process for making these things are fascinating.

Basically meat is placed in a small metal “tub” and inserted into a rack inside a large metal box. It’s similar to a sauna but hotter and not as comfortable. The cheese goes through the same process in another near by container. You walk in and when ordering at steamer you need to tell them what you normally put on your burger, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, etc and then they grab some meat, that has been cooking in its own juices, and some cheese that is guey and melted and plop that down on your waiting bread and misc. You can also get some potatoes fries with the same cheese on top, yum!

The place to go for one of these amazing things would be Ted’s. You can get Steamers in various places in Connecticut, like near by Middletown, but I would recommend Ted’s for the original. It’s disputed how and where it got started but Ted’s would be the closest thing to owning up to that. It’s a great little place to check out with a small sign so don’t miss it!

Steaming at the two!

Before you purify yourself in the waters of lake Minnetonka, you should check out Minneapolis. A city that might surprise you for all the right reasons. No one is saying you should come in the dead of winter but during the summer Minneapolis is a very clean city that you can bike and go for nice walks around its many parks and lakes. The people tend to be very friendly as well so you know you'll have a good time.

You will also have to try a Jucy Lucy. You read that correctly, its not spelled right. Its said that if its spelled correctly you're not having a real one. The origin of the Jucy Lucy is a bit hazy. Two places claim to have started it, Matt's and The 5-8 Club. Matt's is where they don't use the correct spelling so I decided, (and after speaking to many people) that Matt's was the place to go for the original.

There is an art to eating the Jucy Lucy because of what it is. A hamburger with cheese encased in the middle of the burger. Put some fried onions on that and you have a molten hot hamburger. Make sure you get a side because you will need to take small bites of the burger as not to engulf your mouth in lava style cheese. The fries if will are a distraction in between bites to allow the cheese a little time to cool. Make sure you hold it with the bite facing up as well or all the cheese will drizzle out and scald your hand! I will say though, a mighty tasty burger!

Juicin it at the Two!