The Chicago Food Encyclopedia — or, How to Cook a Hot Dog And Get Invited to Contribute to an Academic Work
Photo credits: Me, Guy Who Was Flying Helicopter And Deserves Credit
I met Chicago food historian Bruce Kraig while he was judging a hot dog cookoff. Or specifically, judging my hot dog. I was on a team created for one reason: to crush the souls of a some hipster cooks who were mean to us during setup. Not gonna name any names, but the place rhymes with Bluma’s Blorner. (And honestly their sous was and remains delightful and I’m making this more dramatic than it needs to be). We won! And Bruce and I kept in touch because I cannot stop yammering about hot dogs if you give me the slightest opening. I don’t know what made him think I could write, with footnotes and everything, but not long after I got to contribute to The Chicago Food Encyclopedia.
The best part was appearing alongside a stable of writers way better than me — Mike Sula! Chandra Ram! The legend Penny Pollack! Monica Eng! Bill Daley! That guy 1/4 responsible for winning a parking lot hot dog competition! I heartily recommend the non-me entries as essential reading.
Bonus: now I will always have a smug “University of Illinois Press” entry on my LinkedIn. They would not allow me to attend that college, and I consider this my revenge.