"Red Eye" on Chicago Accent, Windy City, Chicago Hot Dogs

Sat Sep 30 05:19:31 UTC 2006

For a mercifully brief time I worked as a "barback" at
Excalibur.  The lifestyle, needless to say, was much
more rewarding than the salary.

My personal experience in the area is more of a
Chi-Kaeh-Go variety.  Sometimes I think the Chicago
dialect is incorrectly exagerated, but then again that
may be due to my inability to notice what I am used
to.

Cheers!
(and, of course, the hot dogs are superior).
~Troy

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> Poster:       Bapopik at AOL.COM
> Subject:      "Red Eye" on Chicago Accent, Windy
> City, Chicago Hot Dogs
>
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>
> "Red Eye" is a free, condensed edition of the
> Chicago Tribune. A  "Chicago=20
> Greeter" now quotes my work (no credit, natch) as
> having found  "Windy City"=
>  in=20
> Cincinnati papers in the 1860s? Before Chicago had
> sports teams  and the 187=
> 0s=20
> Reds-Whites rivalry with Cincinnati?
> ...
> ...
> ...
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> (http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/about/)=20
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> RedEye is Chicago's free daily newspaper that
> provides a concise  and=20
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> e  and long=20
> on disposable income.=20
> ...
> ...=20
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_http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-092706-myth-main,0,1918515.story?coll=
> =3Dre
> d-slideshow_=20
>
(http://redeye.chicagotribune.com/red-092706-myth-main,0,1918515.story?coll=
> =3Dred-slideshow)=20
> ...
> =20
> True Chicago
> RedEye sets the record straight
> on 13 local myths and mysteries
> By _Kyra  Kyles_ (mailto:kkyles at tribune.com)=20
> RedEye
>
> Published September 27 2006
> The Excalibur nightclub is a source of mystery for
> Dee Zrnich,  25.
>
> "I saw this documentary on Excalibur, and I've been
> on this site  called=20
> _hauntedchicago.com_ (http://hauntedchicago.com/) ,"
> the  Jefferson Park res=
> ident=20
> said of the club at 632 N. Dearborn St. "When I go
> there, I always want to=20
> ask somebody if there are ghosts there, but when
> you're  drinking, it's not=20=
> a=20
> good time."
>
> But ghouls aren't the only local  fascination. One
> South Sider's quest is to=
> =20
> find the building where media mogul  Oprah Winfrey
> lives.
>
> "I just keep wondering where it is," said Aleria
> Butler, 20. "She just is=20
> such a big figure nationally."
>
> Those mysteries  are among the most popular for
> those who live in or are=20
> visiting the city,  history buffs said. About 10
> years ago, locals were obse=
> ssed=20
> with Chicago's mob  history, but the new focus is on
> simple history, local=20
> legends and pop culture  trivia including:  Did Mrs.
> O'Leary's cow really bu=
> rn the=20
> city to a crisp?  What exactly is the Cubs' curse?
> Why does the Chicago=20
> River run backward?
>
> RedEye picked the brains of  several local
> historians and sports experts to=20
> uncover the truth behind popular  traditions, myths
> and rumors blowing aroun=
> d=20
> the Windy  City.
>
> TRADITIONS
> What are the origins of the "Chi-caw-go"  accent?
> Mayor Daley's pronunciatio=
> n=20
> of Chicago as "Chi-caw-go" illustrates  the accent
> that outsiders attribute=20
> to the city, said Russell Lewis, chief  historian of
> the Chicago History Mus=
> eum.
>
> Chicago natives have a  distinctive nasal accent
> that also can be found amon=
> g=20
> Michigan, Cleveland and  western New York State
> residents, Lewis said.
>
> "This may have been derived  from heavy German,
> Polish and Eastern European=20
> influences in the Great Lakes  Region," Lewis said.
>
> Why is Chicago called the Windy  City?
> There are two possible sources, according to Chicago
> greeter  Jennifer Gordo=
> n.
>
> "Some think that during the competition for the 1893
>  World Fair, which=20
> Chicago won, that it came down to Chicago and New
> York,"  Gordon said. A New=
>  York=20
> editor, tired of hearing Chicago politicians brag,
> dubbed Chicago a "Windy=20
> City," full of politicians with a lot of hot  air.
>
> Another school of thought attributes the slogan to a
> Cincinnati  journalist=20
> in the 1860s who tired of Chicagoans bragging about
> their sports  teams, Gor=
> don=20
> said.
>
> Why do we load our hot dogs with
> toppings=E2=80=94except  ketchup?
> Local culinary historian Bruce Kraig told RedEye in
> 2003 that  dog-loading=20
> can be traced to the 1920s, when local Italian and
> Greek hot dog  stand vend=
> ors=20
> tried to outdo each other with toppings. That's why
> a  Chicago-style hot dog=
> =20
> is piled with German condiments of mustard, pickles
> and  celery salt along w=
> ith=20
> Mediterranean-inspired tomatoes, hot peppers and
> relish.
>
> So locals empty the entire vegetable garden on a hot
> dog but  frown on addin=
> g=20
> ketchup. Why?
>
> "Nobody knows for sure, but it may be that  the
> relish is already sweet and=20
> adding ketchup just makes it too darn sweet,"  Lewis
> said.
>
>
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