VBT US Cellular Field: Zloty Dog

For you casual baseball fans, there is another Chicago team besides the Cubs. The White Sox play on the south side of the Windy City at US Cellular Field. And sorry to inform Cubs fans but the all-around food menu is much better at the White Sox venue than the Cubs 100 year old ballpark. Chicago is unique in that it has stadiums on both ends of the century spectrum with Wrigley Field built in the the first part of the 20th century and US Cellular in the latter half.

You know what else Chicago has? Poles, and lots of them. Windy city residents that claim Polish heritage constitute 7.3% of the citizenry of America’s third largest city. Chicago also has the largest Polish population in the world of any city outside the borders of Poland. In short, there are lots of Pollacks in Chicago. You know one thing they are really good at? Meat. Kielbasa and Polish sausage are well known here in the states. Poland is also one the handful of nations that consume a large quantity of pierogis, with the polish variety often being filled with sauerkraut.

To honor Chicago’s intimate connection with Poland, and while we watch a White Sox game, I present to you: The Zloty Dog. Let me save you the Google trip, the Zloty is the national currency of Poland. For this dog you will need a large bun of your choosing, a long Polish sausage, sauerkraut and frozen pierogis. If you can make your own pierogis, I have a room available at my house for you; rent free.

I use frozen pierogis, mainly because you have to be a elf of Eastern European bloodline in order to make the damn things. I just don’t have that coordination. To make up for it, I do make my own sauerkraut, but you can get by with a jar from the grocery store. I used a Sam’s Choice smoked Polish sausage from Wal-Mart because I am a cheap bastard with no income. If you have a Polish deli near you, and flush with cash, be my guest. The rest is pretty simple.

Grill up the Polish sausage, place in bun, put some brown mustard on it, cover in sauerkraut and top with three or four pierogis. Faster than you can say Lech Walesa you have a Zloty Dog in hand. Enjoy while you wonder how many White Sox it takes to change a lightbulb.

Beer pairing for the Zloty Dog: wash is down with your choice of the Chicago-brewed Goose Island beer.