10.19 - Chicagoans are Fat

In 2006, Men's Fitness ranked Chicago as the fattest city in the nation. Over the last few years, we've fluctuated in rank but have consistently stayed near the top. I didn't quite realize the reason for this seemingly exaggerated ranking until this past weekend. My brother's friends came to visit from California and he tried to give them the most comprehensive "taste" of Chicago. Hot dogs, Italian beef, Garrett popcorn, and even bubble tea (since the California version is apparently bootleg). Deep dish pizza was obviously also on the menu, but we decided to have it on their last day here as a big finale to their trip.


Sunday dinner


Lou's sausage


Gino's East pepperoni


Giordano's spinach

The rule for the evening was that everyone had to try a half slice of each variety. My brother, my three cousins, and I earnestly devoured our slices, but the Californians only had a few bites from each until their eyes began to glaze over. I looked at the half-eaten slices on one guy's plate and questioned his masculinity. He said, "We're used to paper-thin slices!" He then defiantly nibbled at the slices a little bit more but quickly gave up. Poor guy.

No wonder Chicagoans are fat. We've had years of training. :\