Friday, November 21, 2008

Dressing Retro, Knitting at Superdawg

For those of you who live in Chicago, particularly the Northwest side, there's no need to explain Superdawg. It just is. I've actually never eaten there, but it made a huge impression on me every time my mother would drive past it on our way home from my grandmother's house in Westchester. With 10 children, we couldn't afford to eat there. All those hotdogs! Fries! Cokes! Forget about it. We only ate out on Sundays at restaurants where kids under age 5 could eat for free, and that was more than half the tribe. So SuperDawg was just a pipedream for us kids. Still is (I don't consider myself all-growed-up to use TMZ's term). Anyhow, the flirting guy-and-girl weiners has been practically burned into my memory...not unlike the burning glow of the devil's eyes at St. Michael's Church in the Old Town neighborhood. Those kind of eyes are most unforgettable in a spooky way.

Anyhow, I don't live far from SuperDawg even today. I really owe it to my taller, wage-earning self to dine here at least once. Here's my idea: what if I created a Meetup.com group dedicated to dressing retro, knitting and dining at this most retro eatery, say, at least once a month? This place is already a magnet for old car lovers. Why not go the extra stitch and dress like it's 1959, order some stuff off the menu (2008 prices) knit for a while and watch the fascinating parade of people that also eat here? It's entirely possible you'll spill ketchup on your vintage dirndl skirt, screw up your knitting pattern majorly ... but we'll have so much fun it won't matter. We knitters could even rotate the location to another old-timey eatery (Russell's Barbeque is another childhood favorite) ...but always always dressing like it's the 1950s! The attire is half-the-fun, folks. You don't have to make anything from the "Father Knows Best" era, just work on something. It could be the latest free download from Ravelry, some embroidery, a crochet 70s beret. You get the idea. I think. I hope. Leave your comments below. I'll upload a poll on the sidebar to gauge interest.

2 comments:

tammychristine said...

I can't believe there are no comments yet so I had to get a google account so I could leave one!This sounds like a ton of fun! I can't knit and I live too far away but if I did live closer I'd so be there with a hat on! That's the problem with hats-having some where to wear them!
tammychristine

Mary Beth said...

tammy, I'm so glad you think this is a great idea!