B.A. Boppers

Coming from Chicago, I have had a lot of hot dogs. A few hot dogs usually sit on the summer bbq grill alongside the burgers topped with a slice of American cheese. During the after school hours of 3:30 - 4:30, microwaves across the Tri State area simultaneously heat up wieners for snacks. Cheese dogs too, filled with processed yellow cheesy stuff that melts inside the nuked dog or just stays solid for the impatient kids who just eat the dogs cold. Thoughts of grilled, slightly blackened dogs from the forest preserve bbq bring back memories. But whenever I return to Chicago I always have a famous Chicago style hot dog made with Vienna Beef franks, sport peppers, mustard, celery salt, florescent green relish, tomato, dill pickle spear, chopped onions and NO KETCHUP.
There are a few places in San Francisco that serve "Chicago style hot dogs", some are horrible, some are just below average, none worth mentioning. But who cares really. There are a lot of other great alternatives here.
Here in SF we have foo foo dogs that are probably pretty good. And we have all sorts of artesian and homemade sausages. I enjoy Rosamunde, where you can get wild boar sausage, merguez, duck sausage, andouille, among other selections grilled to order on a wonderful bun with mustard, sauerkraut and Chicago style giardinare.
If you don't know about hot dogs in San Francisco, here is a San Francisco hot dog list with info on "the city's best dressed dogs". The list includes a house made dog from Absinthe made of Kobe beef, pork shoulder and bacon and a few off the beaten track spots to find hot dogs from 4505 Meats. It's fun to follow the zilladog around the city to find the clandestine grill set up. Or you can just go official and wait in line at the Thursday Ferry Plaza Farmers Market.
I found this zilladog on the corner of Guerrero and 16th Street.
Tune: Quiet Dog by Mos Def

Tune: Dog Eat dog by De La Soul

Tune: Black Dog by BJ Nevenko

Tune: Dog Style by Ziqo

Tune: Dejen Esos Perros by La Banda Gorda

Tune: Perro Gaucho by Negromoreno

Tune: La Vecinita by El Perro

Tune: Boogaloo Del Perro by Los Destellos

Tune: 488 Kilometros by Cuarteto Imperial

New Cumbias Sonideras

Tune: Cumbia Washa by Los Tepoz "Hey hey, whassup bro?" - basically just a steady instrumental with a few saludos and some nice rolling percussion.
This sonidero Poblano group, Los Tepoz are different from the banda Group, also from Mexico called Los Tepoz. *almost positive
I love this video for El Tamalero from los otros Tepoz.


"de chocolate traigo Ferrero Rocher MnMs Milkyway Snikers....halls cloretes pepitoria cacahuates trident....nueces pistachios cocadas de coco y platano pasado..." in other words El Tamalero's got it all.
Tune: Danza Sonidera by Grupo Kachimba A great cumbia for dos mil nueve complete with tropical bird yells and shout outs to drinking beer and dancing. Great beat and instrument interplay. "Danza Sonidera para cortoriar"

And some Chicago Blues

Tune: Puppy Howl Blues by Chicago's Big Moose from the Bad Ass Boppers Vol 2 LP. Listen as he shouts out San Francisco in the begining. Interesting that all the places he shouts out are "down south" except for SF, California. The "puppy howl" guitar is insane on this track and Jhonny "Big Moose" Walker keeps the piano rockin as always. Not to be confused with the other Chicago celebrity The Blue Moose

Tune: Mean Ole Frisco by Little Walter also from the Bad Ass Boppers Vol 2 LP


*although this clip says it is "Little Walter singing" it is actually Little Walter on the harmonica and Muddy Waters singing. Well actually they are both just actors playing Muddy and Lil Walter. I think Little Walter sings "My Babe"in the film, a tune Jimmy Schanz had me sing in the Cartoon Gypsies.

Tune: Get Out of Here by Billy Boy Arnold
Tune: Man Of Many Words by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells
I can remember seeing Buddy Guy jam out full force a decade ago, the year Junior Wells died, as I worked the expo line at his club in Chicago with the cooks from Mexico. Wish I had a digital camera back then. Memories will do.