Will she be favorite hot dog condiment? |
FOR
THE RECORD, Heinz has long manufactured mustard. But they focused their efforts
on making the condiment for sale to food service buyers. You could put Heinz
mustard on your food at the local diner or at the ballpark.
But
try going to the grocery store, and you’d find shelves filled with French’s
mustard; along with various brands of gourmet mustard for those who look down
on anything colored yellow.
That
is until this year, when Kraft Heinz decided to start selling its mustard
products for retail. I’m sure many of us have seen the television commercials
where Heinz catsup brings along Heinz mustard, making the previously-available
brand all jealous to the point where she blows her stack (and yellow goop gets
squirted all over the place).
Now,
the Chicago Tribune reports that Kraft Heinz will move one of its corporate
headquarters from the suburb of Northfield to Chicago proper – specifically at
the Aon Center, 200 E. Randolph St.
CORPORATE
EMPLOYEES WILL have a wonderful view of the Millennium Park that I’m sure will
make the Chicago office the desirable place of employment (who in their right
mind would rather work in an office in Pittsburgh?) within the corporate
structure.
As
far as Chicago’s public persona is concerned, this is a good thing.
Because
while I don’t deny that Chicagoans consume catsup (way too much, I personally
find that condiment repulsive and don’t put it on anything I eat), I wouldn’t
want it to become one of those products that Rahm Emanuel sees the need to
include whenever he makes a bet with another mayor whenever one of our
professional sports franchises plays against another for some sort of
championship.
Now
if we can claim in those bets that we’re putting up Chicago-style hot dogs coated
in part with Heinz mustard, that would make it all the more appropriate.
A personal favorite |
It’s just a shame that the city’s leadership can’t be as concerned with bolstering the neighborhood public image as it is that of downtown. But that’s a problem that goes back generations before Emanuel came to office.
So
back to mustard, since there will now be a major brand that will have a Chicago
association, just as we now claim that the only legitimate hot dog is one of
the Vienna Beef brand (although personally, I prefer the hot dogs made by the
Bobak Sausage Co. on Archer Avenue).
Although
I’m not a total snob on the hot dog question.
FOR
AS OFTEN as I have a hot dog minus catsup that contains all the ingredients
that turn two wieners into a meal, there also are times when I’m just as likely
to give a hot dog some onions (usually raw) and a squirt of mustard.
Now,
by using the Heinz brand, I can claim to have a truly Chicago “experience” even
when I’m doing nothing more than munching on something to tide my appetite when
I don’t have time for a full meal.
For those nights when a hot dog just won't cut it |
Like a Chicago-style pan pizza (which I actually had for dinner Wednesday night). As for whether the thin-crust pizza is a more legitimate culinary experience, that is a debate for a future commentary.
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