Internet comedy duo makes pit stop in the suburbs

They call their creation the "Chicazebo."

It's a gazebo-shaped culinary concoction made with Chicago's food specialties - deep dish pizza, an Italian beef sandwich and hot dogs. If you imagine the hot dogs as pillars, that might help the visual.

"You can probably get your head in there, if you have a really small head," said Rhett McLaughlin, half of the Internet comedy duo, Rhett and Link, who ate their way through Chicago earlier this month. "It's all so good, it's a compromise for the people of Chicago. Next time we come to Chicago, we expect to see the Chicazebo on a lot of menus, and we'd be fine with that."

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Rhett and Link are in the midst of a cross-country road trip sponsored by Alka-Seltzer that involves stopping at famous restaurants and food festivals. After dining at Lou Malnati's, Mr. Beef and a Turkish festival in Chicago, they visited the historic Choo Choo Restaurant in Des Plaines for a burger, a bowl of turkey chili and a milkshake - delivered by electric toy train, of course.

They loved their meal and the restaurant, which will be mentioned in their Webisodes and blogs at rhettandlink.com and speedysroadtrip.com. (Link described his Choo Choo burger as "floppy and large, in a very pleasant way," while Rhett said "I can definitely taste that it arrived on a train, and that someone in a loving fashion pressed it down with a spatula.")

Rhett and Link are childhood friends from North Carolina, where "pig pickin'" from a roasted pig with a vinegar-based barbecue sauce is the entree of choice. They don't pretend to be foodies, but refer to themselves as "deputy food critics" who represent the "average palate."

Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal grew up creating funny videos and songs, but their post-college careers began as engineers. They still made videos on the side, and when their "Facebook Song" became a YouTube phenomenon, Rhett and Link made Web comedy and videos their full-time gig.

To date, "Facebook Song," a harmony-filled original tune featuring Link doing a short recorder solo, has been viewed more than 1.6 million times.

The duo is also known for sneaking onto the Grammy Awards red carpet last year, carrying a copy of their favorite Lionel Richie vinyl album and asking famous musicians to talk about it or sing a few bars, resulting in another one of their most popular videos.

The self-titled Lionel Richie album holds special meaning to them, because they photographed everyone who came into their dorm room at North Carolina State University - nearly 100 people in all - in the same lying-on-his-side pose that Richie does in the album's centerfold.

"People we didn't even know would knock on our door and say, 'We're here for Project Lionel.'" Rhett said. "We still have all the pictures."

Other popular projects include "Pimp my Stroller" and their documentary "Looking for Miss Locklear," a search for their first-grade teacher without using the Internet or telephones.

While they love to perform live, and their cuss-free humor makes them something of a novelty in the comedy world, they find they can reach a bigger and broader audience online. Alka-Seltzer approached them about this tour after stumbling across their Web site. The company is offering a $10,000 prize in a "What are your road trip must haves?" contest.

So far, Rhett and Link have created 150 videos that are all less than 3 minutes long.

"We like the added challenge of being funny without being offensive," Link said. "We just make stuff that makes us laugh."