We have a small impromptu group here at work that is slowly working our way through all the "Hot Dog" places here in town. Most of us are Southern Born & Bred but we do have some that hail from North of the M&D. We have sampled all types - from the Red Dye weenies to the brats. Down here, it is not really considered a dog unless it has mustard & chili - Hot Dog chili, that is. None of that stuff with beans in it. No relish. No kraut. Chili has to be just right - not too runny. Truth is I can go either way (that is a set-up for you Mark). There is a place in town, Skippy's that serves them northern style on Pretzel Buns. The buns are fantastic. My favorite Skippy's is a dog with brown mustard - dijon - thin slices of swiss that melt on the dog and then smothered with kraut. Completely different taste than the traditional Southern dog. I thought a thread like this could expand my culinary experience by giving me ideas to experiment with - especially since the regulars are from all over the continent.

I only eat beef franks from the grocery store. (Yeah, I know, Boring!)

Well....not exactly expanding the culinary experience!

Straight lines are for wieners.

But wait!! What about my other set-up?? Your "Bud Abbot" to my "Costello"

To contribute something to the conversation, I've eaten at Flo's but it didn't strike me as amazing for all I had heard about it over the years.

Maybe I just don't have gourmet hot dog tastes....

Edit: I see on another link that Flo's WAS rated one of the 10 best hot dogs in the U.S..... so I guess it must be me!

Too easy. I don't relish the simple ones.

No...but looking at the link, that is exactly the kind of place where you find the better dogs down here.

Of course....I should have called out one of the junior members - something more suited to their skill levels.

This place

http://www.myfox8.com/news/wghp-story-rachael-ray-hotdog-100203,0,6289265.story

was just voted best hot dog in the South. I personally have it at the bottom rank of the establishments we have eaten at here.

I like brats with mustard and cheddar wrapped in a tortilla.

Mustard, kraut, and relish. Top Dog is the place to go in this area.

So now you're trying to hide your slurs in mid-sentence. What's next....Tonic, limey and gin?

I only get hot dogs from places that keep their kitchens spic and span.

I can't believe that The Varsity didn't make it out of the first round. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

I like Chicago Dogs pretty well. I enjoy the chili dog conceptually, but - in practice - the chili is just too inconsistent.

The Seattle thing is to add cream cheese (and other stuff) to a hot dog.

Chicken sausage with all sorts of foofy stuff (artichokes, sun dried tomatoes, et. al) seem quite popular here.

Personally, I like bratwurst better than hot dogs.

There is a wonderful local place - The Red Hot - that has ONLY craft beer and a variety of hot dogs. You gotta love a place that has Frito Pie on the menu. It is the sort of joint I dream of owning/running after I retire.

I was introduced to Frito Pie a couple of years back when I visited Gail's relatives in Los Alamos, NM. Good stuff, unlike the posolé, which tried to kill me.

My wife makes really good posole. No idea if it's actually authentic, but it's really good.

It's the meat in the hot dogs, or the manufacturing of them that you don't see, that is the problem .

Peter, your comment reminded me of one of my many friends whom has worked in the restaurant industry.

Quite a few years ago, the group of us went out for a birthday celebration. When we were done, the waiter came around to collect everyone's plates and asked if we wanted our leftovers packaged up to take home. We all said yes, but my friend Jen told the waiter to bring the container to her so she could put her leftovers into her container herself.

When I asked her why, she said something to the effect of knowing what goes on in a kitchen. I didn't say anything, but I found it funny how she says that, yet she just ate at the restaurant. Oh joy LOL.

WHOOOOOOSH

What? I'm lost.

The good ol' Hot Dog venders that hang out in front of the Supermarkets. BBQed cheese smokie,with kraut and hot peppers,mmm mmm good.

Zing!

Reminds me, gotta dust off my Doo-wop records.

And I just got the spic and span joke after I typed the last line.

"Whoosh" indeed.

You shouldn't let a day go by without listening to those records.

I'll accept WHOOOOOSH . Zing, to me, as a confrontational tone to it, which wasn't my intention.

How about badabing? Is badabing acceptable?

I think I should start being 25% offended.

Yep



I've started being 25% nicer .

I'll give a listen after I get back from the dermatologist; I've been increasingly concerned as I've watched this cyst on my knee grow.

There's a man who knows how to hijack.

Anyone else like crackers with their hot dogs?

Do you mean on the side, or actually on the hot dog?

I like chips on my sandwich, but crackers on a hot dog is just wrong on so many levels .

I've fed my local geese so many crackers that they honk even before I get my hand in the box.

My wife was going to join me at the pond, but she decided to renig. Great, just great.

What a gyp.

Haven't eaten a dawg for years...I likes octoberfest or Italian sausage though.

Definitely like Italian sausage. (Well, at least 25% definite.)

I'm 25% unsure. The other 75% I can't make up my mind.

It's gotta be a Superdawg.

I've seen what goes into a hot dog. Haven't eaten one since that horrific day. A friend of mine recently told me to try Kosher Dogs and says they are all meat, and not meat 'by product'. Still not buying it though.

A specialty meat shop I buy meat from has some pretty good sausages that I like. The wild boar and cranberry is particularly good.

International Glatt Kosher hot dogs, Abeles & Heymann Kosher Bison/Beef hybrid, Hebrew National, all great hot dogs and my personal favorites.

Bratwursts are one of the best things about college football season.

I don't really like bratwurst.

BURN THE WITCH!!!

Next, you'll say you don't like college football season either!

Meh

Yeah, Hebrew National here.

Same here.

Please keep buying Hebrew Nationals as they are owned by ConAgra (of Omaha)



Ketchup or Chili as toppings BTW.

Thanks, Peter - if I am ever up that way, I would definitely check this place out.

Tom,
Some of the Seattle suggestions were intriguing as well.

For the record, I know there is crap in hotdogs - but hey, didn't the Native Americans consume every bit of the Buffalo?

MMmmm.... Buffalo toenails.

JP, is that a banjo growing on your knee?

A delicacy in some circles.

I left my key fob in the car when I went to the store to pick up some crackers, so I had to flip the lock with a coat hanger.

There ya go agin. Sneakin' them ethnic slurs in mid-sentence.

Ben, putting ketchup on a hot dog will get you hurt really bad in some places. Just sayin'.

Until grandchildren happened, my Dad would allow neither catsup, nor yellow mustard in the house. He did all of the grocery shopping, just to make sure.

Out in a restaurant, if he saw someone at another table even lift a ketchup bottle while there was steak present, he would start muttering insults and obscenities. WWII made for some wickedly odd 1950's Dad's.

Shut UP, man! Don't you know the 50s were perfect?

Inane wrote:

Please keep buying Hebrew Nationals as they are owned by ConAgra (of Omaha)



Ketchup or Chili as toppings BTW.

_________________________________

Will do!

What about BBQ sauce?

Still LMAO, LMAO. Awesome, Ken!

And I thought I was a control freak....

I've never eaten a hotdog at home that I've liked. I tend to only like them at fairs or ballgames...probably because I've been drinking beer, and I don't care if it's crappy or nor not. I absolutely hate gristly bratwurst.

It is hard to beat a good Fair Hot Dog! Down here we have the "Dixie Classic Fair" every October. James E. Strates Shows.

Kosher dog, deli mustard, sauerkraut, on a steamed bun, fries, and a Coke.

Mmmmmm

Can't argue with that!

Can I have a beer instead of a Coke?

Can I have a burger 'stead of a dog?

Can I have tofu ?

I'll just call it a day instead.

I think toebuffalo was mentioned somewhere.

The best hotdog is an all natural one. No need to pump the weenie full of viag nitrates.

It's called "pop" (not "coke" or "soda").
Food was invented for Ketchup (exception being steak).
Nuts don't belong in cakes, brownies, and the like.
Hot dogs are suppose to be made of crap, just enjoy em!
(you've eaten at Burger King, McDonald's and Taco Bell before, right?)

I'm sure I'm missing a few rules but those are the important ones.

That nastiest hot dog I've ever eaten is this nitrate-free turkey dog. My brother and his wife feed them to my nephews since they suffer from a few food allergies. They literally taste like cardboard!

Oh, that looks so familiar, Mary. Interestingly (or horrifyingly) they also sell turkey bologna that tastes exactly the same.

Mmmmm, the sausage of kings...

"The word frankfurter comes from Frankfurt, Germany, where pork sausages served in a bun similar to hot dogs originated.[1] These sausages, Frankfurter Würstchen, were known since the 13th century and given to the people on the event of imperial coronations, starting with the coronation of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor as King"

I remember munching on uncooked frankfurters (freshly made by the local German butcher) on the way home from the market every Saturday when I was a kid. THOSE were the best hotdogs ever.

My first hotdog really grossed me out.

How do you pronounce "pop".....is it like "pahp"?

"Soda"

Worst hot dog I've ever had is going to a place with a large crowd of meat eaters, pretending to be vegetarians, being fed hot dogs that tasted like rubber.

I couldn't eat one. Had to spit it out and throw it away. The best part was watching the die-hard pretenders faces when they felt that they had to scarf them down.

What was that commercial - years ago - I think it was Margarine. The actor would take a bite and then there was fanfare and a crown would appear on their (there, they're) head?

That was Imperial Margarine!