Hot Dogs in The Onion

I couldn't stop laughing while reading this piece in the Onion titled "C.C. Sabathia, Prince Fielder Keep Imagining Each Other As Giant Talking Hot Dog, Hamburger". Classic. The best line:

"I should have noticed something was wrong weeks ago, when Prince, who has always had a certain fascination with the sausage races, expressed delight that we had 'signed Cleveland's huge chili cheese dog' and welcomed C.C. to the team by coating him liberally with celery salt and mustard," said manager Ned Yost.

Spike's Junkyard Dogs

The obligatory chow shot. I just couldn't resist getting one with Hank
and Paul, my hot dog buddies. We talked about the dearth of corn dogs
in Boston, and I promised to hunt a good place down--especially since
Paul has never had one before!

Spike's Junkyard Dogs

While Spike's is known for its hot dog bun, which is a half loaf of French bread, my favorite part of stopping at Spike's is the crazy amount of condiments. They feature all sorts of crazy dogs, which can cause a moment of indecisiveness for the uninitiated or adventerous.

Hank opted for two of Spike's specialty dogs, the top two, but I cannot recall what they were called. Paul went for a dog with mustard and sauerkraut (they call it a German Shepherd), and one of the junkyard dogs, which is a quasi-Chicago dog. It has the mustard, tomato, pickle spear, and pepperonici you find on a Chicago dog, but adds banana peppers and chopped green onions.

Spike's Junkyard Dogs

At my workplace, we've begun a monthly lunch for the library
assistants to get together and dish some dirt. This month we got
together at Spike's Junkyard Dogs, which has several locations in
Boston. Cheryl could barely contain her enthusiasm for her hot dog,
which she ordered plain (!) but later put some mustard on.

An Afternoon with the Staten Island Yankees

So i recently went to see the Staten Island Yankees, a minor league team, play an early afternoon game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. That day also happened to be "All You Can Eat" day. They had a buffet in which you could get one free hot dog and one free soda per trip. So that means EVERYBODY was on line for free food, and you stood on line for 10 minutes. The dogs were from Nathan's so at least there was some quality. However, the stadium sits right on the waterfront, with great views of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. I also got a free hat. Support local minor league teams!

Speed's Hot Dog Wagon

After returning from the honeymoon, I went with my friend Hank to
Speed's. I thought this picture gives a good idea of just how big a
Speed's famous hot dog is.

The downside of the trip to Speed's was that the temp was in the 90's
and it was a pretty muggy day. I was already pretty tired that day
from the jet lag so the heat just made it worse. Add that to eating a
half-pound dog and it was instant nap time the moment I got home.

It was still a delicious dog though, one of the best in America, hands
down.

Sadie, The Marinated Carrot Dog

So my friend Evan came down to visit from Waltham, MA this weekend, and I managed to talk him into going to Willie's Dawgs in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I love this place, but I had no appetite by the time we got there. Evan, on the other hand, realized he had a 4 hour drive back to Boston and would probably need food. So what does a vegetarian get at a hot dog spot? A Sadie! The sandwiches are all named after dogs that are put up for adoption. So the Sadie is a grilled marinated carrot, with cheddar cheese and avocado on a multigrain roll. The guy who runs the spot said that this sandwich has a cult following. He said that they marinate the carrots in hot dog spices, which makes the carrot actually taste like a hot dog. Definitely give this a try when you're in Brooklyn. Get the onion rings also.

Hot Dogs in the News

I've recently had a few hot dog-related newspaper articles forwarded to me by friends, and have caught a few on my own, so I wanted to take a break from writing about my own experiences and highlight these articles. And, because hot dogs and baseball are synonymous with summertime in America, all of these articles are about the two pieces of Americana.

The New York Times has been a great source for a few hot dog articles of note. The first article I had been turned on to (thanks to my friend Paul) was about the new ballpark foods trying to compete with the almighty hot dog. This hilarious story (thanks Hank!) about ballpark vendors in another era relates the dangers and misfires of the author as a young hot dog salesman at Ebbets Field.

The Boston Globe, not to be outdone, has three recent pieces about franks; unsurprisingly enough, most deal with the fabled Fenway Park. The first was a blurb piece about how there are automated hot dog vending machines that dispense kosher dogs. Expect to see a post on this blog about the machine after I next visit the park. Next up is an article with an overview of Fenway's frank offerings. I'm a little surprised at the choice of names for one of their hot dogs--what seems to be their Cadillac of offerings, the "Gourmet Dog". This seems to be little more than a natural casing frank. Really, is that gourmet? I guess innards are back in vogue among gastronomists now--look out kobe beef dog, it's all about guts now! The last article is about the traveling "Baseball as America" exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science. Apparently when I go to the exhibit next week I'll be greeted with a fine selection of encased meats to choose from. If I were Homer Simpson, this is the moment I would shout an expectant "Woo Hoo!"

Last, but certainly not least, is this rather droll New Yorker cartoon about the fine art of hot dogs. Now this cartoon from the New Yorker I actually understand!

Holy shit!

Wowie! I'm now a married man and loving every part of it.

Karl's Sausage Kitchen pt. 2

Here's a wonderful selelction of encased meats that we feasted on the
weekend prior to our wedding. I picked up some brauenwursts (the
little fat ones) and some smoked polish sausages to compliment the
burgers for my last cookout as a bachelor.

The brauenwursts were a mixture of veal and pork, finely ground with
heavy spices. The smoked sausages were half cooked rough ground
sausages with plenty of smoky flavor. A fine way to dine if you're not
worried about living tomorrow.