Wieners and Buns

I used to think a hot dog was a hot dog. I assume this is a last vestige
from a necessary miserly upbringing. We bought the cheap ones by the
pailful because we always had friends and neighbors over. Plus we ate
like pissed off midgets (just kidding, midgets eat like everyone
else...) Even still, I love hot dogs.

Plain
With Cleveland Stadium Mustard (http://www.stadiummustard.com)
With Ketchup and Tabasco Sauce
Cooked over a fire
boiled
cold and "raw"
Even cooked over the flame from a gas stove (good times too!)

I also never believe a hot dog can be "overcooked". As long as the dogs
aren't actually flaking off stuff like burnt wood they are still good. A
neccessary evil to all this is the hot dog bun. These i could always
take or leave. At a bonfire (a fond weekly affair as a kid in those
kindler gentler less police state times) i might eat 6 or 8 dogs but
only 2 buns.

Well!

A lot has changed, and recently i might add. A close friend lives across
the street, and in a true neighbor one-ups-manship display, he decreed
that he ONLY ate Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs
(http://www.nathansfamous.com). And I, with no trump card of a more
expensive truffle stuffed, fois gras infused dog, simply played the "bah
humbug" card.

"I eat only the cheapest damn hot dogs, with the cheapest damn buns"
I said. "The cheap ones have so much fat and stuff that they cook up
better. Besides who wants o eat anything that 'plumps' anyway?
GROSS!"

Fast forward a few days and inevitably a meal of the tasty tubes of meat
came up. The neighbors brought the dogs and buns, and i supplied the
BTUs. They brought over Nathan's and some Sara Lee Potato rolls. The
package of the dogs proclaimed "SKINLESS 100% BEEF .... blah diddy
blahdee blah". When i opened the package however i detected a faint
whiff of garlic, and something.... (Still don't know what the something
is). OK, so they smelled good. I threw some on the grill and cooked 'em
slow over medium heat until a nice "crust" had formed. They turned a
delightful golden color on the outside, and the garlic smell had become
more pronounced. I threw one on the Sara Lee potato roll and went for it Au Naturelle.

DAMN. that is a good damn hot dog. It bursts (uhh, like caviar i guess)
in your mouth with a bizarre crisp as your teeth break through the outer
cooked crust. They have a savory taste, somewhere between hot dogs and polish garlic kielbasa, and the bun? super soft, fragrant and little
chewy. Like somebody baked it that day. Altogether perhaps the single
defining moment in a lifetime passion for the Dog that is Hot.

The experience is interesting for other reasons as well. Nathan's is a
traditional style short sausage. Which means its much longer than
traditional hot dogs. So your first and last bite are pure Hot Dog, and
no gooky toppings. I love gooky toppings, you see, but i wanna taste the
dog too! Plus they have such a well spiced flavor and are so juicy (i
have no idea why) that they can be eaten with just about any traditional
topping and get along just fine. You like Kraut? no problem. Tabasco
sauce? done and done. Spicy Brown, Yellow, Deli, Stadium Style, White,
Dijon mustard? uhh, Yeah. Onions, ketchup, relish (dill OR sweet)? yes,
yeah, uh-huh, correctamundo.

So, if you happen to go past the hot dog zone at your local grocer, pay
the extra 2 bucks for the Nathan's. Then pick up some "expensive" Sara
lee buns, or the like. If you think: $3.49 for Hot Dogs??? and $2.49 for
Buns???? FORGET IT? then you are missing the point. Spend the extra
money on this one, trust me. You can easily get two or three meals (yes
i used the "M" word, these are no snack) out of these babies. So really,
$6 for 3 meals? not too shabby huh? Hot dogs will once again become a
staple, and the center piece of a meal, not just some side dish that
cooks fast enough to be eaten first or for when the main entree runs out.

Doggedly Yours,
-c