In Praise of Hot Dogs

I may not be a connoisseur of fine wines, but I am a connoisseur of fine Hot Dogs.  Hot Dogs are the perfect food and I will freely admit,if I could, I would live on them. And I wonder why I haven’t lost more weight after two years at the gym.

One of the many reasons I choose to live in Greensboro, NC is that I have found the best Hot Dogs in the world, so far, at Yum Yum’s Ice Cream, less than 5 minutes from my house, across from UNC-G.  They are perfection.  Their chili is the best I have ever had and combined with onions, mustard and slaw, it is Hot Dog Heaven.  I haven’t look much farther in Greensboro–like any good relationship, when you have found perfection, why keep looking?  But I will say the ones at Stamey’s Barbeque with hot barbeque slaw, mustard, onions and chili are definitely acceptable.

Most of you know, I grew up in Danville, Virginia.  Not a culinary hot spot.  There is still Short Sugars Barbeque and the Danview Restaurant, but not much else remains of the  memorable local restaurant scene.  Today, the only culinary reason for that horrible little town to exist is for Mid-Town Market’s Chicken Salad.  But Danville is where I developed my fondness for really good Hot Dogs.  The Quickie Shop there had the best slaw I ever had.  If they had not gone out of business, they would be in the running for best in the world.  Mama Possum’s Drive In also had good Hot Dogs, but their cheeseburgers with mustard, chili, onions and slaw were really their specialty.  Ben’s Place, also sadly gone now, was also very good in the Hot Dog department.  Some people liked the Hot Dogs at Schoolfield Lunch, but I thought they were definitely second tier.

When I traveled Virginia working for political campaigns, I could tell you where to get the best Dogs anywhere in Southern Virginia.  There was a little country store on Route 29 between Lynchburg and Charlottesville that I still recall fondly.  There were also some great Hot Dogs at another little country store between Richmond and South Boston on Route 360.

Hot Dogs are also the perfect food in that they go with any occasion.  Before Steve and I attended the Tony Awards in New York a few years ago, our pre-ceremony dinner was a couple of Hot Dogs from a street vendor.  We were short on time, so stopped at a pushcart and we ate them using a covered trash can on Fifth Avenue as our table.  We were dressed in Tuxedos eating them in front of Radio City Music Hall.  I wish there were pictures.  It was definitely a memorable moment.  And those were damn good hot dogs!  I love the ones from the pushcarts in New York, but they are very different from Southern cuisine, so not comparable in a competition.

I’ve also discovered Hot Dogs can be relatively healthy if done properly at home.  I have done a lot of research on this subject.  If you use 97% Fat Free Hebrew National All Beef Franks and Pepperidge Farms rolls– and are sparing on the condiments– you can have a two Hot Dog meal for less than 600 calories.  I try to do them with my homemade pepper relish, mustard and ketchup to avoid the calories of slaw and chili.  They are quite good.

So you see, Hot Dogs are really the perfect food.  You can make them relatively healthy, eat them on the run and they fit any occasion.  What more could you ask for?