Hot Dawg

In general, I do not think about hot dogs.  I just eat them.  I scarf them down with lots of ketchup, some mustard and relish.  Sometimes with onions stewed in ketchup.  They are a quick means to an end.

There are exceptions that are dear to my heart:

I only eat them with sauerkraut, when my mother makes them.  I am not sure what she does but between the bay leaves, butter, bonito flakes and whatever else she tosses in there, magic happens.  But these dogs are eaten with rice, and not in a bun.

As a college kid, I ate chili cheese dogs from the WaWa to fuel my brain, feed my soul, and keep me company on lonely nerdy nights.

Besides these two instances, I have only noticed one hot dog in my entire life.  I was at Yankee Stadium with CK, her bf at the time and his best friend.  The Yankees were playing the Minnesota Twins.  I was not following the game but at some point, I was handed a hot dog and a packet of mustard.  Heaven.  Hot dog heaven.  I have not had a hot dog that comes even close to those hot dog heights.  Even on a return visit to Yankee Stadium, the dog did not compare.

Until now.

Yesterday I went to Dogmatic with the Fella.  Welcome to the next level in hotdoggery.  They have five kinds of sausage, six kinds of sauces and the most amazing bread.  Amazing Bread!!

Feel free to have your Beavis and Butthead moment during following:

They essentially poke a tunnel into half a baguette and stuff your sausage and sauce into the opening.  Making for a crunchy, saucy, sausage handful of deliciousness.  The sausage is a more than reasonable length.  The bread is so so good.

I had the chicken dog with truffle gruyere sauce.  The baguette held up surprisingly well for most of the meal, only springing a leak when I got to the last few inches of eating.

You might think that $5.50 is pricey for a hot dog.  It's a pretty substantial snack.  Perhaps you could even call it a meal.  The non-fried fries while being a good idea were so-so.  Not fried enough.  But perhaps cheese fries which are served with cheddar jalopeño sauce will have what it takes.  I will let you know after my next visit.