Hot Dog/Sausage Reviews
Tell us about it!
What's your favorite hot dog place? Know a neighborhood grocery that makes delectable sausage? Write it up, in 300 words or less, and send it to topdog@famdog.com. If you have a photo from the place, send that along too! Let us know all the details, like food quality, ambiance, price, and what makes the place special (or not so much). All reviews will be subject to editing. Thanks!
What's your favorite hot dog place? Know a neighborhood grocery that makes delectable sausage? Write it up, in 300 words or less, and send it to topdog@famdog.com. If you have a photo from the place, send that along too! Let us know all the details, like food quality, ambiance, price, and what makes the place special (or not so much). All reviews will be subject to editing. Thanks!
The Wiener Factory
14917 Ventura Blvd.
Sherman Oaks, CA
OK, I admit it. I'm a sucker for a good chili dog. So when I went out to Los Angeles recently, a friend said, "You've gotta try The Wiener Factory." He usually steers me right. This time was no exception.
Amid all the glitz that is L.A., The Wiener Factory is decidedly old school. Owner Kevin Lentz doesn't go in for neon and glass; the signs on the building are painted wood. If you want to eat outside, there are a couple of tables and a sliding window where you order. There's a certain simplicity here that stands in stark contrast to the city around it. It works, because The Wiener Factory has been in business for 37 years.
Inside, things are no more extravagant. In fact, it looks like the last time the place was decorated was when it opened. But it's clean, and the walls are full of clever saying scrawled in black marker like "In God we trust, all others pay cash." No, really, bring cash, because that's all the place takes. For the unprepared, there's an ATM next door.And for anyone who grew up reading MAD Magazine in the '70s like me, there's a Sergio Aragones drawing that has been lovingly painted around. I liked the place instantly.
But I digress.
I placed my order at the counter, reading off the classic menu with the red letters that stick into the little slots with the clock in the middle that hung on the wall. We were in a hurry, so I ordered a chili dog with mustard, onions and cheese, or "works" in Wiener Factory parlance.
The steam rose from the warmers as Kevin assembled my dog. More old school: he has a rack or pallette that holds what looked to be 6-8 dogs at a time. The tool of an artist, and most expeditious during the lunch rush.
I got my order and set to work. This was a good looking chili dog, with a ton of chili mounded with shredded cheddar cheese. One bite of the natural-casing wiener and I vowed to put this place on my "must visit" list the next time I go to L.A.The chili was meaty and well seasoned, and the bun just right. Plenty of onions too. The dog ran me about $3.50 or so, and I have to say it filled me up. The photos pretty much say the rest.
I happened to overhear Kevin explaining to someone how he almost went to law school. I'm glad he didn't; the world has plenty of lawyers, and not enough people like him making great hot dogs. Oh, the Wiener Factory has polish and spicy polish too!--Topdog
Street Meet
Hilton Head Island, SC
A reliable source says, "Their Peach Tree Dog (with pimiento cheese, cole slaw and pickled okra) is just a monster of taste. Plus they have Pabst Blue Ribbon on tap." Review - The Island Packet, Hilton Head Island, SC
Carter's (Nearly)
World-Famous Hot Dogs
Muncie, IN
Carter's is a Muncie, IN, icon, frequented by Ball State University students at 3 a.m. and everyone else from 11 a.m. on. But this isn't a chain of restaurants that really don't care about the wiener they are serving. No, this is a one-man show, with a traditional hot-dog cart.
Owner Mark Carter is a certified "wienerologist." Menu items include hot dogs, Polish sausage and Italian sausage. Condiments include mustard, catsup, diced onions, pickle relish, and fine cheddar cheese. An ice-cold soft drink of your choice and a variety of chips are also available.
Each dog is checked prior to delivery to assure it is being served at the optimum temperature. My personal favorite is a "1 and 1"; this is my own special menu item (yes, Carter creates menu items for his customers). It consists of one polish and one hot dog each dressed with mustard, catsup, diced onions, pickle relish and a light sprinkling of grated cheddar cheese. These are wrapped with heavy foil and served with Baked Lay's chips and a Mountain Dew. The wrapper and chips are used to create a bonus gastronomical delight: spread the foil out on the surface you're eating on then spread your chips around on the foil. Eat your dogs over the foil. Condiments will drip onto the chips/foil and can be enjoyed in their own right.
Feel free to bat wits with the Hot Dog Man while you consume, but be warned, you will lose! Also, if you want to know anything about the Cincinnati Reds, ask Mark and I assure you he will know. Or, if you just want to listen to a game on the transistor radio hanging from the hot dog cart feel fee to do so. Carter's (nearly) World Famous Hot Dogs, one of a kind and simply the very best!--Steve Kaluf, Muncie IN
Ramrod250 found this interview with Carter plus a slideshow. See and hear it here.
Web domains for sale!
Visit Mondodomains
