Returning to Yaya's and Full Moon

Lately we have revisited a few places we have already written about. One day when Robert called me and said he wanted to go back to YaYa's I offered no argument what so ever. If you missed Yaya's take a look at the original posting Here.


YaYa's still serves up one of the most unique "samiches" you will find. Their Q-Dog is a hot dog with kraut topped with enough bar-BQ to make a decent sandwich itself, finished off with their unique sauce. All this served by Mr. Personality who loves his business and his customers.

The day we revisited YaYa's was a damp, cold winter day, not the best time to eat outside. Robert had called his friends, the Ackers who own Crossroads Cottage, Home of Forgotten Arts, which is right behind Yaya's. They came out and placed an order and we all went into their shop for a sit down visit and lunch. This was the perfect way to deal with the "dining room" at YaYa's which is a picnic table under an umbrella. Of course Mr. YaYa offered to dry it off for us and make us as comfortable as possible which was tempting but we opted for the great indoors.

During this visit I asked about his sauce which prompted quite a discussion. He even gave me his recipe along with the comment; "Bar-BQ guys aren't supposed to tell their recipes, are they?" Well his recipe is safe with me. I'll never tell or even make it. It calls for ingredients which must be purchased in very large quantities making it impractical to make for yourself.


Another Revisit:

I like the unusual hot dogs so I recently went back to Full Moon to pick up some "moon dogs". Read about the original visit here.
Yes, they do serve great ribs but the moon dog is just as good. On this visit I took the dogs back to the office where a friend and I sat down and devoured them together. He is also a hot dog lover but had never had a moon dog before. He has now found a new and memorable dog to have every now and then. I'm sure I'll be having more!


And Another Revisit:

One Saturday my wife and I found ourselves close to Sammy's Old Fashioned Hot Dogs and I was able to convince her to eat lunch there. Read my original post here. During these revisits sometime we try something new since Robert and I usually stick to a "standard" order for comparison purposes. This time I went right for the dog I originally called their "special dog". I came to discover when I ordered it that what I got was a blank stare from the teenage guy manning the counter on Saturday. They call this dog a "beef dog". It's a hot dog topped with their hot beef concoction. Other hot dog stands call a similar product a "special" but I offer no argument in giving their dog a different name. It is so much better than the usual "special" it deserves a name of it's own.

My wife had the "beef on a bun" sandwich which is basically the same hot beef that I had on my dog, but served on a hamburger bun. It is something like a sloppy-Joe, but different. She isn't a big fan of hot dog stand type food but really enjoyed this item. I want to go back now and try one of their legendary hamburgers.


A Couple of Unexpected Hot Dog Pictures
Finally a couple of parting shots. During a recent visit to Nashville I had to stop and take this shot of Houndogs Hot Dogs and Flip Flops. What a combination,. Maybe the flip flops are some food item. I didn't hang around long enough to find out. We had just finished a large breakfast and the weather was cold so hot dogs and flip flops had no appeal. Why were we in Nashville? To go to the Garth Brooks concert, of course. Anyone who knows me was just as surprised as I was to find us there, but it was fun.

And I simply must include this shot of a Christmas gift from Susie. Yes, it's a gummy hot dog. I haven't tried it yet. Maybe I should do an entry just on the gummy hot dog.