Finally... Sam's

You have no idea how many people have asked or told me about the hot dogs at Sam's, as in Sam's Club. I was a member for years but never tried their hot dogs while I was. A week ago Robert and I started out to visit a hot dog cart I had just noticed a few days before. But that day it started raining and the traffic was bad so we changed our destination in route and went to Sam's.

The picture above is ONE photograph (not two) which shows the scale of the signs
hanging above the food service area at Sam's in Hoover.

I guess most people have been there at least once. Sam's has some appeal for most people along with some frustrations. That aside, I was really impressed with the hot dog deal at Sam's. It has to be the unquestioned best buy at any hot dog stand I've ever been to. Like everything else at Sam's, hot dogs are done on a large scale. When you approach the snack area you see the GIANT signs complete with pictures of the food. Somehow this just all seems to fit at Sam's because it is such a big place and so much is done on a large scale. But the big doesn't end with the signs. The dogs are huge... they must be at least 1/4 pound hot dogs. The drinks are huge, 32 oz! Think about it; that's almost the size of 3 canned drinks combined. Then you can get refills! After you get the undressed dog you then get to use the industrial size dispensers of onions, relish, mustard and ketchup. Kraut in individual packages is also available upon request.

Take a look at the menu and you will see that there aren't many choices. Keeping it all simple keeps it easy to run with a minimum of effort. Robert, being an old hand at Sam's dogs , knew that even though it isn't on the menu they also offer chili dogs for a few cents more. It made me wonder if there are many other options not shown on the menu. With his experience Robert ordered just one dog. I thought he was being "good" about trying to keep his weight down. I in my ignorance ordered two dogs, one plain and one with chili as well as a bag of delicious kettle chips. Of course with the combo we got a 32 oz cup (or is it a pitcher?) to fill with a drink. Robert chose tea while I partially filled mine with coke.





The hot dogs are clearly sold as Nathan's, the famous New Your hot dog since the signs as well as wrappers use their logo. The Nathan's dogs are a good product and are a far cry from the "pencil weenies" one gets some places. Despite the lack of ambiance, and almost industrial presentation this is a great option for lunch, a big lunch and a good lunch on a budget. The chili on the chili dogs was excellent hot dog chili and while the dispensers look a little unusual they work well. I was concerned that the onion and relish devices would dump a large quantity on my dogs but they add toppings with reasonable moderation. It is quality food and the whole system works well. A visit to Sam's will even confirm that college football pictures, plaques and signs are not necessary even though they are found in most hot dog establishments.

I wish I had added something to this picture to provide a sense of scale.
This is a BIG chili dog!

As much as I wanted to I couldn't finish my two dogs. But, the entire purchase was less than $5.00! What a deal, more than I could eat or drink for less than five bucks.

Maybe next week I will make it to the cart I mentioned.