Interesting Hot Dog Recipes

For several months I have been really enjoying a program on the Food Network, Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I haven't seen many hot dogs on there but lots of other interesting food.

Today I was poking around on the Food Network web site and discovered a big hot dog feature from their Food Network Magazine. The feature is "30 Days of Hot Dogs". There are 30 different recipes for preparing and serving hot dogs, some of which are intriguing. For example consider these hot dogs:

• Chimichanga Dog
• Pizza Dog
• Nacho Dog
• French Poodle Dog
• Sausage and Pepper Dog (with an Italian flair)
• Bruschetta Dog
  

Take a look Here.

Below are some pictures I copied from their site: The Po-Boy Dog, French Poodle Dog & Chimichanga Dog.

V. Richard's - The "Good Dog"

This week my bride and wife of 36 years, the lovely Caroline, pointed out to me an ad in the News for V Richard’s that featured their hot dog. Robert and I got in touch with each other Wednesday morning (our default day to do these excursions) and quickly agreed on her suggestion of an obviously “upscale” destination, V Richard’s.

This place is located on Clairmont Avenue, just east of the Highland Golf Course. I’ve heard of V. Richard’s for years but have never gone there. It is a grocery store/gourmet shop/wine shop/deli/salad/sandwich/hot dog server right in the Forest Park – Avondale area; and is close enough for many to get to at lunchtime without taking extra time.

I don't know how I got a picture without all the salad eaters there, but this is the ordering area.

When we arrived we took a look around at all the interesting items for sale. There are definitely some uncommon items in the inventory here, not to mention an award-winning selection of cheeses. When we finally decided to try to order we found a long row of people along a glass showcase in the back of the store. This assembly of people seemed to have a destination at the far right end where the cashier is located. We asked one of the guys with this group and found out that most of these people were waiting to order and be served a salad (AKA rabbit food). We were thankfully directed toward the cashier to place our orders for non-salad items. I will restrain myself from commenting on why so many people wanted salad rather than real food.

So, we placed our orders for the prominently displayed “Good Dog”. The Good Dog is a quarter pound, all beef hot dog, on a “made from scratch bun”, topped with “sirloin chili” and “house cheese sauce” served with an order of fries. Although it’s not listed as an ingredient it also comes with a very light application of chopped onion. The obvious missing ingredient is mustard. The chili is outstanding and is made using tender chunks of beef, presumably sirloin, rather than the usual ground beef. The cheese sauce is definitely not the usual yellow “nacho cheese” gummy sauce/topping. When served it appears to be simply melted white cheese applied to the hot dog. Robert and I agree that it would be better with a little mustard. That is easily remedied since they have available the usual fast food type of little plastic pouches of mustard.

After we ordered we moved toward the dining area along the front side of the building. We discovered that the tables inside were taken, so we went outside to the deck overlooking the patio. For some reason nobody was dining on the patio in 90-plus degree weather and even the covered deck didn’t have too many occupants. We soon observed some tables inside being vacated, so we also moved in to the air conditioned dining room before our food was served. Yes, call us wimps; but we were more comfortable.

I’ve already given the official description of the “Good Dog”; so I’ll make some comparisons. Hot dogs like this are a little different from the usual hot dog stand offering. At first they appear to cost a little more; but that is often an illusion due to the high prices charged for sides and drinks at many places. The immediate comparisons we made were to Broad Street Deli, Max’s and Johnnie Rocket’s. These places also serve high end dogs that are comparable. They tend to have things in common but are all big dogs. What can I say: this one is another one. It is good, but nothing to motivate rave reviews. The dogs at V Richards are definitely filling and taste good; but are also definitely hard to eat. I don’t know where to lay the blame; but the bottom of the bun tends to dissolve or give way. This could be due to the very big weenie, or the moisture of the toppings, or even the design of the “made from scratch bun”. Regardless, this dog is hard to eat without resorting to a knife and fork. Hey, that’s not necessarily bad, especially when you are sitting at a table. It sure beats the “pencil weenies” served at some places.

Bottom line; give the “good dog” a try. Take the time to look around the store while you’re there. You can even stand in line to get a salad if you are so inclined. Somehow I don’t see many readers of a hot dog blog choosing a salad rather than the good dog.

Woof Woof.

Sophia's and Looking for the Twilight Zone

This week we went back to downtown Birmingham. I must confess that I really enjoy going downtown; and as far as hot dogs go, there are lots of choices. It seems that hot dogs have gotten a great deal of "press" recently after the death of Gus Koutroulakis. It was one of these articles that led us to Sophia's Deli.

But before I get to Sophia's, the article that led us there is in the July 2011 issue of Birmingham Magazine. You can read the article Here. Robert and I noticed a couple of inaccuracies in the article, but it is a fun read with lots of good pictures. Take a look.

So where is Sophia's? It's right at the corner of Reverend Abraham Woods Jr. Boulevard and Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard (previously known as 8th Avenue North and 21st Street). They are right on the corner on the lowest level of the parking deck at the Jefferson County Court House. Those who have had to serve jury duty, buy a car tag, renew a drivers license or handle other county related business have likely seen this place.

The surprise is that it when you go in, it is bigger than it looks from outside. Another surprise is that there is a George Sarris look-alike who works there. The owner, Howard Faulk named his deli after his wife, Sofia, who happens to be the sister of George Sarris, the very successful owner of the Fish Market restaurant on Southside. But, it doesn't end there, George's brother, Nick Sarris works at Sophie's, thus the George Sarris look-alike. I must say, these Greek restauranteurs in Birmingham not only know each other, but all seem to be related. That is something that the Birmingham Magazine article alludes to, even if some of the details are wrong.

Howard Faulk & Nick Sarris

Here we were at Sophia's. Sophia was nowhere around due to family issues, but her husband, Howard did a wonderful job of greeting us. We always enjoy interacting with one of these proprietors who is a "people person", and Howard is one. We didn't have to go out of our way to interact with him.

He has been in the hot dog business in Birmingham for decades. Before opening Sophia's he had Toms Hot Dogs located on the southeast corner of 19th Street and 2nd Avenue North, right across from Pizitz. He is proud to show off the first prize ribbon and certificate he won in a competition between all the downtown hot dog stands many years ago. Several of the businesses he competed with are no longer in business; the competition is down. But the fact is that Howard and Sophia were judged to serve the best hot dog in Birmingham many years ago.





How are they today? They are still good. They are served hot and freshly grilled unlike many vendors who serve them warm after they were grilled at some point in the past. Robert was also impressed that they had real fresh lemon available for tea. Sophia's, like all the other hot dog stands in Birmingham, makes their own hot dog sauce, with their own recipe, similar to the others yet unique. These recipes are a closely guarded secret by each maker. Sophia's sauce is prepared by Sophia herself and even Howard isn't sure about the recipe. Her sauce is different, unlike any we have encountered so far. It is loaded with various seasonings and has a flavor that definitely makes these dogs stand out. As usual we ordered both a chili dog and a regular hot dog all the way. There was no discussion as to what they should put on them. Robert and I agreed that we preferred the hot dog to the chili dog at Sophia's. That's a switch for me because I tend to like the chili dogs better.

On this visit for some reason I noticed particularly the pricing on drinks and chips. Both are priced at $1.99; you might as well say two dollars. This is typical for fountain drinks especially where the customer can get refills like at Sophia's. Even so there is a healthy markup making drinks a profit center. The chips (small bags) at two dollars a bag seem a little high to me. I don't particularly like playing games with prices, but this isn't the only place where this happens, so I certainly don't want to reflect negatively on Sophia's.

It was interesting to talk with Howard. He really whetted our appetites for learning a little more history. He was adamant that he could tell the true history of the Birmingham hot dog stands. It has made me want to interview not only him but the other old timers at length. Who knows, maybe we will be able to assemble the definitive history of hot dogs in Birmingham. There is most definitely a unique history here compared with most cities.

A couple of final thoughts about Pete's Famous Hot Dogs. It looks like Pete's will never reopen as it was. Gus had planned on taking his secret sauce recipe with him to the grave and seems to have done so. The wonderful neon sign on his shop has been removed and is reported to be on it's way to the Barber Motor Sports Museum. Yes, Birmingham will miss this unique establishment; but there are still some great hot dogs being served by some long time vendors in town. Try Lyric just a couple of blocks away and Gus's over on Fourth. Sauce is just sauce. I don't think there is any recipe that is so good that it shouldn't be shared with heirs; nor do I think that a flourishing business should die simply because the owner dies. Of course that's only my opinion.

Finally, despite the challenge, we didn't make it to the "hot dog guy at Mazer's on the weekends". We tend to do these excursions during a weekday lunch and don't get together on weekends. We actually pulled in the Mazer's parking lot Friday at lunch; but the hot dog guy wasn't there so we headed on downtown to Sophia's. I wonder where this guy is during the week? Could he be the illusive hot dog guy at Cooper Green that we could never find? Maybe he or they are actually residents of the Twilight Zone.

Surprised at Bistro Pro Vare

WOW, What a hot dog stand!!.



No, it's not really a hot dog stand, but it sure has good food.

This week Robert and I went to a familiar haunt and were surprised with a hot dog. A little over a year ago we would meet for lunch weekly at this place. Robert's younger daughter was in the culinary program at Jefferson State, at the Shelby County campus. Part of the curriculum there is for the students to work for at least one semester in their bistro. When working there each student takes several turns doing each of the different tasks involved in running a restaurant. The bistro is only open at lunch on weekdays during the semester. We found it to be a great place to eat lunch, dining on gourmet food. The menu varies daily since they include items they have been working on/learning recently.



Today we found on the menu something we had not seen before, a "black Angus beef hot dog". Of course hot dogs were not the plan for the day but as soon as we saw this on the menu we knew what our order would be.







Our dogs came with a side of truffle flavored fries and the usual bread basket. So how were they? Better than many. We did enjoy our dogs. They had a unique flavor which didn't surprise either of us; after all this is a culinary school. We kept trying to figure out the identity of the chopped pink plant matter on top. We finally asked and found out that it was marinated onion with a flavor somewhat reminiscent of bread and butter pickles. The dogs came with a light addition of mustard, pickle relish and marinated onion. Also provided were some purple onion and tomato slices as well as some ketchup.

I can't tell you how surprised we were by this offering. The menu always has a couple of fast food items on it such as a couple of different pizzas and a burger. But, the really interesting items are the entree's which can not be predicted. I have eaten some great food here in the last couple of years, including the best Italian dish I have ever eaten. I would recommend this to anyone. You probably won't get a hot dog; but you will most likely enjoy your lunch.


Reservations are suggested, although on this visit there were numerous empty tables. This is an upscale little bistro that is usually fun and good. The prices are very good and tipping is not allowed. To make a reservation call: (205) 983-5214. The location is the left hand end on the ground floor of the above pictured building right off of Valleydale Road.

Great Article and Video About Pete's Famous

I appreciate the comment left by Stephen telling me about this article. Click Here to read another article about Birmingham's recent loss of Gus Koutroulakis who ran Pete's Famous Hot Dogs for years. Be sure and don't miss the short video.

Hacienda - "Mexican Hot Dogs"

I haven't had much to write about the last couple of weeks. My brother and companion on this trek, Robert, was seriously injured in an accident recently. I am happy to report that he is doing well and slowly recovering.

So, what about important things like hot dogs?

Last week I took dinner to Robert and family one afternoon. I took Bar BQ and various trimmings to feed a family of 7, yes seven. The Bar BQ I took was from Full Moon on Hwy 280. Robert and I had been talking about moon dogs just prior to this and he had told me how he would like to have one again soon. When I placed my order I also ordered several moon dogs. What can I say, except that as I drove out to his house (way out) I decided to eat a moon dog, then another; so there were two fewer by the time I arived. Have no doubt, these things are good. Take a look at our previous visit to Full Moon for "moon dogs" here.

Moon dogs aside, this week we decided to dine a little closer to where we both work; so we went to Hacienda Mexican Grill on Valleydale Road. The obvious question is; "Why are you writing about going to a Mexican restaurant on a hot dog blog?" The answer, which might not be so obvious is to include "Mexican hot dogs". Early in the planning of this hot dog tour I wanted to include tamales on the tour. I love good hand rolled tamales like we once could get at Mancha's.


Last December Robert and I joined forces to prepare a big batch of tamales. We actually did pretty good as verified by at least one Hispanic who sampled our efforts. After doing this I have a whole new respect for the humble tamale. Preparing these things is very labor intensive. Tamales are not just whipped out in a few minutes. I guess that's why it is so hard to find good hand rolled tamales in Birmingham any more.

I had previously had the lunch order no. 12; Tamale & Chile Relleno, Served with lettuce and tomatoes. I had enjoyed the tamale so much that this time I ordered lunch no. 15; "Two tamales with enchilada sauce served with rice and beans." Comparing the two orders I must admit that I preferred the prior order. Their tamales are clearly hand rolled and have ample filling (not necessarily easily done). Either order will give you a good sample but the one with chili is a little closer to what we gringos expect. The no 15 is good, but to me the "enchilada sauce" tasted more like gravy than a Mexican dish. Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed my two tamales and trimmings. I was unquestionably in the "clean plate club".


Robert chose the lunch no. 9, Lunch Fajita, Served with rice, beans, lettuce, sour cream, guacamole, pico de gallo and two tortillas (beef or chicken). He chose beef, aka cow. He also rolled some of his lunch into a hot dog like presentation in the tortillas. (Hey, we're still doing hot dogs!)

We left Hacienda well fed and with no complaints.

I was also glad to see that Robert's numerous injuries are healing and to see him walking freely and using both arms. His accident was on a vehicle the likes of which I haven't ridden in many years, a motorcycle. I now address him as Mr. Knievel. This is his second serious accident on one of these devices. His first accident was many years ago in his junior high years. This accident happened to a mature man trying to save money who was being much more careful than that boy years ago. Yet in some circles these machines continue to be appropriately called donor-cycles.

There is another whole story there. The short version is that ten years ago I was a live donor for a kidney transplant, one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. Please consider being a donor yourself and tell you family so they can help make it happen if the occasion ever comes. It is a "gift of life" for those who receive.

Post Script 7/19/2011. I had another lunch here today with a companion that knows much more than me about Mexican food. I have discovered that the gravy looking sauce is actually traditional enchilada sauce rather than the cheese and salsa type sauce often seen in the US. Live and learn. This is still a good place; in fact my companion raved about his lunch.

This Just Wasn't Our Day

We have visited well over 30 hot dog vendors as we have been on The Great Birmingham Hot Dog Tour. Robert and I are based very close together in northern Shelby County; so it is a challenge for us to get to some areas on the tour. Recently we realized that it was a good week for both of us to take a little longer than usual for lunch, so we decided to go for one of the vendors we have missed so far.

The first choice was Dino's Hot Dogs in Woodlawn at 5422 1st Avenue No. Robert asked his son Alex to spot this place for us a day before we were going, but he couldn't find it. We then tried to call the phone number we had for Dino's and found it disconnected. NEXT!

We decided to visit the Dawg House in Center Point. The GPS Couldn't locate their address and their phone was no longer in service. So, NEXT.

The next choice was Paul's Hot Dogs on Edward's Lake Road in Trussville. Please be aware that by this point we were on the way... headed to a destination. Unfortunately the Paul's Hot Dogs on Edwards Lake Road is nowhere to be found. So at the last minute we decided to visit Big Al's Hot Dog Wagon. Big Al's is the hot dog vendor who is located on most days in front of Lowe's in Trussville. It was manned again by Chris Sellers without Big Al, just as on my previous visit.

One of my desires on the tour is to find something positive to say about every place we visit. Sometime that is a challenge. This week I will start with the positive. When you go to Big Al's you can definitely get enough to eat. The hot dogs are consistently plump (no pencil weenies here) with ample toppings. W e have observed that fellow patrons are very open to discussing the experience. These patrons are consistently appreciative and loyal. They also have a perfect health score against all odds for a cart.

We each got a chili-cheese dog and a regular dog. Toppings offered are gardenias (onions), kraut, relish, mustard, ketchup and an oriental style of hot sauce. For the chili-cheese dog, they add Hormel chili sans beans and nacho cheese sauce – the kind you can purchase at Sam’s in a number 10 can. We had the regular dog all-the-way, and the chili-cheese dog with mustard, gardenias, chili and cheese. Robert had jalapenos added to his (see below). Flavor-wise, the regular dog was about average. The chili-cheese dog was pretty good, and needed to be eaten with a knife and fork. Big Al had plastic forks, but no knives. For the record, let me say that the need to eat a loaded dog with knife and fork is not a negative. Some of the better “loaded dogs” out there must be eaten with knife and fork. In this case, since we had no knives, we were delighted that Big Al’s cart had a sink for hand washing.


Now for a few less than glowing comments. A hot dog cart has challenges every day. I am sure that dealing with those challenges gets old but they are nevertheless there every time they open for business. Some of these challenges are to serve a HOT dog, to serve COLD drinks, and to keep it all sanitary. Big Al's seems to be missing a couple of these. Our hot dogs were served warmish but not hot. The drinks were in a bin that had had ice on them a few hours ago, unfortunately we observed there was an ice container that had numerous bags of ice that could have been added to the drink bin. Our drinks were cool but not cold. Somehow it is easy for me to overlook this at a cart but there were also some other negatives that I won't detail.

Bottom line, at Big Al's you can definitely get a good lunch if you are hungry; and you can have a good time with the locals; but don't expect a great meal. It's difficult to argue with the opinion of the masses but I must confess that I don't think I will be returning to Big Al's unless I am right in the vicinity and am very hungry.

Sam's - An All Time Favorite

A few days ago my son-in-law Aaron invited me to meet him and Susie for lunch at Sam's Super Samwiches in Homewood. It took me less than a second to decide to join them. Take a look at my previous entry about Sam's Here.

There was a time several years ago that my office was about two blocks from Sam's. At that time I was a frequent customer and developed a great appreciation for their offerings. I have even been heard to say that they have "a chilli dog to die for". OK, that might be a little extreme, but the chili dog is great at Sam's.

On this visit I entered from the back door which opens into the parking lot behind the building. This was my old entry point. When one enters this way there is a long hallway, painted complements of Pepsi, that leads into their main serving area and "dining room". When I arrived ahead of Aaron and Susie I experienced the strange phenomenon of being the only customer in the place for several minutes. I had a nice conversation with the staff while I waited. I found out that Sam was away on a much deserved golf trip that day. Of course it didn't take long for the place to fill up with people; I had experienced a rare lull in their business.




As I waited I was impresses with the collection of sauces that observed. I am including a picture of one line of sauce bottles available to customers; and this doesn't include all the choices. I can't imagine anyone wanting to top off their dog with a sauce and being disappointed.


Below is our table outside on the sidewalk in the heat. There is an assortment of dogs including chilli dogs, regular dogs, slaw dogs and super dogs, as well as an assortment of drinks. The root beer bottle was mine since I don't particularly care for Pepsi products. If you like 'em, go for it; just give me an alternative. The absence of Coca-Cola products is my only complaint about Sam's.

On this visit both Aaron and Susie tried the slaw dog and reported about how good it is. I was tempted to go back and order one after finishing my two chilli dogs but restrained myself. The slaw dog will have to wait for another day; but will be ordered on my next visit to Sam's.

Interestingly, while we were there, Sam's wife Sue stopped in and was directed to speak to us since I had discussed the blog with the staff earlier. We also had a nice conversation and remembered some contacts from the past. Yes I have a past peripheral involvement with some of the hot dog vendors of Birmingham. Not enough to give me a bias but it helps make it interesting.

Dee's Dogs Again

We recently went to the medical center area to look for a vendor that Dr. Edwards had mentioned. He had commented about the "hot dog guy" near Cooper Green Hospital. Well, we really tried to find this guy but he was nowhere around. This led to plan B which was a revisit to Dee's Dogs at the corner of 20th Street and 7th Avenue South. You can read about out previous visit here.


When we arrived for this visit I was impressed that we had to wait in a long line. She was doing a great business. When we finally worked our way to the front of the line I remembered hearing an order from a regular customer when we were there before. He always got a dog with mustard and relish. I thought it sounded good so I included it in my order along with a chili cheese dog.


Dee remembered us from our previous visit. People sometime don't give enough credit to others regarding their ability to remember people. For over 30 years Brenda and I worked together. She would often tell me; "___ called but wouldn't leave a message". Dee like Brenda remembers her customers. Good for her, she's paying attention.


Our visit was on one of these very pleasant Spring days (a couple of weeks ago before the heat hit town) that makes being outside a pleasure. We were able to walk less than half a block down the street to a little seating area where we ate in the shade. Dee's continues to please. She serves a great hot dog, one of the best. I thought both dogs were great. The big return crowd indicates that I am not alone in my appreciation for Dee's.

Dining at Dee's is a really fun experience. Combined with the quality it makes a great lunch time stop.

Bama Hot Dogs

This week we found ourselves at Bama Hot Dogs in downtown Tarrant, at 1610 Pinson Valley Parkway. This place had not been on my radar screen at all until I spotted it a week ago as we were returning from North Alabama. When I saw it I was ready to stop right then but in the interest of domestic tranquility I decided to save it for another trip.

Bama is run by Dean & Debbie Harris; Debbie is standing in the door in the photo above. I assume that they are Alabama fans but didn't ask. While we were there we saw a steady stream of customers keeping them busy. We like to try to talk with the owners when we can but they seemed too busy. We went on with the rest of our usual routine of eating, taking pictures and talking with some of the other customers.

This turned out to be another time when the camera attracted some attention, a case of what I will call "the camera syndrome". We were noticed by Debbie who came out to ask us what we were doing. I can understand the curiosity and question; are we reviewers from the News, or do we have some less desirable motive. I guess I would do the same thing. We stood and talked with her for a while before leaving. One thing was clear after that conversation, she is the driving force for quality control at Bama.

So how was the food? Very good! We did vary from our usual order a little and ended up with the four dogs shown below.

Here we have (left to right) a chili cheese dog, 2 regular hot dogs and a "junk yard dog"

You can see the "nacho cheese on both of the end items; I prefer sharp real cheddar cheese but this was still good. As is usually the case the junk yard dog was hard to eat because of the multiple toppings.

We were impressed with the large plump dogs they use. Debbie agrees that these are better than the average and much more desirable than what she called "pencil weenies". She told us the brand name which I was unfamiliar with and don't remember; but they buy them from Evans Meats. This brings up the issue of the size of hot dogs. Robert and I have observed that there is a significant difference in the size of the "weenies" served at various providers. Debbie's label "pencil weenies" is really quite appropriate for those served at some establishments. Others have very plump/fat dogs. I have tried to figure out the difference. One observation came recently from Dee of Dee's Dogs. She commented that the beef dogs always cook down to be real skinny. I noticed that myself when I did the hot dogs for Restoration Academy recently. I used all beef Hebrew National dogs and noticed how they ended up much thinner than they started out. Who would have thought that the beef dogs cook do so much. So, we are now going to be a little more tuned in to who serves "pencil weenies".

Here we have my order, a chili cheese dog, a regular dog all the way and some fries from France.

Bama's Menu

Notice the decor - lots of RED in keeping with their name.

Robert in New York

This is a "guest post" from my brother Robert who recently found himself in Manhattan with a group of young boys (bless his heart).

On a recent Scout Trip, we dared take 20 Boy Scouts into Manhattan for a day. The tour included the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, Times Square and other sights. Our tour-guide assured us that his friend Hameed, who is a street vendor in the Times Square area serves the best hot dogs in New York City. How could I pass on the best hot dog in New York City?

We parked the bus on West 45^th Street in front of the Schoenfeld Theater, and and walked up the block to Broadway. Hameed’s cart was one of the first things we encountered, there at the corner of 45^th and Broadway, in front of the Marriott Marquis. In addition to hot dogs, he sells pretzels, smoked sausage and a wide variety of drinks. He obviously takes pride in what he does, and he keeps his cart clean and neat.

Because we had just come from South Street Seaport and Pier 17 (where there is a very serious food court), I didn’t have enough appetite to handle more than one dog from Hameed. To insure I got his best dog, and since my appetite did not allow me to try any variations, I asked him to prepare it the way he liked them. He quickly built a hot dog with ketchup (yes, ketchup), mustard, kraut, onions, sweet relish, and his own hot dog sauce. The bun was warm and moist, the hot dog, a certified Hebrew National dog, was hot and came from a steam-table insert in his cart. The sauce was also kept hot in the steam table. Once the dog was built, I paid him for it. The dog and a Coke together set me back a total of $4.00. I stepped away from the cart and enjoyed my New York dog and Coke, then went back to Hameed’s cart and told him about the Great Birmingham Hot Dog Tour. I had my picture made with him as he was preparing a dog for another Scout dad.

He wanted to know how I liked the dog and I told him it ranked high. I ranked it high because it was prepared quickly, served hot and was very tasty. The one thing that was not necessarily to my liking was the fact that the overall taste of the hot dog was sweet. A little sweetness is to be expected when a seller puts sweet relish on a dog, but in this case, the sauce was sweet as well. It somewhat resembled the hot dog sauce you might get at Jimmy’s or Sam’s Super Samwich shop, but was sweet. Because flavor is a personal preference, I won’t downgrade Hameed’s dog for being sweet, but it wouldn’t be my first choice.

I didn’t see Oliver Wendell Douglass or his wife, Lisa. . . but I wouldn’t expect to have seen Lisa anyway. I feel certain that even if she were visiting from her new home in Hooterville, she would not have been dining upon a dog from a street vendor. (With my broad-brimmed camo hat, I looked more like I belonged in Hooterville than New York.) I thought perhaps Lisa might have been seen making her way to one of the 202 restaurants in the immediate vicinity, but it was not to be. One thing is for sure. . . if Lisa or anyone else were going to eat at one of those 202 restaurants, they would pay more and would not enjoy their food any more than I enjoyed my hot dog from Hameed’s cart.

Steve Malone - The Best Hot Dog

I have often been asked where to get the best hot dog in Birmingham. I usually don't give a direct answer but give the questioner to my current list of the top five. But, I have occasionally revealed my choice of the best. I will admit today that the best hot dog I have ever eaten came from a downtown street vendor named Steve Malone. See my post about him Here.

Steve wasn't in the hot dog business long, less than a year. I heard in March from a friend that his doctor suspected he had pancreatic cancer. This was later confirmed. Word came out today that he died this morning.

I will miss Steve, as will many. His life was not perfect, like the lives of many of us; but he left lasting fruit that was far deeper than hot dogs.

Yaya's and How Southern Can You Get?

Robert's daughter was home for a few days from Hawaii where she now lives and works as a journalist. Perhaps you, like me, have heard some Southerners pronounce the state of her abode as Ah-Wah-Ya. I'm tempted to attempt a reply; "fine, howa you?" Don't we live in a great place? Everybody else in the world seem to have accents but not around here.

So on this visit there was an effort made to help her remember her southern roots. There is no better place to do that than at YaYa's, the trailer parked next to the Pit Stop gas station between Alabaster and Montevallo. It is the home of the "almost world famous Qdawg." If you didn't read about our previous visits there take a look. This place is a one-of-a-kind. Here.

Robert wrote to me:
Whilst Katherine was here, I needed to take her on a true southern lunch experience. No better place than YaYa. The table is painted half Auburn colors with Auburn logo and half Alabama colors with Alabama logo. In the photo are a QDawg, a Nacho QDawg, an apple pie (in wrapper) and a cup of sweet tea. Katherine loved it. She enjoyed YaYa, (the owner) too.


The Q-dog is a hot dog topped with a generous portion of pork bar BQ and sauce. This is good stuff! Also on the menu is a nacho dog and a nacho Qdawg. His picture shows a Qdawg and a Nacho Qdawg. YaYa warns that this is difficult to eat without making a mess, but many customers like 'em. Also peeking out of the wrapper is a fried pie. They are rumored to be outstanding but I've never felt like having one after the dawgs. By the way, what is a good name for cheese that doesn't belong to you? Nacho cheese, of course.

YaYa's continues to be a great destination. The owner, who calls himself YaYa, is a delight to interact with.

3rd Grade Hot Dog Day

Today I cooked hot dogs for my son-in-law's 3rd grade class and we had a great time. I bit off a little more than I expected when I offered to do this so I greatly appreciated the help of my friend Ed, my wife Caroline & her sister Nancy Paulina Meatballa Spaghetti (That name is an old family joke). The kids were well behaved, polite and appreciative; it doesn't get much better. Aaron was also happy to let his class have a special time out in the park.

This class is at Restoration Academy, an urban Christian school located in downtown Fairfield. Fortunately there is a beautiful park right across the street which provided a great place for hot dog day. I have a long relationship with Dr. Edwards from Hope Health Center located right next door to the school; so he came and brought along his entire staff. We also had numerous members of the school's administration. We did have quite a few customers, but with all the help things went pretty smooth. In the end we had one lone hot dog left over; but I made sure it didn't go to waste.

There's Aaron, my son in law with some students.

I was super impressed with the selection of toppings selected by the students. We had avaliable the following:

• Chilli
  
• Slaw from Zoe's Kitchen
  
• Kraut
• Mustard (regular)
• Dill Mustard
• Ketchup
• Dill relish
• Sweet relish
• Wickles red pepper relish
• Tomatoes
• Cucumber
• Onion
• Remoulade sauce

The remoulade sauce came from a book (The Great American Hot Dog Book) recently given to me by Josh, a young man I have known for decades. I had suspected that there must be a cajun tradition for serving hot dogs. In that book I found the "New Orleans Remoulade Dog" which I was eager to try. This was a totally different recipe for remoulade sauce than I had seen before so I wanted to try it. The cajun dog is simple; a grilled hot dog on a toasted bun topped with remoulade sauce.




Back to hot dog day: These kids tried just about every topping we had. About the only one neglected was the onion which is a shame. I had bought a purple onion and chopped it so we would have a mild onion. I had expected an endless parade of kids wanting ketchup, mustard or both... and nothing else. But instead they each piled on numerous toppings; it made me smile.





Today was a beautiful cool spring day, near the end of school; and we were under big old growth trees in the Fairfield City Park. It was the perfect setting. I regret that I have no pictures to post; I intended to take a camera but forgot. I guess that's just as well; things were jumping so I couldn't really have given photography much attention.