July is National Hot Dog Month, and the celebration continues with it being National Hot Dog Day, today, July 23, 2010.   Here are some fun facts to know and share about our favorite tubular nutrition delivery vehicle!

• During the “hot dog season” (Memorial Day to Labor Day), Americans will consume 7 billion hot dogs, or 818 every single second during the period!

• On the 4th of July alone, we consume 150 million dogs, enough to stretch from DC to LA five times!

• Los Angelenos consume more hot dogs that residents of any other city in the US.  Following L.A., are New York, San Antonio, Baltimore/Washington, and Chicago.

• For the year ending January of 2010, more than 730 million packages were sold in grocery stores in the US, and this doesn’t include WalMart, as they do not report sales figures!

• Ballparks in the states sell about 22 million dogs per season.

• To find your nearest hot dog joint, and join in the gustatory celebration today, check out this hot dog finder!

Burgerdogboys’s favorite hot dog in Portland? A tie:  Zweigle’s White Hots, available at both Superdog locations, and the fine Chicago Red Hot dog served by the Fried Onion!(P.S., while both of these dogs have “hot” in their name, neither are!)

(Statistics and above Photos from the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council).

Photo below by Kawikamedia, Deluxe Coney Island, Duluth, MN

Heard from Burger Niece yesterday, who was in Minneapolis to check out a few burgers and dogs (yes, it’s genetic). She hit up the Smashburger outlet in Golden Valley, then trekked a little further north to hit Uncle Franky’s in Plymouth.

She reported satisfaction on all counts, and was pleased with Smashburger concept, service and food, said she ordered at the counter, custom made burgers were delivered to table in less than five minutes.

They had the mushroom/swiss, the Twin Cities half pound smash, and the kid’s smash. (all pictured below).

Uncle Franky’s I haven’t heard of, but they got the Vienna beef chili dogs, and liked them just fine. (Who doesn’t like Vienna dogs?). The Uncle Franky’s website says they have three locations, the original site in Nordeast, one in Dinkytown, and the one in the far North suburbs. I imagine Dinkytown does real well, Dinkytown is one of the two little commerce blocks around the U of Minnesota (the other is called “Stadium Village”), and both neighborhoods have long been the locale for cheap eats for the students. One of my regular hangouts used to be a 24/7 place called “Best Steak House” (there was one in each area), which was akin to the old Tad’s Steakhouses in NYC. You know, steak, baked potato, salad and a roll for $1.79 or something silly like that. Are there any Tad’s left?

Apparently so, just checked the web, there’s still one in SFO and the steak dinner is $13.79, but you can get the half pound hamburger steak complete dinner for under ten bucks, so that’s still a deal!! Apparently Manhattan as well, but couldn’t find a website for those locations.

Anyway, thanks for the report Burger Niece….sounds like a good time was had by all!

A modest affair this year, just Mrs. BDB and me, but momentous nonetheless, because the 4th is one of the two days per year that Mrs. BurgerDogBoy has a burger.  (The other day is completely random).   So we set out to have a “quiet” 4th at home, and it was a wonderfully lazy day, lounging, grazing, a few random cocktails, and a very patriotic BurgerDogBoy having a few Mexican beers, while watching Joey Chestnut claim his 4th Nathan’s hot dog title in a row. You see, I have my own annual tradition, the 4th of July is the one day of the year I tune into ESPN!

We overcooked as usual, and had a choice of sausages from Gartner’s  Meat Market, we cooked up some oversized garlic sausages and Gartner’s firey andouille, plus a couple burgers received in a promotional pack from Omaha steaks.

Corn on the cob, potato salad, deviled eggs accompanied, as is our custom.  Mrs. BDB decorated her burger with delectables from our condiment garden, variety of lettuce, tomatoes, cuke slices, plus mayo and asked for a slab of Swiss, as well.    I went with a Greek-style burger, topped only with feta and kalamata olives.

The Omaha burgers, which I have talked about before, are flavorful, but I would like a coarser grind; also, they are “better” (easier to cook) when plopped right from the freezer onto the grill or griddle. I had completely thawed these, and because they are so lean, I had to reshape them into patties before cooking, not that it matters.

I liked the garlic sausage, even tho it was milder in flavor than I am used to, it was flavorful, a nice fine grind, and the casing had great snap from charring on the Weber.  The Andoulle was a coarser grind, lots of red pepper or cayenne, but lacked the deep smokiness so often associated with true Andouille, and while it was good, it was certainly not a match for the ones we picked up at “Eat-An Oyster Bar” a few weeks ago.

Our bellies full, we ended the evening launching fireworks off the driveway in a largely deserted neighborhood, and pondered out menu for July 5th, a legal holiday around these parts. MMMM, Monday grilling!

Each year, for the past 75, the tiny town of St. Paul, OR (pop 390) has held one of the biggest professional rodeos in the country, for several days preceding the 4th of July.  We went a couple years ago, but were shut out of entering the competition, as I didn’t have the foresight to imagine it was a sell-out.   Not to be thwarted this year, I bought tickets in advance, and, away we went on Saturday, to take in the rodeo, accompanying carnival, and of course, carny food.

Not a whole lot of surprises in the food arena, all the usual carny fare, ranging from hot dogs, burgers, burritos, churros, pizza, bbq, and the like. Local (St. Paul) vendors were offering strawberry short cake and chicken dinners, as is there own tradition.

Mrs. BDB said she’d go for a turkey leg, if one was on offer, us having not been to any renaissance fairs lately, me, I was undecided, but finally opted for a big sausage, and we’d share chili cheese fries on the side.

By happy coincidence, there was one booth that offered all three, and it was a madhouse, as good be expected. We ordered, were served, and wrangled our way into a couple of seats at the picnic tables, far too few tables for the diners, and some folks were a little uppity about claiming their perches (including BurgerDogBoy). Settled in, we launched into lunch, and Mrs. BDB proclaimed it one of the best turkey legs she had ever had, smokey, crispy skin, juicy meat. I would have grabbed a photo, but probably would have had my hand bit off. One knows better than to get between Mrs. BDB and her food!

The sausage was a disappointment, they were reheating them on a griddle, and this puppy could have used some char. It had hot dog spices and flavor, so I played with it more than ate it. The chili cheese fries were fresh spiral cut fries, chili with beans, and the same cheese sauce used for the nachos. Better than most carny food, but I knew I’d pay in the morning.  We passed on the strawberry short cake (big mistake) but did opt for a caramel apple with sprinkles, which was grand.

We didn’t have great seats for the rodeo, but it was fun for about 90 minutes, at which point it was time for us to head to the beer tent ($10 cover, $5 a cup), and we stayed for about an hour, listening to a country band with an androgynous sound engineer. Fireworks followed, and a pleasant drive home, meandering up US 99, with a stop at a fireworks booth midnight for the next days festivities.

The St. Paul rodeo is a great way to experience rural Oregon, and take in a lot of bullshit at the same time!

I was in the mood for hot dogs today, actually this thing started at about 3AM this morning, but I couldn’t motivate myself to get out of bed to pan up some weenies. So I went ahead and did it for breakfast at 730A, two Oscar Meyer all beef franks, buns, yellow mustard only.

This feat reminded me it has been some time since I went in search of dogs, so I headed downtown to sample a few. I didn’t want any repeats, so I skipped Bro Dogs, Beez Neez, Superdogs, and a couple of other also rans, like “Hot Dogs on the Square.“

My second dog of the day was at Theo’s, which was apparently something else previously, but recently underwent a name change and a spiffing up of decor. Theo’s offers a “Naked Dog”, a kosher 1/4 pounder with your choice of condiments, or a Chicago Style, which ordinarily would come (in Chicago) with mustard, neon green relish, chopped onion, sport peppers, pickle spear, tomato, a dash of celery salt on a poppy seed bun. Theo’s (below) comes with pickled onions, sweet relish, cucumber slices, tomato, mustard on a toasted roll. It was a meaty sucker, all beef, of that I am sure, and weighing in at a full quarter pound at least. The grind was very fine, and it was skinless. A lot of hubbub has been made online about Theo’s potato salad, which was my side choice, I guess it was pretty OK. It’s a big serving, but I don’t get why fries (which have less components and take less labor) require an additional fee? Service is P-O-K-E-Y at best, even when there are few customers. Many online comments echo that. Will I be back? Why sure, I gotta try the burgers, don’t I?

Here’s the Theo’s dog:

Then it was on to NW Burger at the corner of 2nd and Couch, kitty korner from my attorney’s new office, but he was nowhere to be seen, probably hobnobbing with the rich and famous an the Benson or Ringside. I was the only customer at NW, and interrupted the counterman’s own lunch of a dog and fries. I went with the “plain hot dog”, another hefty weenie, weightwise, for $3.50. He fried the dog on a griddle, and toasted the bun nearby. NW offers a very short menu, just the basic dogs, burgers, and fries. Interior signage by Pepsi Cola, White Plains, NY. Since I had asked for my dog to go, the dude handed it to me, and pointed me at the condiment tray, said after I finished, he’d wrap it to go. Condiment selection was brief. I took a little kraut and yellow mustard, and departed the shop, to notice a plaque on the side of the building that proved to be far more interesting than my hot dog crawl. On this site, was our little “Japan town” prior to WW2, and it was from these very buildings the local Japanese were herded up and taken to the camps. A dark day in our history, if you ask me.

Interior, NW Burger:

NW’s dog was denser than Theo’s, and a little coarser grind. It didn’t appeal to me as much, but then, I was only in for a bite, to taste and compare. I’ll hit NW again too, to try a burger someday.

NW ’s Dog w/ kraut and ’stard, pictured here.

I had a few yet to go – Big Fat Wiener, Taste of Poland, and the Smokin’ Pig. Could I make it?

Fortunately, the gods of smaller waistlines were  funnin’ with me today, I couldn’t find Big Fat Wiener (and this is the second time I have looked, are you invisible as well as fat?). Taste of Poland folks either slept in, or sold out in the first ten minutes they opened today, as the cart was closed up tight. And Smokin’ Pig didn’t have a dog listed on his menu board. If you’re selling it, announce it, buster!

So total consumption was a mere four, when i was aiming for seven. Fortunately, or hopefully, I will live to see another day and try again!

Now dog tired, I packed it in, and got on to the more pressing elements of the day….like buying some new underwear for my next burger and dog road trip.

Our intrepid wine country Burger Reporter,  Martin in the Morning (late of Barry Has a Blog fame), has been stuck to the stools at Norman Rose in Napa lately, to take in as much of World Cup as he able to comfortably digest.

Today’s he throws us this shot of NR’s sliders, buried in pepper jack cesehe , avocado relish, and fritos, while yesterday, he and boy Nate (support our vets!) shared (?) the disco fries, with pork sausage gravy, cheese, and a fried egg.  (Looks poached to me, guys!).   These fries will add $9.95 to your VISA, when you include the egg, $7.95 sans oeuf sur le plat.

There are so many things I’d like to try on the Norman Rose menu.  Corn on the cob with chili lime butter, truffle parmesan fries, the mussels, and of course, the burgers. Tought to give them a taste w/o an invite, however. Hint.

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