Seattle: Monster Dogs

Seattle has it's own regional-style hot dog aptly named the Seattle Dog, which is characterized by a split and grilled dog nestled in a soft, oversized bun slathered with cream cheese, then topped with caramelized onions. Allegedly, the Seattle Dog made it's appearance in parking lots outside of Seattle Mariners games about a decade ago.
We found our Seattle Dog on a corner in the Belltown neighborhood being served by Monster Dogs, one of Seattle's more well know late-night street meat slingers. Monster Dogs set up their carts (they have carts in Belltown and Capitol Hill) in the evening to catch the drunk-and-starving crowd as they come out of bars.
Here you can see our order of veggie dogs (really veggie sausages) getting grilled alongside the soft rolls. For whatever reason, the veggie dogs were not sliced open before grilling, but our meat ordering friends had their dog sliced. Over to the side is a large pan of onions that cooks and caramelizes as the night grows long.
The hot dog stand operator smears cream cheese on the inside of the bun, plops the dog in, and tops it all off with a generous amount of caramelized onions. That's your basic Seattle Dog. Condiments vary from stand to stand, and according to personal tastes. Pickle relish, sauerkraut, sliced jalapenos, bright yellow mustard, brown mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, bbq sauce, and Sriracha were all up for grabs at Monster Dogs.
I went with Sriracha and mayonnaise to start, and took a bite. Not bad, but the thin smear of cream cheese was lost behind the peppery sausage and sweet onions. Wanting a little more umpf, I then went back to the condiment bar and added sauerkraut. Not quite umpf-y enough, but I decided to quit tinkering with the franken-dog I'd created. Next time, I'd request lots of cream cheese, and top off the pile of onions with bbq sauce!

Monster Dogs
Seattle, Washington

Hot Diggity

Well, hot diggity, if there isn't a new hot dog joint in town serving piled-high, funky, fusion, fun dogs! Hot Diggity also happens to be the name of the South St. shop which opened about a month ago by Keith Garabedian (who trained at Craft under Tom Colicchio) with friends Tom Zmijewski, Sean Kendall and Matt Anderson.

As a longtime fan of hot dogs, I'm excited to see the hot dog trend growing in Philly — as long as dog slingers invite us vegetarians to the party. Hot Diggity sent out the all-inclusive invitations, and parties with all-beef, natural-casing Sabrett dogs, as well as Worthington Vegan Linkettes.

Hot Diggity's menu is simple — hot dogs, fries, dipping sauces, soda, and, coming soon, local craft beer — but they are doin' it to it!
There are ten "gourmet" dogs on the menu, each ranging from $5-$6. Above the open grill counter you'll find colorful illustrations of each hot dog on the menu by local artist and hot dog connoisseur, Hawk Krall. The Plain Old Dog with your choice of ketchup, mustard, onions, or relish is always a choice, but live a little and order a dog all done up with toppings representing old and new regional hot dog classics.

The Windy City with pickle spears, sliced tomato, mustard, electric green relish, red onion, and celery salt pays homage to Chicago's most beloved dog, while The Seattle Grunge with garlic cream cheese, red onion straws, and scallions hints at Seattle's cream cheese slathered street dogs. Ride the Hawaiian waves with The Big Kahuna, a dog topped with guava mustard, grilled red onion, pineapple salsa, and orange habanero aioli. The Saigon Fusion with house pickled cucumber, cilantro, red onion, carrots, jalapeno, Thai chilli vinaigrette and Sriracha is obviously taking cues from the Vietnamese banh mi sandwich. Toppings were super fresh and crunchy, but didn't quite meld together like a real banh mi does, probably because of Hot Diggity's more generous piling of vegetables on the soft Liscio rolls than a traditional, sparsely filled banh mi on a crispy baguette. But, hey, you're eating a hot dog, not a banh mi! Great, veggie-filled dog, nonetheless.

Note that two vegan hot dog links come to a bun, since they are shorter than beef dogs. And, while I'm not entirely happy with the Liscio rolls ( it seems that gourmet dog places are opting for larger rolls to accommodate the generous fillings) in place of a smaller, softer, true hot dog bun, I think Hot Diggity's buns would benefit from a steaming or a minute on the grill. In addition to the ten dogs on the menu, Hot Diggity will feature a hot dog-of-the-month; this month it is The Farmers' Market Dog with tomatillo pickles, corn and jalapeno salsa, fried tortilla chips, queso fresco, and a lime wedge. The combination of all these ingredients was fantastic! Again, all the veggies and ingredients were super fresh. And that's fresh, grilled corn, y'all! Hot Diggity tries to make as many of their toppings as they can in house.
If you're wondering what the holes cut into the high-top, communal dining tables at the front of the restaurant are for, they're for holding up the paper cones filled with thick, fresh cut, skin-on Belgian-style fries made to order and sprinkled with coarse salt. Pretty much perfect!

And don't miss their rotating list of house made dipping sauces, like chipotle mayo, roasted garlic rosemary aioli, spicy ginger, and curry mayo.

Every thing at Hot Diggity was fabulous — from the creative topping combinations, to the freshness of the vegetables, the perfectly cooked fries, and the flavorful dipping sauces. Hot diggity, indeed!

Hot Diggity
630 South Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
267-886-9253
Mon-Thurs: 11am-10pm
Fri-Sat: 11am-2pm
Sun: 10am-9pm

Frankford Hall

According to the social media that I follow, everyone in Philadelphia has already stopped by Stephen Starr's Frankford Hall, the barely week-old German beer garden in Fishtown.

And why not! With spring in the air, and people itching to dine al fresco, Frankford Hall certainly has the space to pack in the hoards — 240 seats outside and 160 seats under cover of the open air industrial dining hall.Starr is undoubtedly a master of creating a themed atmosphere to accompany his restaurants, and he's done an excellent job of transporting diners to a huge, outdoor German beer garden complete with long communal tables and benches, four trees for shade, two ping pong tables, and even an oompah band in lederhosen and dirndl playing traditional Bavarian songs!

The atmosphere is relaxed and convivial, with patrons ranging from families with strollers, bros, the indie crowd, and your mom and dad. Everyone can rally around a stein of beer!There are 9 beers on draft, with most available by the half or full liter, and 10 beers available by the bottle. Most of the beers are German, but Yuengling, Miller Lite, and couple of Dogfish Head beers make the list, as well.

If you don't drink beer, a very short list of wines is available — one sparkling, one white, and one red. There is also liquor available, but the selection is limited. The bar doesn't even have the bottles on display, so you'll have to ask.Frankford Hall is set up like a fast food establishment, in that you order food at the walk-up counter, and if the food needs time to prepare a server will bring it to your table. Where you sit is up to you; find a spot and slide in. Drinks are ordered at one of the two bars. Beer and liquor can be ordered at the indoor bar, and beer only can be ordered at the outdoor walk-up window.

The menu is short and sweet, but filled with German classics like sausages, spaetzle, soft pretzels, German potato salad, red cabbage, and sauerkraut.Starr thoughtfully included a vegetarian sausage on the menu, which seems to be very similar to a Tofurky beer brat (our order taker was unsure about the sausage's origin). These are big, peppery, soy-based sausages that come with your choice of either sauerkraut of red cabbage. The warm, sweet and sour red cabbage is stewed with apples and spices until tender.

If you want to eat these like a hot dog, be sure to add a bun to your sausage order, otherwise all of the sausages come as is.You can further dress up your sausage (or pretzel and fries) with condiments from a couple of carts in the center of the beer garden. The curry ketchup has just a hint of curry, the sweet mustard has whole mustard seeds and is perfectly sweet without being cloying, and the Dijon mustard is quite spicy.
I was excited for the spaeztle, a little German egg noodle that can be so good, but the spaetzle with cheese and onions is a hot mess. Drowned in a grainy, heavy cheese sauce studded with caramelized onions, this is not a dish anyone would want to eat on a warm day. Not even sure a couple steins of beer could make this dish appetizing.

There is a non-vegetarian spaetzle with gravy on the menu, and, hopefully, it is much better.If you like to include something from the vegetable food group in your meal, there is a mixed green salad with radishes, as well as a cucumber salad on the menu. A sucker for all cucumber salads, we got the cool cucumber salad with red onions and dill sour cream dressing. Refreshing with just a hint of dill, the cucumber salad is perfect warm weather food.

Pretzel hawkers walk around with baskets of massive pretzels, but I couldn't bring myself to eat the equivalent of a loaf of bread. When I laughed at their size, the pretzel hawker informed me that smaller pretzels can be ordered at the food window. Next time.

The food is simple at Frankford Hall, and is probably not intended as the main draw. The outdoor dining and steins of beer are where it's at, mein Schatz!

Frankford Hall
1210 Frankford Ave., Philadelphia, PA 19125
(215) 634-3338

Memphis Taproom Beer Garden

Stopped by Memphis Taproom's new beer garden this past weekend, which serves up hot dogs from a permanently placed, non-mobile food truck. I do love me a good hot dog, but veggie hot dogs are sort of hard to come by at carts or restaurants. The ever veggie-friendly Memphis Taproom has not forgotten about me and you, though. Beef, vegetarian, and vegan dogs can be had!The narrow, outdoor dining space with large picnic tables has a picnicky beer garden feel, perfect for the warmer months we have coming our way. Stenciled in red paint on the tables are friendly reminders to mind your manners, keep it down, and generally don't do any thing that would piss off those living in the surrounding residential neighborhood.Back in the corner is a red and blue truck from whence the hot dog creations and cans of beer flow. And, sorry, colorblind males, the truck is blue — as in turquoise blue — not green. I will give you sea foam green, if you insist on green.
It's best to know before you go that Memphis Taproom's beer garden only serves hot dogs, fried pickles, cans of beer, water, and soda. Food, beer, wine and cocktails from inside Memphis Taproom proper cannot, and will not travel out to the beer garden. If you want to dine in the beer garden, you will be enjoying hot dogs and beer only. If, like me, you do not drink beer, but still like to imbibe, I suggest you plan ahead, but NOT bring your own booze and get Memphis Taproom in trouble! If you don't eat meat, you're going to have to customize most of the hot dogs on the menu. First, specify if you want a vegetarian hot dog (Worthington), or a vegan hot dog (Lightlife Tofu Pups). Obviously, bacon-wrapped dogs need to be made without bacon, but also watch out for the meat-based chili. And, while the buns are vegan, the beer batter that some of the hot dogs are fried in is not — the batter contains buttermilk.

Even with the little customizations to accommodate a vegetarian or vegan diet, you're still left with some of the most creative veggie hot dogs in Philly.The California Uber Alles hot dog with two (!!) beer battered hot dogs, cucumber, avocado, nori, wasabi mustard, pickled ginger, and soy sounded so good, but the wasabi mustard was so overpowering (nasal passages were wasabi-afied real good!), that all the other ingredients were lost. I'm also not fond of the non-crispy fried beer batter on the hot dogs; it just didn't seem to add anything.We highly enjoyed the beer batter on the fried dill pickle wedges, though.
Much better to my liking was the Sun Devil sans bacon. The pinto beans, garlic mayo, jalapeno sauce, pico de gallo, mustard, and long hots all worked together well. Again, two hot dogs to the bun.Really, though, I wish there were only one hot dog to the bun. And I wish the bun was a real hot dog bun instead of a chewy, hefty hoagie roll. There's just too much bread with a hoagie roll, even with two hot dogs inside, not to mention the bread texture is wrong. With my hot dog, I took a bite, then pulled off a bit of bread, took a bite, and pulled off a bit of bread, and so on.

All in all, though, this is fan-freakin'-tastic news if you are a vegetarian or vegan hot dog lover! I can't wait to go back and try Memphis Taproom's other hot dog creations out in their beer garden. Hopefully, they'll occasionally change up the menu, 'cause I'd really love a baked bean, raw onion, and slaw dog. (Hint, hint.)

Memphis Taproom Beer Garden
2331 East Cumberland St., Philadelphia, PA 19125
215-425-4460
April-October
Mon-Thurs, 4-10 pm
Fri, 4 pm-midnight
Sat, noon-midnight
Sun, noon-10 pm

Charleston Dog

My most exciting find from my trip is probably the most humble -- a hot dog cart serving veggie hot dogs! (I spared you the all-caps, but imagine the last part of the previous sentence was screamed in extreme excitement.)

If you are not familiar with my quest for hot dog street vendors that serve veggie hot dogs, let me refer you to this post. Sure, it's almost too easy to find veggie hot dogs in brick and mortar establishments, but it's a little more difficult (a lot more difficult) to find a veggie hot dog served up from a cart street side. (Don't even talk to me, people in the Northwest and Canada; I don't want to hear about your riches.)

My discovery of Charleston Dog at the corner of George and King Streets along the high end retail tourist drag of King Street in Charleston is only my second happening upon a hot dog cart serving veggie dogs. Technically, Charleston Dog is my first, since the cart in Lawrence, Kansas, served veggie bratwurst.

In talking with the chilaxed dude manning the cart, he told me that he suggested veggie dogs to the boss man because he thought they'd go over well in a liberal (?) town like Charleston. Thank you, guitar-playing, pro-veggie-dog dude! Charleston Dog also has a couple of other carts in town, but I didn't ask about their locations.What rocks even harder than veggie dogs on the street is the fact that you can get a bag of boiled peanuts! Only in South Carolina. And probably only in Charleston.I got my dog with a squirt of ketchup and coleslaw. The sweet, creamy coleslaw doesn't come from a Sysco box, but is made in Charleston Dog's kitchen. Awesomeness.

Moe's Hot Dog House

Took a trip recently down to Moe's Hot Dog House on the corner of Washington and Grays Ferry. Whoa, I've never gone to the very western end of Washington, and it's ugly -- uglier than the rest of Washington. But Moe's family-run dog house will greet you at the end of your drive and make things all better.
Moe's corner wedge building houses a handful of tables out front of a long counter where Philly's salt of the earth steps up to order their breakfast staples, hot dogs, or sandwiches from one of the smiling employees behind the counter. I came for the hot dogs, so that's what I ordered. They have regular, beef, and veggie dogs for your approval.
You just know I ordered the Connie Mac - a hot dog topped with their homemade mac and cheese. You know what? Their mac and cheese is not bad. The elbows are loosely held together with cheese and grease, and definitely spiced with homemade love. I'd put Moe's mac and cheese in the category with many soul food restaurants' mac and cheese, which is to say pretty good, but, of course, not glorious. At least it's not my hated fancy-restaurant-crock-of-noodles-in-a-cheese-bath.

My dog came with a fork to shovel the mac directly into your face, and I would suggest you do that, because the flavor of the mac and cheese gets lost when you eat it with the split-grilled dog and the bun all at once. Skip the dog and just order the mac as a side, if you like. I went off the board and ordered a dog with Moe's homemade sweet pickle relish and homemade creamy slaw. That's two tangs at once! I like tang, and think you need some tang or pep on a dog. I could use about four times as much slaw on my dog, though. I want somebody to just weigh my dog down with goodness. Ya know, I'm no lightweight.
Dog eats self. Just too tasty. Couldn't resist.

Here's the curious part about Moe's dogs, and what I liked the most (besides that you can tell they take pride in their business), the hot dog buns are essentially tiny hoagie rolls. It makes perfect sense in such a hoagie-proud town.

It's definitely worth traveling to the end of Washington to visit Moe's for a great dog.

Moe's Hot Dog House
2617 Grays Ferry Ave., Philadelphia, PA, 19146
215-465-6637

JDH Dogs, Part Deux

I'm not sure a veggie hot dog from a franchise deserves further investigation, but I'm doing it. Bored, deranged, have no life...that's me!

I really didn't see myself heading back to Johnnie's Dog House any time soon. Maybe in a few months when hungry on the 202 errand trail? But a couple of commenters (one on this blog, and one in my email box) had me wondering if I had been slipped a meat dog on my first visit. It was awfully meaty tasting.

I went in for lunch today (still crazy mad busy) to see if the dog part of the hot dog tasted any different than the first go round.

I decided to order mine with just coleslaw. They don't have a custom option, but you can tell them what you want on your dog. They'll just find the closest thing on the menu, and charge you for that. Kinda crappy, since my one-topping dog corresponded with the Southern Comfort dog with coleslaw and chili, and was at the highest end of the three-tier dog pricing scale.

Cheapo tip-o - if you can deal with any combination of ketchup, mustard, diced onions, and sweet relish, just order a plain dog and top your own at the condiment/napkin counter.My receipt said veggie (my receipt on the first go round said veggie, too), and the guy taking my order (if his name was Danielle, that was one ugly tranny) shouted out, "We need a veggie," after taking my order, so things were looking solid.

The first thing I noticed when I got my hot dog is that the dog was substantially longer than the one I got the other day. The casings were similarly pinched at the ends, though. The dog was grilled, just like the other day, too.

One of the reasons I went back to check things out is an email comment I got from a person who ate a veggie dog at the same Johnnie's location, and claimed that their's was not grilled. I thought, "Aha, I did get the wrong dog!" But I'm not so sure the commenter just didn't pick up on the grilling, but I wasn't there, so... These dogs are grilled slightly on a griddle, so no grill line marks. Unless you deconstruct your dog, it's hard to tell it's grilled. First trip; second trip. Pinched butts look the same to me.

I took a bite, and it tasted similar - very meat-like. We could attribute this to the fact that it's grilled on the same griddle as the meat dogs (this is something vegetarians must accept if eating outside of their own kitchen, or not in exclusively vegan/vegetarian restaurants), or the fact that hot dogs don't taste like anything but a hot dog. Slip a perfectly grilled veggie hot dog to your meat-eating friends; they'll never know the difference.

I tore the dog apart with my fingers to check the texture (I did the first time, too). Dogs don't have a true tell-tale meat texture; they're processed bits.Short dog; long dog. WTF?

Seriously, I have no clue what I got. Why was the second dog much longer than the first? I suspect the long dog was the meat dog because it was a bit greasy. I guess the only way to tell is order one of each (beef, turkey, and veggie) and break out the ruler, calipers, and taste buds, which I am not doing. Not unless some meat eaters want to participate so dogs don't go to waste.

Anywho...the dogs themselves taste fine. It's the buns and toppings that were a bummer for me -- no toasted buns and no veggie versions of baked beans or chili.

Oh, how was that coleslaw? Finely diced with an onion bite, kinda like KFC coleslaw, but not as sweet. KFC's coleslaw is much better. Another topping bummer.

So, to recap, that was a lot of work with inconclusive results for something as insignificant as a hot dog (I still love hot dogs). Any meat eaters want to have a party, sit around drinking, and measure their wieners so we can settle this? It'll be just like high school.

Update: Just got a call from the boy, who accompanied me on the first trip. He said there were a ton of long dogs on the grill, as opposed to short dogs. Long would mean meat, because it's not like they're serving up more veggie dogs than meat dogs. So, we're thinking we got veggie dogs the first time, and I got a meat dog the second time. Either way, it's not cool that they can't keep their shit straight.

Is there a JDH employee out there that would like to settle this? Drop me a line and let me know which is which.

Johnnie's Dog House

Fate would have it that I just so happened to be in Wilmington the opening weekend of the Johnnie's Dog House franchise location on Concord Pike. I was uber excited for veggie hot dogs so close to home, but I've got to say that I was a little disappointed in my first experience.

Johnnie's Dog house was a mad house when we went, and continued to be so all weekend long. Many errands were done both Saturday and Sunday along Concord Pike, and each time we passed the joint, the parking lot and interior were overflowing. Who knew Wilmingtonians were so hard up for hot dogs?

Johnnie's Dog House specializes in hot dogs (beef, turkey, or veggie), but also has a few sandwiches, fries, onion rings, mac and cheese (looked school cafeteria-esqe disgusting; I couldn't bring myself to try it), and milkshakes.

The hot dog menu consists of hot dogs named after locations, topped with that city or regions signature toppings. The New York Style Classic has mustard, kraut, and onions; The Baltimore has coleslaw and bacon; The Texas Tommy is wrapped in bacon, deep fried, and topped with cheese; etc.

I wanted the Boston Back Bay Beanie Weenie with baked beans and onions, but the baked beans are not vegetarian. The chili used on other dogs is not vegetarian, either. Big bummer.

We tried to order a veggie corn dog, but were told that they don't have veggie corn dogs. Their corn dogs are not hand dipped and made to order, so big bummer number two.
I settled on the Chicago Style Dog with mustard, relish, tomatoes, dill pickle spear, onions, sport peppers, and shake of celery salt, simply because I've never eaten a Chicago-style hot dog. Lots of people love this style of dog, but I'm not sure it's for me. Nothing wrong with the combo, just not for me.

The hot dog itself was grilled, and scarily meat-like with a thick casing. We seriously wondered if we had been slipped meat dogs, but our tummies did not report back any subterfuge that evening. The bun was soft, but a few seconds on the grill would make the dog eating experience much better.My partner ordered the South Philly Dog with grilled onions and cheese. The cheese was processed cheese, as is called for on a Philly cheese steak. The grilled onions were a little less than generous.

We also ordered fries and a chocolate malt. I forgot to take pictures of the fries and shake because it was so hellishly busy with kids screaming all over the place that, well, I forgot. The boy liked the thick cut fries, but did not like his malt. He likes malt, and the shake did not taste malty at all. They were either light handed on the malt, or forgot to add the malt in all the hubbub surrounding them. He also thought the price of a small shake was expensive for the size.

With hand dipped veggie corn dogs, grilled buns, and all toppings available in vegetarian form, Dog Almighty in Austin, Texas, still reigns supreme in my veggie hot dog adventures.

I will give Johnnie's Dog House another go when the traffic dies down, kinks are worked out, and I might be able to make a custom dog without having to shout my order to a person at a register who is in the weeds and overwhelmed.

Update: My Second trip

Johnnie's Dog House
3401 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19382
302-477-1727
Mon.-Sat., 11 a.m.-10 p.m.;Sun., 11 a.m.-8 p.m.

Dogs Are Coming

All you Delawarian vegetarians (hey, that rhymes) get psyched for veggie hot dogs!

A reader alerted me to Johnnie’s Dog House, a small franchise with locations in the Philadelphia airport and in Wayne, PA (and soon Wilmington!) that serves up dogs, fries, ice cream, and other American classics. And veggie hot dogs!

If you know me, or actually read the crap on this blog, you know I loves me some molded, pressed, imitation pig parts in a bun, preferably from a street cart, but whatever. I take fake wiener where I can get it.

The reader alert came back in January, and I’ve been keeping my eyes pried for signs of Johnnie’s Dog House development for quite some time with no glimmer of hope. But today I spied the Johnnie's Dog House construction at 3401 Concord Pike. That’s at the intersection of Florence Ave. and Concord Pike (Hwy 202), kinda cattycorner to the strip mall with Jasmine, Staples, and Pier 1.

So excited! Report coming as soon as they open, and I can drag my derriere up there.

Cheap Eats: 27 Hours in NYC

We went to NYC for the weekend to hook up with the boy's old high school friend. It was also the weekend before my birthday, so I figured I could throw that in as an excuse to possibly eat out at a nice place. Oh, and it was Easter, too – my favorite holiday.

Things don’t always go as planned – or as you imagine, really. I had no real plans. And that’s fine. I usually take things as they come. Make plans, and they're sure to be ruined.

Our first stop was Rai Rai Ken, a cheap and delicious ramen noodle bar with friendly servers a few blocks from our hostel in the East Village. The miso ramen soup with slices of fried garlic, sprouts, and cabbage was perfect on a chilly day!

Before we took off, I emailed the ever gracious Linda at The Village Vegetable for her suggestions of restaurants in the city, and Rai Rai Ken was one of them. This is the only spot we hit up from her long list (not that I didn't want to hit them all, but things happen...).

The big wrench in our day was the fact that the Kansas basketball game (March Madness, folks!) was moved from early afternoon to early evening, and considering the fact that there were four KU alums in our group, a trip to the KU alumni sports bar to watch the tournament game was a given. Eight hour of drinking and one hummus appetizer that tasted like canned refried beans later, this is what I felt like eating…

For fun, we chose the most disgusting looking slice of pizza – ziti topped – and, you know what? It wasn’t that bad! Perhaps because it was more pasta than pizza? Perhaps because we were wasted? Don’t know where we picked this up from.

The next day was Easter, and, it never fails, every year I delude myself into think I’m gonna wake up to 70 degree days, so I can have a picnic in the park for my birthday (and Easter, this year), but it’s cold as hell in the Northeast in March. Boo. Hiss. No picnic. No Easter. You came too early to fit you in!

We hit up 'sNice Café, a cozy vegetarian and vegan coffee and sandwich shop in the West Village. I wanted one of their many veggie sandwiches, but s'Nice Café is bucking the brunch trend, and doesn’t serve lunch until noon. I had a tofu scramble wrap by default. Not bad, but nothing exciting. The yummy looking platters of veggie and grain salads for lunch that whizzed past me looked good, though.

I finally got to eat a veggie hot dog in NYC – but it wasn’t off a cart like in my original dream. This soy dog comes from Better Burger in Midtown West, one of three Better Burger stores in NYC that offers organic burgers and dogs on whole wheat buns. You know, better for you!

I got a NYC soy dog – kraut and bbq onions. The bbq onions are more like tomato paste onions, and the whole wheat bun is a bit of a chewy clunker. Dog Almighty in Austin, with their buttered and grilled buns, wins hands down. Junk food doesn’t need to be too healthy.

The veggie burger at Better Burger was a little tasteless, but a good effort. The fries are baked, not fried, and they were very good – thick, meaty, and you never would have guessed they were baked. The best part was the curry ketchup and Cajun ketchup for dipping.

Then we hopped on the Chinatown bus for Philly. Zzzz.

The Road Not Taken

My life could be very different right now. I could be living in Austin, Texas.

Back in the mid-‘90s, I had a love affair with Austin. I visited a few times, stayed with friends, rode my bike along the urban Barton Creek Green Belt, traipsed the city, ate at loads of veggie-friendly restaurants, and decided that I’d like to move to this warm climate city (warm climate was a prerequisite).

I went back out there, found an apartment, put down a deposit, and came back to the east coast to pack.

I chickened out and ended up staying on the east coast. Why am I such a big loser? I had no job prospectives in Austin, and rent in Austin (thanks to their ‘90s dot-com boom) was 3-4 times what I was paying back home (I had ridiculously cheap rent).

It’s been about ten years since I’ve been to Austin, but I went last week – ‘cause it really is a great city!

My favorite restaurant from my previous visits is Thai Noodle House, which is tucked behind a 7-11 on the main drag near the University of Texas campus. I went back to see if I could find the dish I loved so much – a cold noodle dish with a tangy sauce. Ten years is a long time to hold on to the memory of a dish you’ve only eaten five or six times, and the dish I chose didn’t seem to match my memory. Oh well. Maybe it’s not me. Apparently the shop has switched owners, and not everyone is happy about it. Our meal was good.

I’ve had Indian in Austin, but never at The Clay Pit. This place has to be the largest Indian restaurant I’ve ever been to. And the busiest. We went on a Thursday night during UT winter break, and it was packed. The food is dubbed contemporary Indian, since it incorporates non-traditional ingredients like salmon and mussels. The Northern Indian food at the Clay Pit is solid.

El Soy y La Luna is a funky Tex-Mex joint in the artsy, indie SoCo area. The menu is extensive, and they even serve breakfast all day. I went with the black bean taco and the soy chorizo taco from the a la carte menu. One thing I love and remember from previous visits to Austin is the abundance of soy chorizo at restaurants. Austin is very veggie-friendly!

I’ve been on a “where’s a veggie hot dog” quest for many years, and the quest is surprisingly difficult. So far in my travels, the Midwest is a veggie hot dog hot spot. Dog Almighty in South Austin serves beef, turkey, and veggie hot dogs with a long list of toppings. Anything on the menu can be made vegetarian. (Did I mention that Austin is veggie-friendly?) I had The Classic with chili, onions, cheese, and mustard, and The Pflueger Dog with kraut, onions, and mustard. The dogs and buns were grilled to perfection. Almighty Dog made my day. Will someone in Philly take this idea and make it happen?

I’m back in Wilmington/Philly now. Back to my life that actually happened. Austin is great, but I’ve got a Philly love affair going on now – despite that it's cold as fuck here.