Slaw
Overheard cell phone conversation in a West-side restaurant: "I'm in Charleston West Virginia. I'm eating a hot dog and you won't believe this...it has cole slaw on it. No, really, cole slaw. I'm not kidding!"
Perhaps the most unique feature of a real WV hot dog is a heaping helping of slaw. I like slaw. Good slaw is what makes a good hot dog for me. Bad slaw completely ruins the dining experience.
I have my favorite hot dog joints in Charleston and my decision is based almost solely on the quality of the slaw. Romeo's is excellent, so is Whitey's in North Charleston. Mr. C's (are they still around?) had a great yellow slaw.
Let us hear your favorite slaw-based picks.
7 comments:
My grandmother is a 68 year old miners wife from Iaeger, WV. She eats three meals a day ("I learned five years ago," she says, "that if you can afford to eat out every day, you never have to cook.") in the local Dairy Bar on Route 52 across from the Tug river.
She takes me there for a hotdog every time I visit, and for as long as I can remember this is how its went:
Me: Hot dog please. Plain.
Ma: With slaw.
Me: No thank you. I dont like slaw.
Ma: Everybody likes slaw. You like slaw. Slaw please.
Me: No slaw, thanks.
Ma: I like slaw on mine. Slaw's good.
Me: Plain please.
Ma: You sure you dont want slaw.
Me: Im sure.
Ma: Ok. But I like slaw.
We've had this conversation twice in one day before. (Im sure its funnier when you actually see her face.) She seems to think slaw makes the dog as well, and that plain ones are an abomination. She'd love your blog. ;)
I was allergic to cole slaw from the time I was about 6 years old until age 25. When I discovered I could eat slaw with no ill effects I went crazy. Now I am all about slaw on dogs.
There's nothing worse than a reformed anything.
Sorry, but slaw ruins a hot dog. (Barbecue too.)
For variety, especially among sauces (chili) you need to come to Huntington and try Stewarts, Sam's, Ritzy's, Frostop, Hillbilly Hotdogs, Smitty's, etc.
Hot dogs have never been a big staple of my diet, but when I was living in Toledo, Ohio and found myself homesick I craved a West Virginia hot dog like you wouldn't believe. It wasn't until I went to Rudy's Hot Dogs (a Toledo institution) and ordered a dog with "everything," that I realized the West Virginia hot dog existed.
Wabi, tell me honestly: Have you ever tried slaw on a dog?
"... and ordered a dog with 'everything', that I realized the West Virginia hot dog existed."
Oh yeah... I know that feeling. You're out of state, you go someplace to get a hot dog and you find out that they don't even OFFER slaw for a dog. You can't get it. Oh man... that hurts. I had an uncle (died last year) who was from Newport News, VA but he lived in West Virginia for a short time. He always talked about those "crazy West Virginia hot dogs" he loved so much.
Yes, I have and it wasn't for me. Bluck.
:)
Love the hot dog blog though.
Post a Comment