Charleston HDJ Review - Bogey's
Bogey's WV Hot Dog |
A place to discuss the uniquely delectable gift from heaven known as the West Virginia Hot Dog.
Bogey's WV Hot Dog |
Posted by Stanton at 6:42 PM 0 comments
The Secret Ballot Form |
Please note: No claim is being made that these six are the best in the Valley, but it was felt that they offered a good representation of the variations that exist in the Kanawha Valley hot dog culture, so spare us your flaming comments.
At each HDJ, two hot dogs were ordered with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. Each of the four reviewers were given a half to judge. They were asked to score on our official Weenie Scale, using a private ballot form as to ensure their review was not influenced by the others. At the end of the trip, scores were to be tallied and the six HDJs would be ranked. Reviewers were also instructed to take notes to be used as tie-breaking criteria.
Nitro DQ |
Bammy's |
Next stop was supposed to be Hot Diggity Dogs in North Charleston, but as luck would have it, they picked this week to close for vacation, something our team didn't know until they drove up to the front door. Faced with this dilemma, the team had to improvise quickly and choose an alternate HDJ, preferably one that wasn't far away. After a brief conference they decided to visit the most recently reviewed HDJ on the blog, Dancing Dog Ice Cream on Charleston's West Side. Wimpy the Weenie Wonk had given this place a 4.5 Weenie score just last month so, it seemed promising.
Dancing Dog Ice Cream |
Super Weenie |
Of course there are several other options for good hot dogs in downtown Charleston, but time was short so the group headed across the bridge and up McCorkle Avenue to Kanawha City.
Pepperoni Grill |
Chum's |
Last stop of the tour was Chum's Hot Dogs in Marmet, the home of the yellow slaw. It might have been a little apples-and-oranges to include Chum's because when you're having yellow slaw it's recommended to leave the mustard off of your standard order, so they did. Also, being the last stop of the day with the remnants of five other hot dogs in your belly, it might be hard to judge fairly due to "Hot Dog Fatigue." Nevertheless, our team bravely faced the unique yellow slaw variation with as much objectivity as it could muster. Only one reviewer felt Chum's was up to snuff, with the others having complaints "too vinegary" or "a cheese-like flavor." One was disappointed because of his fond memories of yellow slaw at a HDJ of yesteryear that Chum's didn't measure up to.
At the end of the tour, here's how these six ranked on this day:
1. Nitro Dairy Queen - Simply a great West Virginia Hot Dog.
2. Pepperoni Grill - Delicious and satisfying but the chili is a little too sweet.
3. Tie - Super Weenie & Dancing Dog Ice Cream - Our team couldn't break the tie, finding both of these HDJs a perfectly adequate for a lunchtime hot dog with nothing negative to say about either.
5. Bammy's Chili Dogs - When four hot dog experts agree that the chili was a little off, it's probably a little off.
6. Chum's - Unique doesn't mean it's better, just different. Too different from the others on this day.
Posted by Stanton at 8:03 PM 0 comments
Lunch is served from 11 a.m. to 3p.m. Monday through Saturday.
Ice cream is served all day.
In fact, Dancing Dog deems itself, “The Sweetest Place in Town.”
While the emphasis is on dairy delights, including cones, shakes and smoothies, they sure put out a quality Dog!
It may even put you to dancin.’
Hot dogs are listed on the menu with available toppings chili sauce, “our own,” slaw, onion and relish. A mustard bottle is available beside the counter for a do-it-yourself squirt. They also come with a grilled bun. The weenie is a Nathan’s all beef.
The components of this delicious hot dog are neatly applied and in near perfect proportion. The chili sauce is neither too spicy nor too mild, a pleasing flavor and texture. It blends well with the slaw, which wasn’t dry nor runny - perfect consistency.
4.5 Weenies
For the soft drink lovers, Coke products are served in cans.
Having savored two hot dogs, I was already looking forward to my next visit - or ordering a third. But I showed some restraint. I’ll be back, soon.
I highly recommend this tasty treat. Save room for dessert, because there’s plenty of options.
- Wimpy
Posted by Stanton at 7:53 PM 0 comments
Editor's note: This is Wimpy's second review this week. Not bad for a beginning Weenie Wonk! Keep it up, Wimpy!
Posted by Stanton at 10:30 AM 1 comments
Editor's Note: This is the first review from Wimpy, our newest Weenie Wonk. Welcome to the team, Wimpy!
The hot dogs at Butcher’s Black Angus are carry-out only, but chances are, they won’t make it past the parking lot.Sure, you can do some shopping at this small, neighborhood market. But you’ll want to saunter over to the deli case and order a couple of hot dogs to take home (or to the car.)
They’re delicious.
Hot dogs are “made your way” with chili, ketchup (!), mustard, onion and slaw listed as options.
Slight score deduction for the ketchup hiccup and the added cheese offering.
It takes a few minutes, no matter how busy the store is. They take their time steaming the buns and applying the toppings neatly. It’s a generous portion of toppings, yet they hold their place. Save the napkin for your mouth afterwards.
The chili/sauce is meaty, finely ground beef with a good proportion of spice. It marries well with the slaw, perfectly blended between creaminess and its shredded cabbage.
(The in-house made chili/sauce and slaw are also available fresh made daily to purchase from the deli cooler.)
This hot dog seemingly melts in your melt, yet with a crisp snap of the beef weenie. The taste of summer, available 12 months a year in fact.
Butcher’s Black Angus is known for its quality meats and specialty item availability. And there’s plenty of lunch meats, salads and spreads to choose from.
If it seems like a blast from the past when you walk in, I’m sure that it is intentional. Good stuff, that will likely take you back a few years.
4 Weenies.
Butcher’s Black Angus
722 Kanawha Terrace
St. Albans, WV 25177
304-727-1234
Posted by Stanton at 10:30 AM 2 comments
Over the past few years while they were navigating the tricky waters that life and the FDA created for them, they had some inconsistent hours, but recently they have made a new commitment to their customers by increasing their open days (now Monday-Saturday) and hours (now 7-3 weekedays and 8-2 Saturday). As a way to announce their new hours and attitude they have been running a social media campaign and - in a brilliant stroke of marketing genius - added hot dogs to the menu.
Boasting "homemade chili and slaw" they caught our eye and so we just had to drop in and check them out. Now long-time readers of this blog know that "homemade" doesn't hold any water with our Weenie Wonks (we prefer professionally produced hot dogs), but we know that some of you always seem to think your homemade is better than the rest so we figured we'd give it a shot.We ordered up and had to wait quite a while for our hot dogs to be made. This is common with places who don't specialize in hot dogs. In skilled and practiced hands, a WV hot dog is a very quick thing to prepare; slop the chili and sling the slaw. But give a newbie the task and they primp and preen, trying to make it pretty and take way too long. We can't fault The Daily Dose for this since they are brand new in the hot dog biz. We can find fault, though, for having ketchup in the list of "everything" toppings. No thank you.
When we did finally get them, our hot dogs were pretty and well made with plenty of toppings. Now we know that you purists out there are going to complain about the two things you always complain about, carrots in the slaw and onions chopped too coarsely. Ya'll are as predictable as Fairmont folks complaining about slaw. We don't mind the carrots and if the onions are mild, we don't mind them being big either. But you do you.We're going to give The Daily Dose a strong 4 Weenie score and encourage them the make hot dogs a regular menu item.
You can find The Daily Dose at 5206 1/2 McCorkle Ave SE, Charleston, WV
(681) 265-3943
Posted by Stanton at 10:41 AM 1 comments
Several years back, when politicians argued about things that mattered instead of making up lies about stolen elections and what not, a great debate brewed in the halls of the West Virginia state capitol. The issue at hand was one that many people cared passionately about, but try as they did they could not get certain elected leaders to state their position. Then Governor Earl Ray Tomblin was asked the question directly during a press conference and he hemmed and hawed and never really took a stance. The issue? What should be the official state food, the West Virginia Hot Dog or the Pepperoni Roll?
Now it might surprise you to know that this blog came down on the side of the pepperoni roll, since it is a truly West Virginia creation and not just a different version of something more universal. No, we bravely go where politicians fear to tread. Because here, right matters. And we love a good pepperoni roll as much as the next real West Virginian.
There are only a handful of places in West Virginia, though, that are truly serious about both of these quintessential West Virginia foods. Finding a place where you can get a good pepperoni roll AND a good hot dog is difficult no matter where you are in the state. One of them is Swiftwater General Store in Lansing, and the other is Kanawha City's Pepperoni Grill. Both of these purveyors make their own delicious pepperoni rolls, and -- we just found out -- both have excellent hot dogs.
We arrived at the height of lunchtime but the line moved quickly and we were able to place our order for the hot dog special: Two hot dogs, chips and a drink for $7.99. Everything here sadly includes ketchup, so we had to delete that from our order, but everything else went smoothly. We grabbed one of the two nearby tables and soon we had our food.
Interestingly enough, yellow slaw was listed as an option, but we declined. It seems that a lot of Kanawha City HDJs are now offering yellow slaw.
The hot dogs were pleasing to the eye, with a large helping of just about everything and a plump bun to
If the chili were a bit more spicy, and if the onions were chopped smaller, and we didn't have to specify "no ketchup" we might have given Pepperoni Grill a top score, but details matter and so we'll deduct a half-point and give it a 4.5 Weenie score. Still, one of Charleston's best hot dogs.
The Pepperoni Grill is officially located at 4002 McCorkle Avenue in Charleston, but actually faces 40th Street a half-block off McCorkle. They are closed Sundays but open most days till 8PM.
Posted by Stanton at 5:03 PM 0 comments
Welcome to the W.Va. Hot Dog Blog!
This blog contains Hot Dog Joint reviews from around West Virginia and serves as a discussion board for those reviews, as well as providing a space for general discussion of West Virginia Hot Dogs.
A true West Virginia hot dog is a heavenly creation that begins with a wiener on a soft steamed bun. Add mustard, a chili-like sauce and top it off with coleslaw and chopped onions and you have a symphony of taste that quite possibly is the reason that many transplanted West Virginians can never really be happy living anywhere else. Different parts of West Virginia have variations on the theme but the common elements are sweet, creamy coleslaw and chili. Anything else is just not a true West Virginia hot dog!