Over the mountain from Hamlin, the county seat of Lincoln county and hometown of Chuck Yeager, is West Hamlin. Now I'm not sure of the corporation status of this little burg, or whether people living their even like to be identified with The Other Hamlin, but I would imagine that a lot of people in Hamlin make trips to West Hamlin for hot dogs. Kenny's would be the reason for this trip.
Kenny's is a little concrete block hut beside the main road just across from the IGA store where seemingly everyone on the road in West Hamlin is heading. Inside, the place has seating for 8 people at two booths, and leaning spots for a few more. It is functional but austere, just like a good WVHDJ ought to be.
Apparently we can put this part of Lincoln County into the "sauce" column, because I was told everything included sauce, slaw, mustard and onions. It's still chili.
The hot dog looked pretty good and when I picked it up an looked it over I realized that the slaw was three to one more voluminous than the sauce. In fact, I had trouble isolating enough sauce to sample it by itself. But from what I could tell it was excellent. Nice texture and a taste that defies description; in fact there is an ingredient in this sauce that I simply could not identify but it added so much to the overall taste of the hot dog that I found myself wishing that I could a dozen of them. The slaw was finely chopped, perfectly sweet and creamy as it could be. Then, as if the sauce and slaw weren't good enough, the bun was perfectly steamed and the weenie was excellent. This is a great, great 5 Weenie West Virginia hot dog!
As I traveled the winding road back home I could not get the mysterious flavor out of my mind. What was this ingredient that seemed so familiar but so out of place in a hot dog? I kept replaying the flavor over and over in my head until at last I think I nailed it down. It is something that you would never expect but really adds something special. I will not divulge my theory because Kenny's is a WVHDJ that everyone ought to experience for themselves. Once you've tried a Kenny's dog feel free to post your theory as a comment.
I remember having my first "slaw dog" in 1976. The picture that you show here I believe back then used to be Annette's Drive-in. Back then all us kids would hang out there and eat these wonderful creations. I live in Chicago that boasts home of the Chicago dog, which by any other hot dog standards would be considered the best, but nothing can compare to a W.V Slaw Dog!!
ReplyDeleteThis isnt the old annette's, this is a newer building built just a little further toward branchland across from Ginos. The old annettes is now a flower shop. They did have very good hot dogs.
ReplyDeleteKenny:s hot dogs are the best! You owe it to your taste buds to give him try.
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