Charleston Downtown HDJ Death Match Round 1

Round 1 pits Diana's Snack Bar against Donna's Cafe. Donna's Cafe sits in the building formerly known as "The Carbon Building" at the corner of Kanawha Blvd and Leon Sullivan Way. Most people know it best as the home of the bronze statue of a man standing in its entryway. The Cafe sits just inside the lobby.

Diana's Snack Bar sits across town, at the corner of Brawley Walkway and Summers Street.

Diana's Snack Bar hot dog (left) is served in a coffin, while Donna's Cafe (right) wraps theirs in paper.

 First, the similarities: Both HDJs think that ketchup should be included on an everything dog. Both use standard buns.

The Good: Diana's hot dog has a better presentation - A few darker green cabbage leaves are left in the coleslaw to give them a fancier, garnished look. Donna's bun is buttered and grilled and has a nice flavor. Donna's hot dog had far more of everything on it.

 The Bad: Donna's slaw tasted old and musty. Unfortunately, as noted above, there was a lot of slaw too, which served to increase the overall oldness and mustiness. The chili had the same musty undertone. Diana's slaw was rather tasteless and the chili was served far too sparingly to know what it tasted like. 


The Winner: Almost everything about Donna's hot dog was lackluster or worse. Diana wins almost by default, but I do not expect her hot dogs to live much longer. Any decent hot dog is going to vanquish Diana's Snack Bar - probably in the next round when it will face...


The Fresh Seafood Company at Capitol Market.