Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Chris' Hot Dogs

Chris' Hot Dogs is for many the pre-eminent hot dog joint in Charleston. Its location is convenient (just one block west of the interstate on Washington Street) its atmosphere is delightfully retro and its dogs are always great.

Gus Christo started the restaurant in the 1960's and his daughter still runs it today. Photos of Gus and his family adorn the walls and you get a feeling that nothing in the place has been updated in the forty years since it first opened. Tin ceilings, old wooden booths and a carved wood ornamental bar mirror surround give the place a one-of-a-kind look and makes the dining experience unique.

But it is the hot dogs that makes Chris' most unique. And it is Gus' forty year-old chili recipe that makes the hot dogs unique. It is, in a word, spicy - but not the kind of sweating-from-the-brow and make-your-nose-run kind of spicy. This is not spicy for the sake of being spicy, the burn is integral to the taste of the chili in a way it is hard to relate in words. The meat and everything else in the chili is finely ground. There is obviously chili powder and garlic heavily present and some other pepper (perhaps cayenne)but you can't see any visual evidence of what makes it so darn good. Whatever it is, fans of Chris' hot dogs are very loyal to it. I once took a Chris' fan to Romeo's and he left his dogs half-eaten in protest. He said the chili "doesn't speak to me" like Chris'.

As for the rest of the dog, it is very good. The slaw is finely chopped and sweet, just like good WVHD slaw ought to be, although it applied too sparingly for my tastes. The buns are basic and the weenies are tasty. "Everything" means mustard, chili and slaw. I guess with this much spice onions would be superfluous.

Personally I rate Chris' dogs in my top five favorites in Charleston, but because I value good slaw over good chili, they certainly aren't in the top three. I can certainly see why people love them and are so rabidly loyal.

Thanks to Rick Lee for the photo. See his other Chris' photos here:

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Bigley Foodland Deli

All weenies are not created equal.

As reported before, some dogs have weenies that are larger than average, some are better tasting than average, and now I find out that some are very, very small.

A co-worker was heading out to the Bigley Foodland for some things and I asked her to pick up a couple of dogs from the deli for me. Little did I know how little they would be.

The dogs came to me packed like a raw steak, shrink-wrapped onto a styrofoam tray. Not good for the dogs as they were mashed flat, but looked pretty much like a normal WVHD after they were unwrapped. But the real surprise came after a few bites when I realized that the weenie was about half the diameter of a typical dog! No kidding, it was a micro-weenie! It was about the same diameter as those "Little Smokies" sausages you find on a buffet table. It was as tough, too.

As for the rest of the dog, the slaw was definitely the cheap factory made stuff that they sell in their deli. It might be fine as a side dish, but please, keep it off of the dogs! The chili was the standard ground beef chunky hurriedly prepared stuff. Overall pretty mediocre dogs.

One more thing: If you can't see, the "Best By" date on the wrapper in the picture is February 24th. I bought them on the 20th. I can't imagine how bad they would have been by Friday. Even at two dogs for a buck-fifty-eight, I recommend that you pass on these puppies.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - The Grill

The Grill, on Washington Street just west of the Interstate, is one of Charleston's most unique eateries. It is delightfully understated (even that might be an understatement!) decor-wise but the food is great and the service is like family. The menu is eclectic and regulars know what they are having before they walk through the doors. This week's and next week's specials can be read about in advance on the dry erase menu board behind the counter. I know people that plan their weeks around the specials, which it seems are the same 12 items recycled over and over again. I can personally attest that most of the specials are very good, and anecdotally that the rest of them are good as well.

In the back room you will often see some of the most influential politicos in Charleston having lunch together. Men in expensive business suits sit in old wobbly booths that looked like they were there before the building had a roof. The four TV's tuned to sports and news channels compete for wavelengths in the audible spectrum above the din of the diners. The walls are covered with 1970's wood paneling, Pepsi signs and the autographed pictures of celebrities both major and minor. The most recent major celebrity to dine there was Dick Cheney during the last election campaign.

"But", you ask, "what about the hot dogs?" Well, they are as interesting as the atmosphere of the restaurant.

First off, it must be said that hot dogs are not the specialty of the house but an obligatory item for any self-respecting West Virginian owned greasy spoon. This is good news because the dogs at The Grill leave something to be desired.

The cabbage in the slaw (the most important part of a real WVHD) was barely shredded and rather tough to chew. The chili, while it tastes pretty much like hot dog chili ought to taste, is very meaty and chunky. The wiener is a little tough and the buns seem to be toasted (or perhaps just kept in a dry warmer). Even after a five minute drive back to the office, even wrapped in wax paper, the buns were still a little crunchy in spots. The whole hot dog was an exercise in exercise to masticate.

Since The Grill is just down the block from Chris', it seems to be a shame to waste one's hot dog calorie budget on inferior specimens like these. If you are in the mood for liver and onions, hot bologna or a great bowl of pinto beans and cornbread The Grill is your place. But if you're in a WVHD mood keep on traveling west just a few doors down.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Blues BBQ

On Jefferson Road, halfway between South Charleston proper and Southridge, you will find a little place that has very good barbecue ribs & sandwiches and a surprisingly good hot dog. Blues has long been one of my favorite quick lunch stops and is one of the few places around town that have bratwursts (they will fix one up just like a WVHD complete with chili & slaw if you ask). I've never had their ribs but their BBQ sandwiches are as good as any I've had.

But the matter at hand is the Blues BBQ version of a West Virginia Hot Dog, or perhaps I should say "versions" plural because they have two different kinds of chili that makes the dogs different. I tried one of each. The regular-strength stuff is tasty - a bit sweeter than average. The spicy is bland tasting but has a sneaky slow-burn. My guess is that the burn comes from added chili powder and maybe some cayenne pepper. Whatever it is, I was still feeling the burn twenty minutes later.

"Everything" at Blues means ketchup, mustard, onions, chili & slaw that is a bit coarse for my tastes. It's also a bit dry but about the right consistency for a BBQ sandwich (yeah, West Virginians eat slaw on those too). The bun seemed to be steamed because it was very gooey even though my "eat here" order wasn't wrapped up. It was so soft, in fact, that my weenie actually began to fall through the bottom of the bun before I was half through. This might be a negative for some, but give me a gooey dog everytime.

Overall I give Blues high marks for their dogs. I think the regular chili version is a top-ten in my book.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Mr C's

"Home of the Famous Yellow Slaw" brags the sign outside of Mr. C's Hot Dogs. Sitting across McCorkle Avenue from Galaxy Lanes (Formerly Robin Lanes) in upper Kanawha City, this little restaurant offers some pretty tasty dogs.

On my most recent trip I got one hot dog with yellow slaw and one with regular slaw to compare (see photo). The "Famous Yellow Slaw" is an enigmatic concoction and Mr. C's guards the recipe like a military secret. It seems to be basic cole slaw mixed with yellow mustard, but it is much sweeter than regular slaw. After carefully tasting the differences between the two I think I have concluded that the difference is honey-mustard. People (Yankees) who like sweet relish on a dog would probably enjoy the yellow slaw.

The regular slaw dog is very good. They wrap them up in foil so a take out order is going to be pretty gooey by the time you get where you're going. Price is great too, at $1 a dog.

Now the bad news: This place looks like it's on its last legs. The Mr. C's in North Charleston closed a couple of years ago (no doubt run off by the competition) and I understand there is another location in Putnam County, but I'm not sure where it is. This location has all the signs of imminent demise, including a hand-lettered sign on the door that says "Cash Only" and one on the counter reading "Deep Fryer is Out of Order." The potato chip rack had exactly three bags of chips on it. If you want to try a good "Famous Yellow Slaw" WVHD in Kanawha City, my advice is to hurry.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Fas Chek, West Washington Street

Rick Lee provides a quick review and photos of an unexpected find:

Nearby to my studio is the Fas-Chek on Washington Street West. I'd been going in there to by soft drinks and whatnot for a few years and I never noticed that the deli in the back (located conveniently next to the imported beer) sells hot dogs. Since we've been doing this research I decided to give it a try. The dogs are not bad... the price is incredible! 79 cents a dog! 2 for a buck on Saturday! Two quite decent hot dogs for less than a cup of coffee at Taylor Books.

Thanks Rick! Like the Kanawha County Courthouse and The Capitol Snack Bar, the beauty of the WVHD is that it lives in unexpected places.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Delish - Not a REAL WV Hot Dog, but ...

It seems almost unfair to include Delish in our ever growing list of Hot Dog Joints. Nothing about the "Delish Dog" can be compared to a true WVHD except its basic shape. But this thing is good. Really, really good.

I was leaving a mid-day meeting on Thursday and found myself walking past Delish at around 2:00. I had planned on skipping lunch but I remembered seeing a hot dog on the menu before, so in the interest of research I decided to stop in and check it out. My taste buds are glad I did (my waistline might have a different opinion).

It starts off with a frankfurter on steroids. Its at least twice as large as a typical weenie. The bun is basic enough, but that's where any similarity to a WVHD ends. Add a creamy roasted garlic sauce, chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, and scallions. To a true West Virginian this sounds like utter nonsense, but trust me it is a truly phenomenal taste treat.

I have always been a fan of Delish's pasta dishes and various burger offerings, but I will be hard-pressed to order anything but a Delish Dog on future visits.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Whitey's Sandwich Shop & Huskey's Dairy Bar

Situated right across the street from each other, on a busy intersection where 7th Avenue and West Washington Street cross 28th Street in North Charleston, these two little joints offer some of the best WVHD's in town.

Whitey's is an unassuming little place that is easy to miss even if you know where you are going. The building is plain and the only sign identifying it as a restaurant is a carved in wood and hangs inside the plate glass window. The neon "OPEN" sign is the only other clue. But the search is worth it, because at the end you will find some of the very best hot dogs Charleston has to offer.

What makes Whitey's dogs so good? I really can't put my finger on it. Every part of the dog is good and the sauce is about the meatiest in town, but it's pretty mild. The slaw is awesome and the weenies are very good. Put it all together with rock-steady dependability (I've never had a bad hot dog from Whitey's) and you get a great, great WVHD.

The only negative for me about Whitey's is that it is a proud supporter of smoker's rights and has a warning sign on the front window that lets you know that you will surely die of second-hand smoke if you enter. As much as I hate smoke filled rooms, it is worth it to get to the dogs.

Huskey's Dairy Bar
sits right across 28th Street and has very, very good dogs. In my opinion they are not quite up to par with Whitey's, but they have better hours and less smoke so it's about a wash. They are also cheaper (10 dogs for $10) and they have one of the best chocolate milkshakes around. Two dogs and a milkshake has to weigh in at about 2,000 calories so consider this your one-stop RDA depot.

The most interesting thing about the dogs is the chili, which is a misnomer because the meat is so finely ground that it is very thin and runny. This is great if you like your dogs sloppy. Slaw is great too. The weenies could be a little better - they tasted like they had been sitting in a pot of water for too long. The walk-up service is always friendly, and a sign on the building boasts of inside seating but I have never peeked inside to see what it's like.

So, these twin temples of tasty tubular delights are a recommended destination in your search for a good authentic WVHD. I know of nowhere else in town where you can park once and sample two better dogs.

Home Made Hot Dog Slaw

I made some dogs at home this weekend, mainly because all the decent hot dog joints in town are closed on Sunday and I didn't feel like driving to Lesage.

Home made dogs, no matter how good, just don't satisfy like those from a decent hot dog joint. I can't explain it. It might be the excessive amount of time it takes when you have to prepare the chili and slaw yourself. This is not fast food. It took me a good 30 minutes to make the slaw, and my wife made her special BBQ chili which took an hour. She won't divulge her recipe but I will:

Pretty Decent WV Hot Dog Slaw

Ingredients:

2 cups grated cabbage
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup Miracle Whip
1 Tablespoon lemon juice (bottled is OK)
2 Tablespoons sugar
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
salt & pepper to taste

After the cabbage and carrots are grated, put them the food processor and chop 'em up really fine. Mix remaining ingredients by hand.

Put heaping mounds of this on top of your Heiner Buns and your Armour Franks and your (yecch) Vietti Hot Dog Chili, top it with some chopped onions and it will taste like a WVHD ought to.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - WV Capitol, West Wing Snack Bar

MShane has contribued this new review of the WV Capitol, West Wing Snack Bar's hot dog offerings.

"So, the location for some hidden treasures for hot dog lovers is in the basement of the WV Capitol, West Wing Snack Bar. Don't let my photo scare you off, I was interrupted during the hotdog photo shoot and before I could get back to them, I had eaten them! These hotdogs are awesomely delicious.

The Snack bar is independently run I believe and all the food is home cooked goodness. A hotdog with everything comes with: Ketchup, Mustard, Chili, Slaw and Onions. The chili is mild yet flavorful and the slaw is top notch with a hint of sweetness. The buns are steamed and they are served to go in styrofoam boxes so they can get quite messy if you have a long haul back to your office. Take some napkins with you.

As for price, they can't be beat. The meal you see above (2 Hotdogs with everything and a bag of chips) costs a mere $3.50!!!!!! You'll have to get your own drink, they do have bottled soda for sale and there are vending machines fairly close by.

I live within a mile and half of Skeenies on Route 21 and I have eaten Skeenies Dogs all my life. I think these beat Skeenies hands down, and that's saying something I think! If you find yourself in the Capitol and hungry, stop in and give them a try."

What is it with photographers and hot dogs?

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Romeo's

O Romeo's, my Romeo's, wherefore art thou Romeo's? (Hot dogs this good make me wax poetic.)

Easy to find - right behind the mound in South Charleston.

Would a dog by another name still have slaw so sweet?

It's the slaw that keeps me coming back. It is simply perfect hot dog slaw. It is creamy rather than chunky, has a faint black pepper taste with a perfect sweet to sour ratio.

O, for the softness of your...buns!

Romeo's steams their buns which is always a positive. If you get your dogs to go and have to take them very far, expect to eat them with a fork because they get wonderfully messy.

What spice through yonder chili breaks?

For my tastes the chili is perfectly seasoned. Just enough to let you know it's there, but not a bit of burn. I certainly understand why Chris' fans might think Romeo's chili is weak, but to each his own.

As noted elsewhere in this blog, Romeo's fries are excellent considering they are simply frozen crinkle-cut fries.

As far as the atmosphere, it is a classic bar and grill looking building on the outside and out. The booths, tables, chairs and grill look like they are much older than the 1977 date the front window claims as the establishment date. Make sure you look up and notice the cool tin ceiling.

The only negative about Romeo's is the ever-present greasy smell in the air (and on your clothes when you leave). I nearly always get mine to go.

Thanks to Rick Lee for the photos. He also weighs in on the dogs: "The dogs were very good. They have a distinctive taste that I can't pinpoint. I could be the chili or it could be the slaw... I couldn't tell."

I think it is all of the above. In my opinion this is the definitive West Virginia Hot Dog. It is the standard to which I compare every other hot dog I try. I have not found its equal.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Tudor's Biscuit World

Tudor's Biscuit World is a Charleston classic. Ever since Bill and Mae Tudor opened their first store on the West Side Charlestonians have been in love with their biscuit creations like The Tootie, Mickey, Mountaineer and Thundering Herd. I love the reaction of visitors to our fair city when they first hear of the unique offerings of Tudor's. That Tudor's is the only restaurant that greets travelers at Yeager Airport speaks volumes about how authentically West Virginian this franchise is.

At some point Tudor's decided to offer more traditional lunch fare and hot dogs were added to their menu along with other home-cooked dishes. I'd love to report that their dogs are as awesome as their biscuits but, alas, the tuth is they are most ordinary. The bun is ordinary, the chili is ordinary, the slaw is ordinary and the weiner is ordinary. It doesn't seem to vary by location, either. Every Tudors where I have sampled the hot dogs they have been remarkably consistent. Consistently ordinary.

Frankly, I have a hard time walking into Tudor's and ordering anything but a biscuit with egg, sausage, a hash-brown potato and cheese and that is probably best. When you have a specialty and you are the king of that specialty why dabble in other areas? If my heart could take it I think I could eat a dozen of their fanatastic biscuit creations a week and never get tired of them, but leave the hot dogs to the experts, please.

A Word About Fries

Rick Lee is so enthusiastic in his praise of Chris' fries that I thought I should briefly comment on these, the natural companion of a real WV Hot Dog.

I gave up fries completely a few years ago as a dietary decision. I couldn't give up hot dogs and hamburgers so I reasoned that if I could cut out the fries I could cut enough calories out of a typical fast food meal to make it somewhat healthier. I miss them, I really do. There is nothing better with a dog and a root beer. Good onion rings are great, but onion rings are too unpredictable to order just anywhere. Fries, on the other hand, are like sex: When they are good, they are very good, and when they are bad, they're still pretty good.

Even though I don't eat them anymore, my memories linger and I have to say that Romeo's has the fries that please my palate most. They are standard crinkle cut frozen fries, but the way they cook them they turn out crip and delicious. My mouth is watering just writing about them.

Feel free to post a comment about your favorite fries.

Charleston Hot Dog Joints - Swiftwater Cafe

Swiftwater is located on the Washington Street side of the 405 Capitol Street building. As you might guess from the name the motif is whitewater rafting and kayaking and it seats maybe 20 people but most of its business seems to be take out anyway (or maybe consequently). The walls are adorned with beautiful Ron Snow photographs and two TV's - one tuned to CNN and the other with whitewater videos always playing. The service is as friendly as it gets and I've never had to wait long on my food, even when they are very busy (which is about every day at lunch time).

The hot dogs are pretty ordinary except that they use exclusively Boar's Head brand franks. This takes the quality level up a notch over virtually every other hot dog joint in town. For those uninitiated, Boar's Head makes a really good weenie (along with about everything else they make) that is a bit larger and very tasty. I don't know of any other place in town that serves Boar's Head franks, although there are at least two places where you can get their cold cuts on a sandwich - Johnnie's Meats at Capitol Market and M&M Deli in Kanawha City.

As for Swiftwater dogs, the bun is basic, the chili is tame and the slaw is good but lightly applied. Next time I am going to ask for extra slaw.

Swiftwater is also a good place to go for hot bologna and they have one of the best barbecue sandwiches downtown.

Update: Photo courtesy of Rick Lee

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Snack Bar at the Kanawha County Courthouse - Updated

Update: Thanks to Rick Lee for photos. He says "Here are some shots from the KC Courthouse. The dogs are good. Not much to say... much like Skeenies they are simply straight-ahead WV hot dogs. Very tasty. Say what you will about the dogs, it wins in the category of "Best Romanesque Architecture in a Hot Dog Stand". "

Original Post: I went looking for a decent dog in downtown Charleston one day and was quite surprised at this find. I've bought a lot of candy bars and soft drinks from the snack bar at the Courthouse over the years, but one day as I walked past I smelled the unmistakable aroma of hot dog chili wafting its way through the hallowed halls. I thought I'd chance it and got a couple with everything to take back to the office. I'm glad I did, because I found them to be about the best dog I've ever tasted in downtown Charleston. (Caveat: This was a one-time sampling a couple of months ago and I haven't been back to verify the consistency of the product.)

Every part of these dogs was excellent. The weiners were very meaty, the chili was just spicy enough to make its presence felt, and the sweet slaw was just about perfect in texture and taste. If this quality proves to be consistent it will defintely end up on my top-five list. Update: 1/24/2006 - The dogs are still good! I noticed this trip that they microwave the buns. I don't really like this because it makes them chewier as they cool down. Steaming is much better. Still a top-five contender, though, especially if limited to the downtown Charleston area.

Marc E. Williams reports that the second floor snack bar across the street at the Judicial Annex has great dogs, too.

Charleston Area Hot Dog Joints - Skeenies

Update! See Rick Lee's photos of Skeenie's and his review below: Skeenie's is found about two miles out Sissonville Drive. It has been there as long as I can remember and it has always had a sign that advertises "West Virginia Style Hot Dogs." Someone told me once that Skeenies had locations in Florida and they were very successful in the early 70's due to all the homesick West Virginians who had rode the Hillbilly Highway to the Sunshine State. They also had a Kanawha City location for several years but it was never as good as the original.

Skeenie's is a classic road side hotdog joint/dairy bar with a walk-up window and no inside seating. "Everything" means chili, slaw, chopped onions, mustard and ketchup. They steam their buns and wrap the dogs in wax paper so they are plenty gooey by the time you get them home. They used to offer a foot-long dog but it was missing from the menu when I made my last visit.

Skeenie's chili is disctinctive, but their slaw is average. Skeenie's dogs are in my top ten list, but probably not top five.

Update - Rick Lee visited Skeenie's today and has this to say:

"I just got back from Skeenies up Sissonville Road. Boy howdy, I smell like onions now. I usually get a dog with no onions, but in order to be fair I just ordered two dogs with everything. There's not much to say about Skeenie's hot dogs. They really are the quintessential West Virginia hot dogs. Just exactly what you'd expect and nothing more or less. The fries were awful. Frozen krinkle-cut fries which were soggy and nasty by the time I had finished my two dogs. The service was totally excellent. Very friendly and quick. "

The "Restaurants"

Here, in no particular order, is a list to begin the discussion of our favorite hot dog joints. I'm thinking locally owned businesses, but some chains might have a decent dog on their menu. Please add your comments.

Skeenie's - Sissonville Drive
Chris's Hot Dogs - Washington St. West
Romeo's Grill - Near the Mound in So. Charleston
Sam's Hot Dog Stand - Hale Street
Whitey's Sandwhich Shop - North Charleston
Towne & Country Lanes - Nitro
Galaxy Lanes - Kanawha City
Snack Bar - Kanawha County Courthouse

The Bun

Buns need attention, too. Steamed and soft, or toasted and hard?

My mother always liked her dogs so soft and messy that she ate them with a fork. A steamed bun is a must for this kind of dog. Toasted buns have their strong points when eating your dog on the way to an appointment and don't desire chili stains on your tie. I detest a room-temperature bun straight from the plastic wrapper, don't you?

So, where are the best buns?

Weiners or Weenies?

Whatever it is called, the real meat of a hot dog is, well, the meat! Bad weenies can make a bad dog. And let's keep the discussion to real weiners aka franks. It matters not if they are beef, chicken or pork as long as they are just plain old weenies.

Now I like a good bratwurst as much as anyone but no self-respecting WV hot dog would ever have anything like a sausage on it.

I have to confess that the weenie is the least important part of the dog for me, but there is one hot dog joint in town that I steer away from because their weiners are so overcooked.

OK weenie men and women, let us hear your preferences.

Mustard & Ketchup

OK, I guess there might be some folks who are finicky about their mustard and ketchup. So here's the place to discuss these two lesser condiments.

I will say that I have found the best ketchup for home use is Kurtz, available only at Save-a-Lot. Beats the name brands going away.

And while I'm at it, I will put forth the proposition that yellow is the only proper color for hot dog mustard. Grey Poupon? I think not!