Vandalia Gathering Hot Dogs

The Vandalia Gathering is the big Memorial Day weekend party thrown by the W. Va. Department of Culture and History each year on the grounds of the Capitol. You can read about it in this post from the Charlestonian Blog.

The Kiwanis Club of Charleston always has the hot dog concession for the festival. Normally I don't review hot dogs from festivals and church sales and other such temporary HDJs, but since the Kiwanis are there year after year selling the same hot dogs I thought I'd go ahead and give it a shot.

Despite including ketchup on an "everything" dog, the Kiwanis seem fairly serious about offering a decent hot dog. The chili seems to be home made and not bought in bulk (although it tastes a little too much like DQ Coney Souce to be called "good") and the slaw seems to be homemade (but won't be winning any prizes). The weenie is tasty and larger than your average HDJ weenie.

If I were giving this hot dog a serious rating, it might garner a 3 Weenie score. Since Vandalia is supposed to showcase the culture of our state I wish that they had a better hot dog to offer to visitors.

Deion Sanders wants to ruin your hot dogs.

Anyone else remember this infomercial from a few years back?




After the success of the Foreman grill, athletes started putting their name on any meat-related product, including this machine that allowed you to recreate the taste of a 7-11 dog in your own home.

Personally, I was always partial to the Dick Butkus newspaper grill for a great dog.

Nitro HDJ Review - Jake's Dawg House

Located inside Brandywine Flea Market on Rt. 25, Jake's Dawg House is one of those kind of HDJs that has unpredictable hours that you have to be fairly intentional about visiting. I tried three times before I finally found it open. The sign says it is open Wednesday - Sunday 9-5 but I had been there during those hours and found it closed. Such is the way of small HDJs. (I am forever getting mail from people who ask me to post hours for the places we review, but I have always resisted because most places are like this one: Open when they get there, closed when they leave.) The menu at Jake's is full of different combinations of hot dogs and toppings, and a request for "one with everything" got me a blank stare. So I special ordered one with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. The person behind the counter was friendly, but not too speedy. I was surprised by how long it took to get my order and disappointed to see it served in a coffin. Jake's buns are the split top New England Style variety and are nicely grilled. The weenie was hefty and had the distinctive all-beef flavor of a premium brand. I couldn't tell how it was prepared. On top of the weenie was a good measure of tasty, meaty chili. It wasn't very spicy, but was flavorful. The slaw was really creamy and nicely sweet. The whole ensemble worked nicely. It was a good, tasty and filling hot dog that earns a Four Weenie rating.

Charleston HDJ Review - Mrs. Winkle's

A staple of the old Plaza East shopping center was the little hot dog joint on the corner, Bowincal's. It closed many years ago but it has sat virtually unchanged through the years. You could walk by and see the tables and chairs sitting there waiting for people to fill them, and the serving counter waiting for someone to order one with everything. I was pleased when I heard that the place had reopened under a slightly different name.

Mrs. Winkle is presumably no relation to the former occupants, and her menu is definitely more diverse than the old place with things like Greek salads, hot wings and other trendy fast foods. But hot dogs still hold a place of honor on the menu, and the menu has several different versions and different toppings to work with. When I asked what "everything" was, I was greeted by an exasperated stare and so I withdrew my question and just asked for two with spicy chili (they have regular chili, but I wanted to see what "spicy" meant), slaw, mustard and onions.

My hot dogs took a long time to get to me, but I was not alone, quite literally. There must have been about 12 people waiting for their orders when I got there and another 4 or 5 came in after me. One disgruntled customer finally voiced his displeasure and left, donating his pre-paid food order in the process. I hung in there and waited almost 20 minutes. It was the heat of lunchtime, so I'll forgive them, especially because even though they were slammed I could see that they were still taking great care preparing the hot dogs instead of just throwing them together. Each bun was steamed, the mustard was carefully applied, the chili was lovingly spread and the slaw and onions were spooned into place like presentation actually mattered to them.

When I finally got my order I noticed that the two hot dogs "to go" were served in kind of a double-wide styrofoam coffin. No matter, the steamed bun and the piping hot toppings preserved themselves well on the short drive back to my office. When I opened the coffin I was greeted by a heady bouquet of really potent onions, but they didn't taste as strong as they smelled. The first thing I noticed when I bit into my dog was the unmistakable "snap" of a premium weenie: Probably either a Nathan's skinless or a Boar's Head. It was quite tasty like both of those brands and larger in size than your typical HDJ weenie.

The next thing that caught my attention was the spicy chili. It was indeed spicy; not Fairmont spicy, but pretty darned spicy for Charleston. It was really nice and complex too, with a tartness that one usually doesn't find in the spicy stuff up north. The slaw, while pretty tasty and fresh, wasn't quite up to the task of offsetting the chili. I'd imagine it would go well with the regular stuff, but the spicy just kinda burned through it. Still, this is a very good hot dog. It's a bit pricey for these parts at $1.90, but the premium ingredients are worth it.

Let's give Mrs.Winkle a 4.5 Weenie rating to leave her room for improvement. Sweeten the slaw and make it a little creamier and it would be flawless.

Presidential Endorsement

Based only on this photo I have to declare my support for Barack Obama to be the Democratic presidential nominee. We need a president who eats hot dogs.

This would be so much better if the hot dogs had slaw on them, but this photo was taken in Altoona, PA; not exactly the center of the WVHD universe.

Clendenin HDJ Review - Almost Heaven BBQ

With one 4 1/2 Weenie and one full fledged Five Weenie HDJ, Clendenin is already arguably blessed with more great HDJs per capita than any other town in West Virginia. What would be the odds that a new place that just opened up halfway between those two excellent HDJs would be a winner, too? If this were a typical town I'd say slim to none, but Clendenin seems to know its hot dogs so I went with an open mind.

Almost Heaven BBQ is a little window service carryout located on Spencer Road (the road that connects Clendenin with I79). While primarily a BBQ joint, the banner across the front of the building proudly states that they have hot dogs, always a good sign, and when I asked what everything includes I got even a better sign: "Chili, slaw, mustard and onions" I was told without equivocation. It only got better from there because my hot dog came wrapped in wax paper! My anticipation grew by the second and was rewarded when I opened up the paper and saw a huge mound of slaw that was finely chopped and just creamy enough. The slaw was rather colorless, with no carrots or anything else showing, but it tasted nearly perfect. The tiny pieces of cabbage were crisp and fresh, and slight sweetness matched the chili perfectly since it was fairly tame, spice-wise. It had a nice flavor, but was served very sparingly.

The weenie was remarkable because it was large in caliber and very tasty. I couldn't tell how it was prepared, but it was quite good. The bun was standard. The mustard was perhaps a little lightly applied.

We're gonna give Almost Heaven BBQ a 4.5 Weenie score. A little spicier chili would have kicked it up to a Five, but it is still a great hot dog.

Now please pay attention to this fact: Along one stretch of road in Clendenin there are two 4.5 Weenie HDJs and one 5 Weenie. Take a left and head a short distance up Elk River Road and you'll find another 3.5 Weenie HDJ that is a teaspoon away from a 4. I am very close to naming Clendenin as the hot dog capital of West Virginia, but I need to make another trip to Logan before I do that.

Fairmont HDJ Review – Dairy Creme Corner

If there's one thing that there never seems to be a shortage of here at WVHotDogs.com, it's recommendations for a favorite local HDJ. Case in point was the recent e-mail that Stanton forwarded to me from a reader named Cathy with the subject line “Need to try the BEST!!!”, referring to the Dairy Creme Corner in Fairmont.

Dairy Creme Corner is an inviting walk-up-or-eat-in type HDJ that primarily focuses on ice cream and summer comfort foods. It features an extensive menu of short order goodies on one of those menu boards that seemingly spans the width of the restaurant. You name it, chances are they've got it: all sorts of cool treats, burgers, salads, cheese steaks, nachos, funnel cakes, and the like. Places like these can take you back to summer nights when you were a kid. To boot, the service is friendly and prompt. Dairy Creme Corner should win the award for having the “Money Location”. It literally sits right at the base of the exit ramp of exit 137 off of I-79.

To be completely honest with you, I take any claims of the hot dogs at any given place being “the best” (or some similar claim) with a grain of salt. While it means a lot that someone thought enough of the product to recommend it, the rule of thumb is that no two tastes are the same. At any rate, I found the hot dogs here to be well worthy of high marks.

For starters, it's one flat price for any hot dog with any topping, to include slaw. In Marion County, this is a rarity since many HDJs in the area still believe in the phantom “no-slaw law”. The buns are steamed just about right to allow some absorption of the toppings, but not too much that they turn to mush. The weenie seemed to be adequately done. For some odd reason I had a hard time finding the onions and mustard in each bite, but they were still detectable.

The regular variation of the chili seems to be geared more to towards the southern WV formula, in that it doesn't rely on an overdose of spices, but rather a hearty flavor. The texture of the meat is nicely ground and cooked just to the point that the juices of the beef are released into a pleasing mix that compliments the weenie. The only drawback seems to be that there is a hint of ketchup stirred into the formula somewhere. Not enough ketchup to throw the formula into complete disarray, but just enough to make its presence known in fashion that annoyed my anti-ketchup palate.

The slaw as fresh, with an emphasis on a crispness in the finely cut cabbage. I found the flavor to be middle-of-the-road in terms of sweet/tangy ratio. On the downside, I thought the dressing was a bit too thin and runny for my personal liking. Again, this didn't ruin the hot dog, but it was a little unpleasant to have it running into the palm of my hand.

All in all, Dairy Creme Corner is a fun and pleasant place to take the family and enjoy the best of America's favorite summer treats. The hot dogs are really good, but come up a hair short of being the best they can be. Therefore, Dairy Creme Corner gets four and a half weenies.

Philippi HDJ Review – The Hot Dog Hut

Right next to the famous Philippi covered bridge rests a simple and unassuming brick building where The Hot Dog Hut serves up some halfway decent dogs. There's nothing flashy about the place, but the interior is spacious, clean, and comfortable.

One of the things I liked best about this place is that there is one flat price for hot dogs with whatever toppings you desire. This is a change from the standard menu offerings in this region of the state, which is usually chili, mustard, and onions (and ketchup if you're not careful), with slaw running extra. The list of toppings available at no extra cost, runs the whole gamut: the aforementioned ingredients as well as cheese, jalapeños, and sauerkraut.

As far as preparation goes, I was a bit amused by the attempt to place the chili and slaw side-by-side on the bun. It was a nice try, but after I unwrapped the wax paper, it looked like something of a car wreck. Looks aside, the overall product tasted good enough to just get by.

The bun was slightly warm yet stale, like it had been tossed in a toaster oven for a minute. This took away from the taste more than I anticipated, but not enough to make me give up on the dog. The beef in the chili was ground far too fine for a passable WVHD mix. There didn't seem to be a lot of liquid in the sauce, which would normally be a welcome thing. In this case it gave the chili a mealy texture, like you would find in a cheap chili that had cracker meal mixed into it. I didn't really find any of the said filler, but I also noticed that the spices were on the weak side. A little more chili powder or pepper flakes would've been a welcomed addition. In the end, the chili came through as more of a “safe” recipe in that it had a minimal beef flavor but not enough spice to cause any upset stomachs.

I couldn't really pick up anything notable about the slaw. It was cool and slightly sweet, but not over the top. In other words, they played it safe with the slaw (like the chili). The wiener and onions were adequate as well.

In the end, there's not a lot wrong with The Hot Dog Hut's version of a WVHD, but it's not necessarily great either. I don't know if I'd go out of the way to go get one, however. The Hot Dog Hut gets a “safe” three weenies.

Hillbilly Hot Dogs on "Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives"

Looking for Hillbilly Hot Dogs?

With last night's premiere of the Food Network's piece on Hillbilly Hot Dogs, this blog has seen a huge number of referrals from search engine queries looking for info on the place, Here are a few links to make your search easier:

Hillbilly Hot Dogs Web Site
WVHotDogs.com review of the original Lesage location
WVHotDogs.com review of the Huntington location
A local (Huntington, WV) newspaper article about last night's premier party

For those of you not familiar with West Virginia style hot dogs, you might be interested in this FAQ page that will clue you in on the reasons West Virginia hot dogs are the best hot dogs in the universe. Of course I should point out that most of the hot dogs that Hillbilly Hot Dogs sells are not typical West Virginia style hot dogs. They specialize more in the bizarre. While they do have a "West Virginia Hot Dog" on the menu, it is a rather inferior specimen since they refuse to have decent slaw, the main ingredient of a proper WVHD.

But hey, they do have the atmosphere, gotta give 'em that.

Charleston HDJ Review - Tricky Fish

This little restaurant, a spin-off of the Bluegrass Kitchen, has been rumored to be opening any day now for the better part of a year. Since it was also rumored to have hot dogs on its menu, I was particularly interested in seeing the "open" sign pop up. It finally did.

Tricky Fish sits in an little old house on Washington Street East just a block or so from the State Capitol building. Inside it is has been remodeled nicely with some interestingly constructed holes in the interior walls to give the place a more open feel. There are a couple of cool concrete counter tops with exposed glass aggregrate that are obviously new but most everything in the place looks like it's been there for years. It reminded me of a little restaurant one might find a few blocks from the ocean in any number of beach communities in the Carolinas or Virginia.

At the top of the menu at Tricky Fish are its hot dogs. a "House Dog" (all beef, nitrate free, no hormones antibotics or steroids), WV Produced Italian Sausage, and a Veggie Dog. I opted for a House Dog with chili, slaw and onions. Mustard (four different kinds) are available from the condiment stand. My hot dog had a base sticker price of $4 and chili & slaw added 90 cents to the bottom line. A canned Coke cost $1.25. Pricey, yes, but I hoped it would make up for it in volume and taste.

It half did: This is big hot dog. Meal sized, for sure. But the flavor was nothing like I hoped for. It was OK, but not a WVHD. The huge weenie was very flavorful, so much so that it shouted down the toppings. The chili seemed good but was served very sparingly so I couldn't get an adequate taste. The slaw was the same way. The onions were strong. The bun was huge, proportioned to hold the giant weenie, and the taste was pretty good.

The whole hot dog was flavorful, but not the kind of flavor I was looking for in a WVHD. It's difficult to give it a fair rank. In fact, the hot dog reminded me very much of the one I got at Barnyard in Buckhannon and I didn't give it a rank either. This site is about West Virginia Hot Dogs. I know West Viginia Hot Dogs. West Virginia Hot Dogs are a friend of mine. And this is no West Virginia Hot Dog.

PS: I will, though, go back to Tricky Fish to try an Oyster Po' Boy. It looked yum.

WV Hot Dog Festival video.

From the youth group of Lewis Memorical Baptist Church and posted to YouTube.

They manage to show video what seems to be all of the booths at last year's festival. In the comments on the video, the uploader calls Stewart's the best, which obviously means that he or she did not stop by M & M Dairy Bell's stall. :)

Great job, you guys.

PS - Mark your calenday, this year's fesitval will be on July 26.

Hot Dogs: It's What's For Dinner, Dammit!

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- A 28-year-old woman in Orange County stabbed her husband during a fight that sparked over having hot dogs for dinner, according to a sheriff's office report. Officers said Alfreda Van Bladel apparently had prepared a dinner for her husband, Anton, that consisted of hot dogs. At some point, the man snatched the plate of hot dogs from his wife's hands, the report said. The action prompted the woman to stab her husband in the shoulder with a steak knife, according to authorities. Anton Van Bladel then alleged grabbed a handgun and pointed it at the woman's head and said he was going to kill her. Both a knife and a handgun were recovered from the couple's home. The husband and wife were arrested and face several charges in connection with the incident, including aggravated battery and aggravated assault.

Oak Hill HDJ Review - Tom's Carry Out

I can safely say that I have received more email about Tom's Carry Out in Oak Hill than any other HDJ in the state. It took me a while to get there, but I had a little extra time on a recent trip to Beckley and was able to travel the extra 10 miles or so to Oak Hill. I didn't have any way of knowing where Tom's was located because no phone book or directory assistance service could provide a phone number or address. I figured though, with all of the love that readers had shown for Tom's, it wouldn't be hard to find someone to tell me. Sure enough, the very first person I asked, a lady walking along side the road, gave me impeccable directions. Soon I was heading down Jones Avenue and before long I saw the red and yellow sign that screamed "Hot Dog Joint." And let me tell you, Tom's is a real Hot Dog Joint: The kind that Weenie Wonks dream about.

The ambiance begins on the outside, with the aforementioned sign and the classic square cinder block structure with wide overhangs, and once inside the bright yellow paint and bare florescent tubes practically screams HDJ: I mean really, what other food could you possibly sell in a place like this? (The menu has hamburgers and a few other items, but every person that ordered while I was there ordered hot dogs.) Tom's is a no smoking establishment, but interestingly enough you can buy cigarettes there. A jar of pickled eggs sits on the counter, further enhancing the atmosphere of unrefined unpretentiousness. No less than a dozen hungry looking people waited on their orders as I came in, and another dozen came through before I left. Most got bags full of hot dogs to go.

One has a choice at Tom's between regular and foot long hot dogs. Regular are $1.09 each and foot longs are $1.99. "Everything" I was told, includes chili, slaw, mustard and onions: Music to my ears. I ordered two because I was pretty sure at this point that one wasn't going to be enough. I was right.

The first thing I noticed when I got my order was that the hot dogs were wrapped in wax paper, which meant they were really steamed nicely in their own moisture by the time I unwrapped them. But then I saw something somewhat disturbing: The chili was on top of the slaw! Wait a minute, I know what the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says about this: Chili ALWAYS goes on the bottom. Now I have run into this disturbing upside-down presentation before, mostly down in Hinton, and whenever I do I struggle with the temptation to deduct a half-point just because it's weird, but more about that later.

One thing about having that chili right there on top, it gives a Weenie Wonk easy access to do the taste test. I was able to get a good taste, and it really tasted good. I mean really good. This is hot dog chili that is good on purpose. It is meaty, but fine textured; spicy and complex. Even the color is right: Dark brown and obviously prepared with care. They sell the chili in pints, quarts and gallons and I'll bet they sell a ton of it.

But the upside-down presentation completely hides the slaw and prevented a thorough tasting, which readers of this site knows is a bad thing: After all, it's all about the slaw, isn't it?

But it's also about the whole hot dog, too, and this whole hot dog is nothing but great. Tom's knows hot dogs. They care about hot dogs and it shows: It shows in the way they carefully spread the mustard on the bun instead of squirting it on like most HDJs; it shows in the way they mix up small batches of slaw when needed instead of having a monster-sized container of stuff that was made yesterday or last week. It shows in the way people flock to Tom's and write emails to hot dog blogs. It's inspiring.

But is it inspiring enough to offset the upside-down-ness? Can we award our highest honor, a Five Weenie rating, to a hot dog that is put together upside down? How can this be a real statewide treasure when it looks so wrong? Isn't it worthy of more than a merely mortal Four and a Half Weenies? What would Joe Manchin do?

Well, when the Gov and his administration was faced recently with the unsavory choice between labeling some less than pristine waterways as "Tier 2 Streams" because they didn't qualify as "Tier 3", why they just created a brand new level: Tier 2.5. Now West Virginia boasts the only Tier 2.5 streams in the whole USA. Now that's something to be proud of, huh?

So it would be completely reasonable to create a brand new 4.75 Weenie rank just for Tom's, right? Reasonable maybe, but too much work making a new graphic. Sorry Tom's, upside-down presentation gets a half-point deduction in these parts. So 4.5 Weenies it is.

But it might be the best tasting 4.5 in the whole state.

Barkersville HDJ Review - Lil' Pups Hot Dogs

I've always been fascinated by the popularity of White Castle Hamburgers. For those of you not savvy, White Castles are little hamburgers that people up north buy by the bag full when they are drunk. In my humble opinion you have to be drunk to eat them because they taste disgusting, and therein lies the fascination for me: I know people who eat them when they are sober and profess to think they are the best thing in the world. There is no adequate explanation for this. I'll just leave it as one of the unsolved mysteries of the universe.

I hadn't thought of White Castles in a long time, but when I ran across Lil' Pups Hot Dogs in Barkersville it all came back to me.

Lil's Pups sits right alongside Surveyor Drive in downtown Barkersville. I was intrigued by the sign that promised 4 hot dogs for a dollar, and a dozen for $2! How could I not stop and check it out? You're right, I couldn't!

I immediately discovered two things about Lil' Pups: They sell tiny hot dogs and the hot dogs they sell are not WVHDs at all (which is surprising since Barkersville is the quintessential southern West Virginia small town). "Everything" on a Lil' Pups hot dog includes mustard and ketchup. And the weenie on a Lil' Pup hot dog is basically a cocktail weenie without the yummy BBQ sauce that is typically served on these little hors d'oeuvres. Of course I could not bring myself to order ketchup on any hot dog, even a micro-dog, and so I got mine with just mustard. There really wasn't much room for anything else in the little bun anyway. Hard to complain about value, though, as two dogs, chips and a couple of pickle slices only rang in at 75 cents.

Of course a hot dog this size is a one-bite affair, and since I only got two I could barely even tell what they tasted like. I noticed, though, that other customers were getting them by the dozen and so I asked some of them what they thought (I immediately noticed that most of the clientèle were large, burly men who looked like they were not too discriminating about what went into their stomachs as long as it was voluminous). Most of the answers to my questions about why they liked Lil' Pups had their reasons based in quantitative terms, not qualitative. And most of Lil' Pups' customers probably would not understand that last sentence.

Large quantities of beer would no doubt help make Lil' Pups more palatable, and like White Castles I'm sure you could get used to the taste to the point it would grow on you and you might even begin to like them when sober. I decided quickly that I don't want to get that familiar with these hot dogs, regardless of how cheap they are.

Since Lil' Pups had neither chili or slaw they don't get a weenie rating, but if they did it would probably be a very low number: Maybe a 1.

As in April 1.

Charleston HDJ Re-Review - Galaxy Lanes

A couple of years ago I visited all of the local bowling alley snack bars trying to find which had the best hot dogs. I found that none of them had hot dogs that were up to snuff and most were below mediocre. I was probably the hardest on Galaxy Lanes in Kanawha City, whose dogs I found so lackluster that I didn't even give them a score.

Well, a recent flurry of comments on that old post by people who are most likely friends and family of the snack bar's proprietors caused me to pay another visit to see if the hot dogs had improved. One of the comments also said that they sold yellow slaw and since I had been stymied in my search lately for the yellow stuff I thought that would reason enough to give the Galaxy another shot.

When my dining companion and I walked into the place at lunchtime one Friday I was surprised to find that we were the only patrons there. I thought this would be good as it would would allow us to be served quicker, but boy was I wrong. Our four hot dogs and one order of fries took all of 15 minutes to get to us.

Once I finally had my hot dogs I found that the slaw was fairly good (sweet and well made - and white, not yellow), but that the chili had virtually no taste except that of the ground beef it contained. Not a trace of spice nor herb could be detected. The weenies were tasty and plump, but they could not overcome the lack of flavor from the chili.

It was better than it was last time, but Galaxy Lanes doesn't earn any more than a 3 Weenie rating on this trip. To all of those people who left comments arguing that Galaxy has great hot dogs, I would recommend that you get out to other restaurants, the kind that isn't located inside a bowling alley, to try a real hot dog once in a while.

Charleston HDJ Review - Sub Express - Lee St. West

Nearly Universal Hot Dog Rule #1: Hot Dogs served in a convenience store are bad.
Nearly Universal Hot Dog Rule #2: Hot dog buns heated in a microwave are a sign of a bad hot dog.
Nearly Universal Hot Dog Rule #3: Weenies heated on one of those perpetually rolling weenie heating devices are lackluster at best, disgusting at worst.

When I saw the changeable letter sign on the local One Stop convenience store on the corner of Lee and Tennesee advertising hot dogs for $1.49 each, I figured that I would find a mediocre or worse hot dog there, so I didn't exactly hurry in: I actually took several weeks to finally make a visit. When I did I found that the place embraced the premising scenarios of all three of the above mentioned rules and I very nearly turned-tail and skedaddled out of there. But I remembered that the rules are only "Nearly" universal, so I thought I'd take a chance and test their universality.

Now to be fair, this isn't just a convenience store. It has inside two honest to goodness food service joints. One of these is a former "Blimpies" that has been reincarnated as a "Sub Express". That is where the hot dogs are.

"Everything" includes ketchup, which of course I deleted from my order. I watched with disdain as the person behind the counter nuked the bun nearly into oblivion. Then I saw the dreaded hot dog roller. I had not confidence that this hot dog was going to anything close to edible. But when I saw the pot of pretty good looking chili and a bowl of really nice looking slaw I regained a glimmer of hope. And when they wrapped my hot dog in aluminum foil my hopes grew higher.

In a nutshell, this hot dog turned the above referenced Nearly Universal Rules on their heads. Not a great hot dog, but certainly good enough to prove the "Nearly" part of the rule's titles. The slaw carried the whole thing (nice texture and taste), but the chili wasn't half bad either (tame but nicely complex).

Let's give this dog a 3.5 Weenie rating just because it worked so hard to overcome the odds.

Fairmont HDJ Review - Underdogs and More 2

What a difference five miles and twenty-four hours makes!

Just one day removed from raving about how much I enjoyed the hot dogs from Underdogs and More on Speedway Avenue in Fairmont, I took a short trip across town the next day to the sister location on Locust Avenue cleverly named (wait for it) Underdogs and More 2. The name is about the only thing in common with the Speedway location.

I had the onset of clausterphobia for the first time in years when I entered this little facility. I would swear this shop was at one time nothing more than an oversized tool shed. Although there were seats for eight undersized individuals, I would have to believe that anyone attempting to sit down for a meal would be hard pressed for any elbow room at all. I found my spine pressed up against a Pepsi cooler while I waited for the four other customers in front of me to get their orders filled.

I was hoping that I might get an upgrade to the version that I had sampled across town, if it were at all possible. Imagine my surprise when I was told that they didn't have slaw "yet". I didn't ask for an elaboration at this point, as I was just happy to get my order and be on my way. I went with the traditional Marion County version of a WVHD, which is simply chili, mustard, and onions. While everything seemed to be in place as would be expected from Underdogs -right down to the styrofoam coffin- there was one striking difference that can be summed up in one word: waterlogged.

In the short time I've been reviewing with WVHotDogs.com, I haven't come across a weaker tasting weenie than this one. To boot, this weenie was just barely warm enough to meet the local health department food preparation laws.

I gotta say that the chili was still pretty good. Like its sister location, it had a good complex texture and lots of flavor that begged to be sampled further. Nonetheless it isn't enough to save the day on an otherwise lackluster dog.

I give Underdogs and More 2 a two-and-a-half weenie rating. Hopefully, that rating will be raised in the future if a little more attention is paid to the preparation and the addition of a good quality slaw. Alas, it would seem as it goes in movies, so it goes in hot dogs: more often than not, sequels are not as good as the originals.

Charleston Area HDJ Review - Mr. G's

Once upon a time there was a magical place called Mr. C's Hot Dogs. Actually there were several of these magical places around the Kanawha Valley. The magical thing about Mr. C's was the slaw they served: It was yellow. Not only was it yellow, it was sweet and wonderful. But a great evil came over the land and one by one, the magical Mr C's began to disappear. One day without much explanation, Mr. C's was simply no more and the magical yellow slaw was gone. There was much sadness throughout the valley.

But one day a rumor was heard that Mr. C's had been reborn. The place was said to be located in Cross Lanes and was not called "Mr. C's" but instead chose a new letter a few spaces up the alphabet array: Mr. G's, it was said, is the same wonderful, magical hot dog joint with the same, magical yellow slaw. As the rumor spread, hope too began to return to the land.

So, a Knight of the Weenie order went on a quest: A quest to discover the magical yellow slaw of yore.

Mr. G's was easy enough to find. Straight through the stoplight in the land where the Lanes Cross, toward the Big Mountain of Tyler. The intrepid Knight traveled just a few short miles and there was the shining temple of hot dog glory called Mr. G's. The Knight was beside himself with glee: Would he be the one to restore the people's hope by revealing the location of the magical yellow slaw?

No, he would not.

For it seems that the rumors of the yellow slaw, as is often the case with rumors, were untrue. The slaw served at Mr. G's was as white as snow, though it was quite tasty. Very sweet and finely made. It sits atop chili that has almost no taste other than that of the meat from which it is made; no spice, no herb, nothing but meat. Mustard and onions are properly served and the hot dog warrants a good rating of Four Weenies. More spice in the chili would be an improvement, but this hot dog was good enough to bring a momentary smile to the lips of the Knight.

The quest for the yellow slaw will continue another day.

Fairmont HDJ Review - Underdogs and More

Underdogs and More on Speedway Avenue in Fairmont is one of those places where the M.O. is simpy hot dogs and hot dogs only. You won't find many other offerings on the menu (save for fries, bottled drinks, and pepperoni rolls), let alone any other frilly bells and whistles. I wouldn't recommend getting a sit-down meal here on account of the extreme lack of seating. Although there is plenty of floor space, I didn't count seating for any more than ten people at the most. Those seats were quickly occupied during the lunch rush from the employees of the Novelis plant across the street.

A hot dog with "everything" here will net you chili, mustard, and onions. In keeping with the slaw by-laws of Marion County, slaw is available as an optional topping for a little extra. I didn't see anyone walking away with wax paper or foil wrapped dogs, only a stream of styrofoam coffins. A little disappointing, but obviously the proprietors know what their regular customers want, need, and accept.

The hot dogs themselves were terrific. I was immediately taken by how fresh and perfectly steamed the bun was. It was one of those buns that melts in your mouth with every bite while still managing to soak in just enough of the flavors of the weenie, chili, and slaw to add to the whole experience. The weiner was cooked to jucy perfection. However, I thought that there was a bit of overload in the onion department. Needless to say a supply of breath mints was in order for me for the rest of the day.

I was struck by how complex the chili was. While I can't say it was the greatest I have ever had, it was nonetheless very flavorful and hearty. The seasoning of the ground beef was very pronounced, giving it more of a beefy texture than normal. At the same time, it had just the right amount of sauce to keep the overall mixture from coming off as clumpy. I detected a heavy amount of paprika and chili powder, but not enough to overwhelm the whole concoction. I went with the medium version (other choices are mild and hot), and found it to be more than adequate when it came to buzzing my taste buds. It wasn't enough to make my upper lip bead up with sweat, but it sure did make me think about it. I'd chalk that up to the red pepper flakes in the mix.

The slaw was clearly of the homemade variety, but not all that flavorful. Although the mix of the dressing seemed well balanced, the cabbage was watery enough that it made the other ingredients taste bland. After pulling some of the slaw off with a plastic fork to sample on its own, I determined that the taste was almost completely gone from this particular batch. Then again, a ho-hum slaw is usually better than no slaw at all. Remember, this is Marion County after all.

For keeping it simple and sticking to the game plan to put out quality hot dogs, Underdogs and More warrants a four weenie rating. This HDJ is a credit to the hot dog culture movement.