Charleston HDJ Review - The Smokehouse

Frustrated by the lack of new HDJs to review locally and a shortage of free time to travel to distant ones, I have resorted to re-reviewing some local Charleston HDJs that I haven't been to in years. This is not a bad thing because if a Hot Dog Joint is still around after the six years of this blog's existence then it must be pretty decent, so I'm likely to get a good hot dog.

Today I thought we'd revisit The Smokehouse, a West Side institution. The last time we reviewed it was 2006. You can read that review here. When this review was done we hadn't even invented the Weenie Scale yet, so there was ample reason for me to give them another shot.

The Smokehouse is one of those places that knows hot dogs and knows what its customers like. This is evidenced by two things: 1) Hot Dogs are first on the menu, and 2) their hot dogs come with chili, slaw, mustard and onions - period.

The Smokehouse hot dog is a classic Utilitarian Dog with a wonderfully soft and sticky bun that has been steamed to perfection. The chili and slaw are thin in texture and compliment each other well; the chili is meaty and spicy and the slaw is tart and creamy. The onions and mustard did not detract. The only negative I can give to this hot dog was that the weenie was a little waterlogged; that takes off a half-point from an otherwise great hot dog. We'll give The Smokehouse 4 1/2 (out of 5) Weenies on this day.

The Smokehouse is on the corner of Washington Street West and Stockton Street. It is a great place to eat lots of other things besides hot dogs and while the rear dining room and bar look a little rough the front dining room is a nice, comfortable place to dine.

Charleston HDJ Review - Betty Lou's Diner

Today we review the latest incarnation of Betty Lou's Diner. Read this review for background on the restaurant and its history, but don't bother yourself with what we said about the hot dogs then because they have changed!

Moving from its obscure location on Central Avenue on the South Charleston hill had to be a good thing for this HDJ. The new location is at the corner of Greenbrier Street and Oakridge Drive, which seems ideal for a carry out - 1 minute off of I64, on the way to the airport, Coonskin Park and Capital High School - but the spot has has seen a parade of HDJs and other fast food places move in and out over the years (the last place went in out so fast that I didn't even get around to publishing the review I wrote on its hot dogs).  Betty Lou's, though, seems to have something going for it than none of the others had; quality and experience. Time will tell.

As I said before, the hot dogs have definitely changed since our last review, and for the better. This time I found a much better combination of chili and slaw: neither are great by themselves but they work nicely together. The chili has a low, slow spiciness and is perfect texture. The slaw is also perfect texture and has just enough sweetness to compliment the chili. Add a nicely steamed bun, a decent weenie, fresh tasting onions and mustard and you have a hot dog worthy of 4 1/2 out of 5 Weenies.

This might be the best place in the Charleston area to hop off the interstate and grab a good hot dog if you are passing through town. Let's hope they live long and prosper in this location.

Charleston Area HDJ Review - Ridgeview BBQ, Institute

In the spot formerly occupied by Jenn's Southern BBQ  - across Rt. 25 from the WV State University Campus - this BBQ joint also offers hot dogs and recently they posted on our Facebook page an invitation for us to come and do a review. I had already been there once several months ago and had their BBQ (which I found to be a little lacking) and was a little hesitant to try their hot dogs. But hey, it's what I do, right?

So I was passing by, had a little time and a hot dog sized appetite so I figured I'd stop. Hot dogs are fairly hidden on their menu, but with the help of the courteous order taker I soon saw their offering: Two all beef hot dogs and chips for $4.99. I was gratified to see they proudly listed the toppings as chili, slaw, mustard and onions; a good sign. A few minutes later and I had my order.

The first thing I noticed was the dark brown ends of the weenie sticking out from under the toppings, looking like it had been overcooked. Other than that, though, nothing gave me any pause nor any reason to think this wouldn't be a good hot dog.

The first bite, all I could taste was a smoky flavor. It seems that the chili and the overdone weenie together made the hot dog taste like it had been in the pig smoker that sits out front to the restaurant (not necessarily a bad thing, just a surprise). The chili had a lot of chili powder flavor but not much else. It was, however, nearly perfect in texture. The slaw was rather tasteless and a little too dry, but it seemed to work pretty well with the smoky chili. The bun was nicely steamed and overall this was good hot dog. I'm going to give it a 4 Weenie ranking since they got the standard ingredients right and the slaw and chili seemed to be designed with each other in mind; the sign of a real WVHD.

I'm glad to see that Ridgeview BBQ is at least trying to live up to the standard that was set by their predecessor in this location. While they aren't quite up to Jenn's 5 Weenie hot dogs, they are doing far better than most and serve one of the best hot dogs in the lower Kanawha Valley.

Charleston HDJ Review - Sister Act Cafe

Note: This review was performed when Sister Act first opened. Since this review was posted we have revisited their hot dogs and found them to be quite good. See this post for a more recent review. 

In the location formerly occupied by Diana's Capitol Street Cafe, Sister Act Cafe has been open now for a few weeks and was due a visit by your friendly neighborhood Weenie Wonk (I heard that Diana's has moved to a new location, but I'm not sure where).

The motif of the cafe has changed and a bunch of photos hang on one wall of people I would guess to be sisters, and furthermore guess that it would be these sisters who own the cafe. Otherwise there has been few changes: The place still has a few inside seats and the counter/kitchen locations are simple and convenient for a crushing lunchtime business that they are likely to have in this location, and which indeed they were in the midst of when I visited.

Despite the crowd, my order came out quick and the friendly staff made me feel at ease and confident that they might know how to put together a decent WVHD (except they did ask if I wanted ketchup which is often a bad sign).

My two dogs were wrapped nicely in wax paper (the preferred packaging method of WVHotDogs.com) but then were curiously placed into an oversize coffin. When I unwrapped the first hot dog I was a bit dismayed to see the giant pieces of cabbage in the slaw, but otherwise the hot dog looked fine; a good-looking specimen of a Utilitarian Dog.

Beauty is only skin deep, though, and this hot dog lost its beauty about halfway through the first bite. The slaw was dry and almost tasteless, and unfortunately the taste it did possess was bad. The chili was OK, but served in such a small quantity that it too was effectively tasteless. The weenie was marginal. Because of the dry slaw and the lack of any other good flavor I found myself looking for a mustard package to make the second dog edible. I think ketchup might have even improved this thing.

Rarely do I give a 0 Weenie score, but Sister Act Cafe's hot dog this day truly deserves it.

Charleston Area HDJ Review - Mr. Choo Choo's Big Dogs

Location, location, location. The three most important things in business, right?
The owners of Mr. Choo Choo's Big Dogs probably thought it was awesome to have a location for his new hot dog cart right beside one of the busiest interstate off-ramps in the state of West Virginia (Leon Sullivan Way) but...

OK, first the hot dogs. This won't take long: They are big, as advertised. A huge Nathan's Famous weenie  dominates the regular old hot dog bun and leave little room for toppings. The chili, slaw, mustard and onions were spilling over the side of my hot dog. The mediocre slaw was straight out of a food service tub and the tasteless chili was a runny mess with beans floating in it. I took the first bite as I was walking back to my car and the whole thing was a temperature somewhere between lukewarm and cold. I had to take it back the office to nuke it before I felt safe eating it. The Nathan's weenie was tasty, so I'll grant Mr. Choo Choo's a generous 1.5 Weenie score.

Now back to Mr. Choo Choo's choice of location. Now remember, this is a cart that is completely mobile. It could be placed anywhere the City would grant a license for and/or the property owner agreed to. Placing it next to a busy off-ramp, like I said before, might seem good on the surface. Two things make this a bad choice, though:

First, when cars get to the bottom of the ramp they are going waaay to fast to stop near the cart's location even if (second) the cart wasn't BEHIND part of the building and completely obscured from the view of traffic! As I tweeted on Saturday when the Gazette ran a photo of the cart, it is two blocks from my home and I never knew it was there. Small wonder after seeing where they have hidden it.

Why are HDJ owners so often so clueless?

WVHotDogs FAQ

On our former website we had a page dedicated to Frequently Asked Questions about West Virginia Hot Dogs but we haven't had it posted since moving to the Blogger platform. Recent Blogger changes has made it possible to have this list on a dedicated page accessible from the main page. Notice the link to the FAQ page in the sidebar to the right.

Q&A from Readers

FreeHollowBooks writes and says "I'm hankerin for a new review......I check everyday. Who has the hottest sauce in WV btw?"


Well, FreeHollow, I just posted a new review. And there is no question that Yann's Hot Dogs in Fairmont has the hottest sauce in the state. It is insanely hot. So hot that it has apparently killed the brain cells of many Fairmont hot dog fans since they are nearly the only ones in the state who stubbornly insist that coleslaw shouldn't be put on hot dogs.


HaveFoodWillTravel asks  "is there a festival that truly captures the wv dog culture? i would like to know if there is. my favorite dog to date is from the parkway in logan, wv."


Unfortunately no, HaveFood. The Southern Ohio Hot Dog Festival that is held in Huntington each July is called The W.Va. Hot Dog Festival, but we all know the truth. Last year some of the vendors didn't even have slaw. And kudos to you for liking Parkway;s hot dogs; just another great HDJ in Logan, where they know how to do hot dogs right. Hey, why doesn't Logan have the REAL WV Hot Dog Festival?

Charleston Area HDJ Review - Riverside Cafe, Port Amherst

Near the mouth of Campbells Creek is one of the most unique little communities in the state. Port Amherst is private property that is home to several business that support the coal and river transportation industries. Kind of a early twentieth century business park, some of the buildings in the park look more like stately residences than industrial offices and 19th century sternwheelers often are docked at the riverfront.

A recent addition to the Port Amherst Community is the Riverside Cafe, a tiny little restaurant that sells basic food to those who work nearby and to those who happen by and see the sign on Piedmont Road, like me.

It should be no surprise that a place like this would sell hot dogs, but I was surprised at the poor quality of those hot dogs. Usually blue collar places like this have solid Utilitarian Dogs, but not so here: The small caliber weenie was overcooked and rubbery, the chili was lifeless and bland. The coleslaw was decent but couldn't make up for the rest.  1 1/2 Weenies.

Tornado HDJ Review - Big Bend Golf Course

I used to play a lot of golf. In addition to the joy of pursuing an ever higher level of proficiency chasing a little white ball around a glorified cow pasture, playing a lot of golf also allowed me to dine at great Hot Dog Joints in disparate places. It seems that every golf course in these parts has really good hot dogs, or perhaps they just seem really good because of the context in which they are enjoyed. Since I haven't played regularly in years, I haven't had the opportunity to review many golf course hot dogs.

Yesterday I found myself with an unusually light work schedule and the weather was so nice that I decided to venture to one of my favorite local public courses, Big Bend Golf Course in Tornado. Since my tee time was just before noon I decided to do double duty and piggyback a hot dog review. I am so glad I did.

Many times when I go back for an official review of a HDJ from my past (aka "The Good Old Days") I am let down because the quality has either slipped or can't stand up to my romanticized memories. This time I was not disappointed: The hot dogs were as good as I remembered.

First, let me say right off that this is one of those classic WVHDs that is greater than the sum of its parts. Sampled individually, the chili or the slaw would be just passable. But both chili and slaw seemed to be designed for each other on this hot dog: neither have strong flavors of their own. The sweet onions sitting on top also were perfectly matched and the weenie was basic with no heaviness and cooked just right.

The only negative about this hot dog was that the bun wasn't steamed. I will deduct a half-weenie for that, but this hot dog deserves its 4 1/2 Weenie score.

(I will only add to this review that the hot dog must've had some mystical golf powers because after eating two of them I played very well despite having not set foot on a real golf course in 2-3 years. )

M&M Dairy Belle Celebrates 60 Years

Due to the incessant whining passionate advocacy of Huntington Weenie Wonk Chris James, we allowed one - and only one - HDJ from outside the confines of our state borders to be included on our illustrious Five Weenie HDJ list. Deciding that M&M Dairy Belle can't help the fact that they sit on the wrong bank of the Ohio River (in Chesapeake) and coupled with the indisputable fact that they serve the best WVHD in the Huntington Area, we have decided to allow these Buckeyes to crash our party.

This weekend, the HDJ celbrates 60 years of slinging chili and slaw. Congratulations!

WV Hot Dog Festival happened...again.

Well, today marked another WV Hot Dog Festival at Pullman Square in downtown Huntington.

This year, I couldn't be bothered.

Let's look at who wasn't there, according to the Herald-Dispatch:

• Sam's Hot Dog Stand
• Hillbilly Hot Dogs
• M & M Dairy Bell
• Knuckle's Sandwich Co.

Ok, so my four favorites in town won't be there? Am I going to sweat a gallon to get some C-list hot dogs and watch some weenie dog races?

No thanks, maybe next year.

Or maybe not.

According to Google...

And to the Charleston Gazette, West Virginians search for the term "hot dog" on Google more than residents of any other state, according to Jenna Wandres of Google.

We're not surprised. And I'd bet if you could somehow track all those expatriate West Virginians (for those of you in Fairmont, that means they were from West Virginia and now live somewhere else) it would double the number.

Catching up from the lazy days of Summer

I know this is not a good excuse for low output during National Hot Dog Month, but with the heat we've been experiencing this month I just haven't been in much of a hot dog mood; writing about them, that is. I'm always in the mood to eat them.

A recent trip to Baltimore brought me an opportunity to see how the northern Chesapeake Bay eats their dogs. I went into a HDJ in Fell's Point that sold a good variety including one with chili, slaw, mustard and onions. You know what they called it?

The North Carolina Dog!!!!

Once again, for the record: It was our recipe first. If not for the mass exodus of West Virginians to the greener economic pastures of Charlotte during the 60' and 70's, they would have never heard of putting slaw on a hot dog (just like the rest of the country!).

Now I was going to complain but then I saw that this place's newest offering was - and I am not making this up - a Crab, Macaroni and Cheese Dog. After I saw that I figured that they were beyond reason.

Anyway, I have some reviews banked up that I'll start posting soon. A Weenie Wonk's work, it seems, is never done; although you couldn't tell that by the work output of Frank, Chris and Big Daddy, whose collective writing over these past few months make me look like a workaholic.

Just kidding guys. But seriously, write something OK?

Test Results - Fairmont meets Marmet

As I wrote earlier today, a Fourth of July cookout gave me the opportunity to test out my theory that if you add a cool, creamy coleslaw to the top of a spicy Fairmont style hot dog it would make a great West Virginia Hot Dog. Here is my report on the test:

 As much grief as I like to give Fairmont people for their stubborn resistance to slaw on hot dogs, I have to give them credit for some of the most interesting chili sauce to be found anywhere. Marion County does a few things right: Pepperoni Rolls and Spicy Hot Dog Chili Sauce would be two of those things. Yann's is the most famous of these, and most definitely the hottest. My recipe for a Yann's tastealike took all day to cook but was worth it. The sauce was not quite as spicy as Yann's but had perhaps more complexity and reminded me of other Marion County HDJs like Woody's or Lupos.

My Marmet Yellow Slaw recipe produced a slightly more vinegary slaw than I have had at the classic yellow slaw HDJs like Mr. C's or the newcomer, Chums. In spite of the extra vinegar flavor, the slaw had a wonderful texture and a sweet complexity that is hard to match with a mayonnaise based slaw.

My plan was to put these diverse elements together on top of grilled Nathan's Famous weenies and let my guests decide the success or failure of the combination.

The result? Everyone liked the chili sauce - even those from eastern Kanawha County where spicy chili is rare. Everyone liked the slaw, although the praise it received was somewhat muted compared to that given to the chili. The two together? The opinions were unanimous: There was synergy here. The spicy chili was cooled down nicely by the sweet slaw and the whole was was greater than the sum of its parts.

As a personal test, I loaded up a test dog with chili sauce, mustard and onions and then applied slaw to only one end. I started on the "Fairmont" end and ate my way to the "Marmet" end. No doubt that the dog's taste got markedly better halfway through.

My only regret is that I didn't go ahead and make some mayo based slaw to offer my guests to see which they preferred. Perhaps that will be a Labor Day project.

Now I would love to try this test again for some open-minded Fairmont people, but in my experience there are no open minded Fairmont people when it comes to hot dogs. Alas.

4th of July WVHotDogs,com Test Kitchen - Marmet meets Fairmont

Followers of this blog know that I prefer to have my hot dogs made by the professionals, but today I'm taking matters into my own hands. As I write this a pot of Fairmont style chili sauce is simmering on my stoevetop and a large bowl of Marmet Yellow Slaw is chilling in the fridge. Company coming over at 5:00 for an indepence day hot dog feast and I'll report the reviews later today.

Now, I have to give credit for my decision to try this today to Mike over at the other hot dog blog - http://thehotdogblog.wordpress.com - who tried this combination recently. When I reported it on Facebook it caused a minor war of words between Fairmont folks an some others. I'm hoping that giving a true West Virginia perspective might carry more weight with the Fairmont faithful. I'm not holding my breath.

Also, it should be noted that earlier today Joey Chestnut waddled away with his fifth straight Mustard Belt at today's Nathan's Famous Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island by eating a mere 62 hot dogs. Of course, none of them had chili or slaw so people in West Virginia barely noticed.

Skeenies Slipping??

Everyone has a bad day now and then. I hope that explains my experience at Skeenies yesterday.

For those who don't know, Skeenies is the real deal when it comes to West Virginia Hot Dogs. Iconic in every way, this place has been serving amazing hot dogs since the 1950s in the same location; a location which happens to be less than a quarter of a mile from the birthplace of West Virginia Hot Dogs. Skeenies has been the standard that other HDJs in the area aspire to for decades. I've never had a bad hot dog from Skeenies.

Yesterday came mighty close, though. Too close for comfort.

First, let me say that my dining companion and I ordered five hot dogs. Two were as good as always, but three of them were unsatisfying. Chili and slaw were very sparsely applied and the buns were kind of stale. There seemed to be no acceptable explanation for the mediocrity: the staff was the same as always (mother and son), it was lunchtime and they weren't particularly busy.

I really hope this isn't a harbinger of things to come. I don't know what I would do without Skeenies; it is a shining beacon of hot dog excellence in a world of indifference. At least it was.

Hot Dog Haiku

Balance harmony
As water seeks its level
Yin yang, chili slaw

Hot Dog Haiku

Beef pork or chicken
Academics are worthless
Good hot dogs don’t care

Hot Dog Haiku

Warm and soft is right
Life is cold and unbending
Buns should be better

Hot Dog Haiku

Paper or foil
Enhances hot dog spirit
Foam coffins bring death