Holy freaking smothered hot dog, batman

Old Hickory House, Dunwoody, Ga

The sign out front exclaims: "Put a little south in your mouth" and that's exactly what I did.

My choice: the smothered dog, which comes in two varieties: chili, and Brunswick stew which I ordered purely out of curiosity. The concept is awesome, and it looked fantastic, unfortunately the taste left a little something to be desired. I think it was the flavor of the hot dog, which was very unique, and would be excellent on its own, clashed with the Brunswick stew, which was also quite tasty on its own. I definitely want to go back and try the chili version. My roomate got the pulled pork sandwich, and though this is a blog dedicated to hot dogs, its worth a mention that the bbq was fantastic.

Johnny Rockets chilli dog!

I hit up Johnny Rockets in Buckhead the other day for lunch at work. Never one to turn down an opportunity for a chili dog, I immediately ordered mine with fries. Now, while I'm not really into chain restaurants, I really have to give these guys credit. They got the old school 50's diner thing down. Yeah, its nothing like you'd find in Jersey or Philly, but they cook a mean hot dog. The sauce was thing and tasty, and the chopped onions were perfect. There's also some foods that orange cheese is just made for. Similar to a Philly cheese steak with "whizz", processed cheese goes hand in hand with chili and a dog. Nice touch on the grilled bun too!

The EARL

earlDog1, originally uploaded by recompas.

Last evening, we visited the EARL (East Atlanta Restaurant and Lounge) for some EARL Dogs. The EARL is located in the heart of the East Atlanta Village and is a rad place to see live music, and get some great food. They also do a pretty decent brunch on Sundays.

I (Travis) got an EARL Dog with the "works" - red and green peppers, dill relish, tomato, onion, chedder, and jalapenos and also opted to add sauerkraut and chili.





EARL Dogs are decently sized grilled hot dogs and there are many options to choose for toppings (any combination of the "works"). Chris chose an EARL Dog with cheddar and onions.












While I really dug my order, I think adding the sauerkraut was a little bit overkill in the tangy flavor department. Along with the dill relish, which is quite strong, it was too much tart flavoring. This was totally due to user error. The chili was really good, and I really wish there was more of it. I think next time, following Chris's lead and going for a more simple, classic dog is best.





While what kept this hotdog from being perfect was mostly due to my own errors, I still think there is room for improvement. I give my dog a 3/5.





Sorry about the iPhone pics. Next time we'll bring a nicer camera!