Best Hot Dogs

This thread made me go to Costco today and get a hot dog for lunch.
As I ate lunch, I thought about Gray's Papaya in midtown and cried a little.

 

Esskay out of Baltimore.

 

Ah, Baltimore. Went there yesterday to have lunch at Chap's. Food was pretty good, but the, uh, ambience left a little to be desired. Cletus and family were there to greet us, and the place was in the same lot as a strip club, surrounded by a liquor store and a check-cashing establishment. Although, the area in question was nicer the one we drove through to get there. I was trying to give Baltimore the benefit of the doubt, but the town has "Shithole" written all over it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that was exactly the word artistically drawn on the side of said strip club.

 

This.

There is no comparison. There is no better dog. Period.

 

There was a place in a Syracuse suburb which was very good and locally famous. Can't think of the name.

 

So you've had every brand and offering of hot dog in the world?

 

I've had probably three dozen from all over the place -- including many listed in this thread. None are close.

 

What is Hebrew National, Alex?

 

The best damn hot dog around.

 

Schaller & Weber. German butcher shop on corner of 86th street and 2nd Avenue.

http://www.schallerweber.com/

 

So that means it's the best one you've had. Which is a far cry from "There's no comparison. There's no better dog. Period."

Just playing Devil's Advocate, but even if you have tried 3 dozen different kinds, that's still a pretty small sample size. There are at least a dozen different brands and types at any chain grocery store. Once you add in the regional stores and brands, the meat markets that make their own and are on seemingly every street corner in every city of a decent population, plus the rural places that make their own, and the restaurants like YankeeFan has linked and make "gourmet" dogs, I'd guess the number of different hot dogs in the country is in the thousands.

Aside from individual tastes making it nearly impossible to find a "Best hot dog ever. Period.", if there was some such competition and there was a consensus of the very best best hot dog in America, I'd bet that it's from some hole-in-the-wall meat packing place in some town with a population of 100 in Bumblestick, Oklahoma.

 

man, why so serious, hatemiser2? heck, people talk about who the 'best' anything is all the time. best restaurant, best movie, best book, best player, on and on. must we have experienced every single one of ANYTHING to enter the discussion? cripes. it goes without saying (to most of us, anyway) that the 'best. ANYTHING. ever' threads are all our OPINIONS based upon our own experiences.

sheesh, francis, lighten up..

carry on.