Topic: Where can I get a hotdog that everyone else can get one too? (Read 1475 times)

James Edward Smith · « **on:** June 25, 2012, 09:28:49 PM »

Is there a fast food chain where the MAIN GENERIC THING WE SERVE is a hot-dog(or like a nice sausage) and not a hamburger, taco, fried chicken, etc? I guess hot-dog stands are pretty much everywhere and super generic, but is there a popular chain anywhere? I can't think of one and that seems super weird to me. I mean Arby's exists and their thing is a god damn roast beef sandwich with cheeze whiz on it.

I'd find it super weird if no one ever succeeded at it. I mean, people like hot-dogs.

I'd call it "Bratbest"

Classic · « **Reply #1 on:** June 25, 2012, 09:34:45 PM »

I think the ubiquity of small shops/chains would limit the penetration of a restaurant that tried to make its claim to fame sausage.
I mean, Superdawg is supposed to be famous in the Chicagoland area, but even that's local and it's also got the drive-in restaurant gimmick.

NexAdruin · « **Reply #2 on:** June 25, 2012, 09:42:01 PM »

A&W does chili dogs I think?

Mongrel · « **Reply #3 on:** June 25, 2012, 09:43:55 PM »

I think street-meat is typically considered to be the "go-to" hot-dog specialist.

Hot Dogs are seen as being cheaper stuff than hamburgers, so (right or wrong) that's why they've always been a distant second on fast-food menus.

Brentai · « **Reply #4 on:** June 25, 2012, 11:41:13 PM »

The southwest U.S. has Wienerschnitzel. It's managed to hang onto what fast food is supposed to be - dirt-cheap, instant, and questionably even food at all.

I know the northeast has some better ones, that being the region where people will stab you for using ketchup and all, but I haven't been there in a long time so I couldn't name you one.

Disposable Ninja · « **Reply #5 on:** June 26, 2012, 12:16:29 AM »

Well... here in Houston we have James Coney Island.

Lottel · « **Reply #6 on:** June 26, 2012, 12:20:43 AM »

A&W is the biggest chain with a love of wiener. Luckily, around here we have two competing dog places. And one of them has a hot dog cart (best way to eat a hot dog) right outside where I work in the middle of a park.

A² · « **Reply #7 on:** June 26, 2012, 01:06:48 AM »

Sonic promotes it's dogs pretty heavily. Most people I've seen, for when this topic of conversation ever emerges, consider it and A&W to be "Hot Dog Places" as opposed to "Hamburger places"

Beat Bandit · « **Reply #8 on:** June 26, 2012, 02:22:14 AM »

So does Nathan's not exist outside New York?

Kayma · « **Reply #9 on:** June 26, 2012, 06:48:06 AM »

I've seen like two Nathan's that weren't just a class case at a highway rest stop. And, yeah, Sonic would be my answer.

R^2 · « **Reply #10 on:** June 26, 2012, 06:56:23 AM »

Frankfurters seem to be the sole product of small street carts and other tiny one-man-operations. Other "hot dog" places I've seen as brick-and-mortar restaurants expand the menu to include italian sausage, bratwurst, fried chicken, and yes -- hamburgers.

From what I am told talking to the workers at one such place back in Atlanta, hot dogs don't sell that well even if you promote them as your main product line.

François · « **Reply #11 on:** June 26, 2012, 08:29:58 AM »

Valentine is a very popular chain here and they're basically a hot-dog place. Well, they're also a poutine place but theirs is fairly terrible. And they have burgers but nobody gets a burger at a Valentine, that's just not done.

Now that I remember the last time I went their hotdogs are also pretty terrible. But people still buy 'em.

Shinra · « **Reply #12 on:** June 26, 2012, 08:35:14 AM »

Quote from: Aoko Aozaki on June 26, 2012, 01:06:48 AM

Sonic promotes it's dogs pretty heavily. Most people I've seen, for when this topic of conversation ever emerges, consider it and A&W to be "Hot Dog Places" as opposed to "Hamburger places"

I agree, while both A&W and Sonic both serve hamburgers, the dogs are clearly the main attraction. Sonic was a little flip floppy on it before, they were really trying to push burgers for a couple of years there, but now they've switched to all beef franks, broadened their dog menu to 8 items and have some of the better hot dogs you can expect to get without knowing a dude with a little cart. Both of these restaurants are all about the chili cheese cony with chili cheese fries, for maximum hnng.

They are also both nationwide chains.

Mongrel · « **Reply #13 on:** June 26, 2012, 08:56:13 AM »

The funny thing is that A&W is probably bigger here than it is down south (it's almost seen as "Canadian"), but that hamburgers are easily their main offerings. Hotdogs are offered but not as a main item by any means.

Niku · « **Reply #14 on:** June 26, 2012, 10:38:24 AM »

I'm honestly kinda surprised James Coney Island has never tried to go national. Or maybe they did and got their asses handed to them, I don't know.

I'm still torn up over the loss of Ray's Franks down here. A hot dog place that serves nothing but dogs themed off of horror movies was just too good to live forever, but damnit, it should at least be undead by now.

Caithness · « **Reply #15 on:** June 26, 2012, 10:53:06 AM »

Didn't A&W recently shut down all its stores in the US? Anyway, I didn't know A&W was anything more than a root beer brand until I was 20.

James Edward Smith · « **Reply #16 on:** June 26, 2012, 11:23:31 AM »

Yeah, I think someone bought the franchise here in Canada after all the old ones shut down in the 90s, 80s? Anyway, they started opening new ones with a new look and 50s inspired uniforms and such but their main product is no longer the hot-dog. In fact, I didn't even know they still had hot-dogs there to be honest, I've never noticed them on the menu. Their main offering is "the burger family" consisting of hamburgers named after family members (papa, mama, teen, grandpa,etc) and they seem to push chicken tenders and stuff like that too. It's basically just Wendy's but with big rootbeer mugs.

Brentai · « **Reply #17 on:** June 26, 2012, 11:34:46 AM »

There's still an A&W around here, it shares a menu with KFC and offers about-par hamburgers and, of all fucking things, cheese curds. It's the only one I know of in a 50 mile radius though.

Shinra · « **Reply #18 on:** June 26, 2012, 11:40:23 AM »

Quote from: Caithness on June 26, 2012, 10:53:06 AM

Didn't A&W recently shut down all its stores in the US? Anyway, I didn't know A&W was anything more than a root beer brand until I was 20.

They're a YUM subsidiary, so they are still strapped onto some YUM combo stores. They're usually attached to Long John Silvers. The two don't do very well on their own respectively, but the combo stores are a great compromise for picky families so they tend to attract a lot of business as a combo unit.

Don't know what to tell you guys in Canadia other than 'Sonic is stretching north at a steady clip'. They started in Oklahoma (or texas?) but are now in the overwhelming majority of the US, so if you don't have them in Canada yet, you probably will in the next few years. There's more Sonics than Mcdonalds in Oklahoma, so it's kind of weird to think of them not being everywhere.

Kayma · « **Reply #19 on:** June 26, 2012, 11:54:15 AM »

A&W/Long John's is great. You can get fish tacos, cheese curds, and a frozen lemonade for like five bucks.

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Author Topic: Where can I get a hotdog that everyone else can get one too? (Read 1475 times)