Chili, cheddar cheese
I am pretty sure that I have never had a chili dog. As I have mentioned before, my hot dogs were usually kept on the plain jane side… hot dog, mustard, bun… maybe onions. Also, I really don’t like chili (mostly because of the beans) so why on earth would I put chili on a hot dog? Let me just take something that I like, and ruin it completely with something that I don’t like… yeah, great idea. Or I will just let Hot Diggity Dog do it, and I will write about it.
People like chili dogs. Chili on a hot dog is a really popular add-on at most places. In Cincinnati, apparently, it’s a requirement. So what’s the big deal with this stuff?
Cincinnati, I have learned, has their own version of chili that differs from typical chili… It is apparently “runnier” which I don’t think sounds appealing at all… lets say that it “has a thinner base” and its made with chocolate (not as like the main ingredient or anything, its just, you know.. in there), so the Cincinnati chili experience is very unique to Cincinnati, and it is what separates the chili dog made in Cincinnati from the chili dog made at Hot Diggity Dog that is merely called The Cincinnati.
I figure, when they were first devising their menu, they had a really strong start with the authentic Chicago dog, and they had a few ideas of other dogs to throw on there, of course they would have to have a chili dog on the menu, and it would only make sense to call it the Cincinnati (all of their hot dogs are named after cities, by the way) I guess. Its unfortunate that the attention to detail in getting the Chicago dog to be JUST RIGHT was completely lost when they got to the Cincinnati dog.
As far as I could tell, the chili on the Cincinnati dog at HDD is from a can. ***That’s fine, perfectly acceptable if it were just supposed to be a chili dog, but to tease and call it a Cincinnati dog only makes the consumer yearn for the real thing.
I have never been to Cincinnati, I have never had Cincinnati chili, and, as I said before, I don’t really like chili, so why do I care?
My informant on the matters of Cincinnati is my friend, Jeff… He lived there for a while (college I guess) and he says this Cincinnati dog from HDD bears ZERO resemblance to the real thing. So now, naturally, because I know that a “real thing” exists, and I know that I am being given a “sub-par thing” I want the real thing, or I would at least like for HDD to do a better job of approximating the “real thing” (get the recipe guys!) . So where once I could care less about chili dogs, now, suddenly, I will only settle for the finest chili dog.
That said…this HDD chili dog, being the first chili dog I have ever had, was not that bad. Basic chili dog, again, the chili came from a can, and that’s okay with me, its flavor was that of your standard run of the mill chili, and on top of a hot dog it worked nicely. They also melt some cheddar cheese on top of the chili as well, which makes for a well balanced, albeit basic, hot dog. I get it now, its still not my favorite thing, but it is understandable why people like chili on their hot dogs. Fine.
I give it a 4.8 (if they work to authenticate that dog, the score would go up significantly)
HOT DIGGITY DOG is located at 1325 Fruitville Pike, Lancaster PA
***UPDATE*** the chili used at Hot Diggity Dog, along with most of their hot dog accompaniments, come directly from Vienna Beef., based in Chicago. They supply the hot dogs, the relish, the Italian beef, virtually everything that Hot Diggity Dog uses, and the chili IS NOT from a can, its in a vaccuum-sealed bag. There are no beans, it is 100% beef chili. Fair enough.
the real deal.
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