Hot Diggity Dog - The Buffalo Dog

Blue Cheese Dressing. Texas Pete's Hot Sauce.

I have a long history of being a total baby when it comes to spicy food. Hot sauce is not really my "thing" so it was with this dog (and about 4 others on the menu) that I had a considerable amount of apprehension. I don't eat Buffalo wings too often, and if I do I prefer them to be extra mild...  I used to eat them though, so I can appreciate what they are trying to do here with this - The Buffalo Dog.

Hot Diggity Dog - The Albuquerque Dog

Chili, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, hot salsa, crushed tortilla chips

I really don’t deal well with spicy food. I can handle a little bit of heat sure, but on a scale of 1-10, I try to stick closer to 1 or 2… It hasn’t always been this way, there was a time I can remember in my life where I was eating hot wings indiscriminately, and actually preferred them to be cooked as if cast in the fires of hell. “The hotter the better” I thought then, but not now… So what went wrong? When did all of this change? I don’t know exactly, but I do know that now, I am spice’s bitch, and we’ve been trying to avoid contact with one another for a while now.

So why ON EARTH would I ever get the Albuquerque dog from Hot Diggity Dog? A torturous monster of hot salsa, jalapenos, and hate. Why would I challenge something that I KNEW was going to best me? Because I have some fool’s notion that I will try every hot dog on their menu, and I will write about it… and I will not stop with Hot Diggity Dog, I will eat everything everywhere, and I will write about it all. Lofty goals, yes, but when one sets up a challenge, one follows through. To do a thing only 80% of the way is to not really do a thing at all… I was setting myself up for misery, but certainly not failure.

With that steadfast commitment, I reluctantly ordered the hot dog that would be as yet, my greatest challenge… here’s how it went.

Hot Diggity Dog - The Lancaster Dog

Sauerkraut, chunky applesauce

I have lived in Lancaster for most of my life, except for about a year or so in Philadelphia. I feel a very deep rooted connection to this city, this county and its people and culture. This hometown pride has manifested itself in many ways over the years, most recently with this very website. I feel that what this town has offered to me for so long, what it continues to offer, and the things it has yet to reveal, all need to be honored, for now though, I will focus on the food.

Lancaster has been a part of this country since before it was even officially a country. And guess what, it was the CAPITAL OF THE UNITED STATES for one day in 1777. Take that, other places that weren't! Did you also know that there are a lot of Amish people here? Yep, a whole bunch…

Hot Diggity Dog - The Memphis Dog

I don’t know that I would necessarily associate chili and coleslaw with Memphis. Maybe coleslaw (I am told that it’s a very southern thing to do – when in doubt, put coleslaw on it) barbecue to me might make more sense… However, it’s Hot Diggity Dog’s world, and we’re just eating in it…

Hot Diggity Dog - The Cincinnati dog (but not really)

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.

Hot Diggity Dog - The Philadelphia Dog

 

Philadelphia cream cheese, Miller's hot mustard

When someone thinks of Philadelphia, the most common association between food and the city of brotherly love is THE CHEESESTEAK. The delicious cheesesteak, so good, yet so bad for you... its gluttony on a bun, you can actually buy one of the seven deadly sins (I recommend Pat's, BTW), it's amazing.
Anyway... the point is, it would have been very easy for Hot Diggity Dog to smear some Cheez Whiz on a hot dog, throw some grilled onions on it and call it "The Philadelphia", no one would have thought twice...
But they didn't, and I applaud their atypical approach.

Hot Diggity Dog - The Kansas City Dog

BBQ sauce, bacon, cheddar cheese.  


Recently, when Hot Diggity Dog revamped their menu, adding new hot dogs to their already fantastic lineup (which I have only begun to scratch the surface of here) I was intrigued to try out these new concoctions. Its kind of odd when I think about it, getting excited to try a new hot dog... What can really be done to change a hot dog? how do you reinvent the wheel? I had never thought of hot dogs as being an empty canvas on which to tirelessly throw random ingredients onto, like you're some sort of Jackson "Hot Dog" Pollack, Hot Diggity Dog has proven it possible, and none more so than with this: The Kansas City Dog...  

Hot Diggity Dog - The Moon Dog

 

Melted swiss cheese, strawberry preserves

Some things just make sense. Chocolate and peanut butter for example, bacon and... anything, and some things make no sense whatsoever... take the Moon Dog for instance... . It seems like something some high school stoner cooked up in his mom's house some saturday night when he and his friends had the munchies: "dudes, all we have are some hot dogs, strawberry jam, and swiss cheese" in between bong rips, and through the haze, a voice says "put 'em all together, man" and the Moon Dog was born. That HAS TO be it, that or space aliens.

Hot Diggity Dog - The Chicago Dog, 700 miles away from Chicago

 

Mustard, onion, relish, pickle spear, sport peppers, tomato slice, celery salt

I have been to Chicago (jealous??) and while there I made sure I did 2 things (among other things) 1) deep dish pizza 2)Chicago hot dog… the pizza will have to wait for its own review (I remember wanting to lay down afterwards) but the dog.. let’s discuss…