Coney's Frozen Custard

The idea for this blog started a little over a month ago when Rachel and I decided to take a break from work and class to meet up at J-Dawgs for lunch. Contrary to popular belief, we are not (or at this point were not) obsessed with hot dogs. I jokingly suggested to Rachel that we eat hot dogs exclusively whenever we ate together. She played along for a while until we decided that having hot dogs just once a week was something we could maybe handle. When we started doing this a few weeks ago we were doubtful that eating hot dogs was something we might actually enjoy. We have since learned to appreciate a good hot dog and even look forward to our outings.

This Friday Rachel and I headed to Coney’s Frozen Custard in Orem. They recently added a few “gourmet” hot dogs to their menu so we decided to check them out. You can get a “naked dog” (no toppings) “The Boardwalk” (kraut, onions, and banana peppers) a Chicago Dog, or “The Sonoran” and “Coney Dog” which we ordered along with fries and a blackberry custard shake.

The Coney dog is topped with chili, cheese, tomatoes, onions, tortilla slivers, and sour cream. The presentation was pretty fantastic. These ingredients could make for a sloppy dog but it came out looking neat and very edible. The toppings tasted great and the wiener itself was delicious. They use 100% beef Nathan’s hot dogs. They slice them and then throw them on the grill before placing them in a butter toasted bun.

The Sonoran uses the same dog and bun, but is topped instead with caramelized onions, bacon, pinto beans, melted cheese, salsa, guacamole, and a cilantro sauce. We’ve learned that dogs with these kinds of untraditional topping usually taste alright but the flavors don't often jive well with the hot dog itself. Not so at Coney’s. The Sonoran was one of our favorites.

The fries were great especially with Coney’s thick and flavorful fry sauce. We also enjoyed the blackberries in our frozen custard.

Coney’s Frozen Custard is located at 242 E. University Parkway in Orem, Utah. Their hot dogs are highly recommended.

Wienerschnitzel

Austrian wiener schnitzel—breaded pork or veal

This week Alan and I headed over to Wienerschnitzel, a national fast-food chain that specializes in hot dogs. Ironically, the Austrian dish wiener schnitzel doesn’t have very much to do with hot dogs. 

'Der' menu is pretty interesting. Wienerschnitzel has your basic hot dogs along with some specialty items like the Bacon Wrapped Dog, the Pretzel Bun Chili Dog, and the Sea Dog (a fish stick in a hot dog bun). You won’t sea us trying that anytime soon...

We decided to try the Street Dog and the Pretzel Bun Chili Dog. We were pretty hungry so we also got an order of mini corn dogs.

 

Once we got our food, we were pretty glad that we had ordered the mini corn dogs because the hot dogs were way small. Also, they did not look quite as appetizing as they had on the menu.

The Pretzel Bun Chili Dog—chili, pretzel bun, cheese

We got the Pretzel Bun Chili Dog because we thought the pretzel bun sounded interesting. The chili was pretty good, nothing amazing but not bad.  The cheese was fine, although not melted very well. The pretzel bun was interesting, but you couldn’t really taste it with all of the chili. Definitely a cool idea though.

The Street Dog- onions, bacon, mayo, mustard, and KETCHUP

Upon getting home and doing a little Wienerschnitzel research, we discovered that the Street Dog we ate came with ketchup on it! Alan was mortified.

In Chicago, it is a cardinal sin to put ketchup on your hot dog. Alan was pretty upset to learn he had betrayed the standards of his hometown.

Besides the ketchup, which we didn’t even notice while eating the hot dog, the street dog was also okay. The crispy bacon was a nice change of texture, and the onions were pretty strong. You could honestly probably make something very similar at home.

The mini corn dogs were the best thing we had at Wienerschnitzel. It’s pretty difficult to go wrong with a corn dog.

If you’re serious about hot dogs, or are concerned about really quality meat, Wienerschnitzel probably isn’t your best bet. But the place is a little quirky and the food is decent so we still had a good time.

qt

We went to the Wienerschnitzel at 314 N. State Street in Orem.

Maverik

Sometimes you don’t have time to sit for a while and enjoy a good hot dog. This week Alan and I were both pretty busy, so we decided to check out the hot dogs at Maverik. Maverik is a convenience store mainly found in the western United States.

We knew we wanted to visit a gas station at some point. Pretty much any gas station that has a convenience store will sell you a hot dog, but around here Maverik dogs have somewhat of a reputation. Granted, our peers are broke college students. When they rave about a place to eat, that often means it’s really cheap and acceptably decent.

Maverik’s claim to fame is their Bahama Mama. We decided to try one of those along with one of their regular hot dogs...which I later discovered was a Jalapeno Bahama Mama that had been put in the wrong spot.

The condiment bar was quite impressive. I expected little more than some ketchup and mustard packets, but Maverik goes all out. Alan topped the Bahama Mama with onions, kraut and Maverik’s Hot Dog Sauce (a tasty concoction that we couldn’t decide what was made of) and I topped mine with chili sauce, banana peppers, and the Hot Dog Sauce. Definitely a plus to be able to make your hot dog however you want.

It was really nice outside, so we drove to a local park to enjoy our hot dogs. I took a bite of my dog, expecting a normal hot dog. I quickly realized that it was stuffed with jalapeno seeds, and figured it must be a Jalapeno Bahama Mama. Although it’s not what I was expecting, I enjoyed the heat.

The Bahama Mama was somewhat similar. Both dogs were pretty smoky and tasted more like brats than hot dogs. The meat was quite dense, and a little chewy. We realized though that we didn’t go at the best time of day. At 7 pm, the dogs had been sitting there cooking for a very long time. I give them the benefit of the doubt in that they’re much better earlier in the day. 

 

Bahama Mama

Jalapeno Bahama Mama

We also picked up a bag of Maverik’s salt and pepper chips, and they were surprisingly really good. They were honestly probably my favorite part of our meal. As Alan said, “They ain’t your Grandma’s potato chips.”

We visited the Maverik at 307 S. State Street in Provo, but there are other locations all around the valley. If you’re on the go, Maverik’s is a pretty good option for a hot dog. Probably don’t stop by too late in the day, and make sure to grab a bag of chips.

Tommy's Burger

This week’s stop was Tommy’s Burger near downtown Provo. Tommy’s is known for their burgers topped with homemade chili that's made with carrots instead of beans. It’s located inside a tiny shack that opened originally as an ice cream shop, then was used as a car dealership and insurance office before Tommy’s opened up in 1987. I got a good tip that they had a mean Chicago dog, so Rachel and I headed over there with much excitement.

The menu at Tommy’s is pretty basic; they give you four dogs to choose from and we knew we needed to try their Chicago hot dog, but for the second choice we decided to get something that was unique to Tommy’s, so we got the chili covered “power dog”. All their dogs are made from 7 inch Vienna Beef hot dogs. Vienna Beef dogs are made in Chicago and are the dog of choice for Chicago’s many independent hot dog stands. It’s a real treat to find these in Utah.

Chicago dogs are made of all beef frankfurters that are steamed or boiled and topped with neon green relish, onions, a pickle slice, tomato slices, peppers, celery salt and mustard served in a poppy seed bun. Tommy’s version is served on a bun that lacks poppy seeds but is way tasty cause it comes from a local bakery. The only other difference is that the tomatoes come diced. Owing to the Vienna Beef, this was a great hot dog. Tomato slices would have given it a more authentic feel.

The Power dog is served on the same delicious bun, but the dog is sliced and grilled instead of boiled. The cook at Tommy’s threw some onions on the grill then added kraut and a couple slices of cheese and let it all combine before adding it to the dog, adding tomatoes and then topping it with their signature chili and a generous portion of Dijon mustard. We didn’t dare try eating this with our hands. There was so much on this dog we had to use a fork first! The chili was fantastic. It’s consistency was very sauce like but I would not mind just eating it in a bowl. It was pretty spicy and the carrots really make this a great topping for a hot dog. Once we ate most of the chili we dug into the dog which at this point basically consisted of kraut, onions, cheese, and tomatoes. The little bit of chili that was still there brought everything together very nicely. I’m not usually a fan of chili dogs, but this was by far the best one I’ve ever had and quite possibly my favorite dog I’ve had so far this summer.

Tommy's Chicago Dog

Power Dog

HOT dog

You should definitely check out Tommy’s Burger at 400 West and 100 North in Provo. The fact that they use Vienna Beef brand franks automatically makes this one of the best hot dog joints in Utah Valley, but their burgers also look pretty amazing.