Hot Diggity Dog

I love hot dogs. Maybe too much. My friends tease about it. Whatever. Hot dogs get a bad rep as being cheap and gross. With the right toppings, an ordinary hot dog can go from white trashy to super classy.

My top favorite hot dog is the Sonoran Dog. It is basically a hot dog wrapped in bacon covered with taco filling. My first exposure was at El Guero Canelo down in Tucson. On a scale from garbage to awesome, it was a party in my mouth. Since that time I've sampled other locations and tried to recreate one myself.

I made this one.

My other top favorite is the Chicago Dog. Picture all the best hamburger fixings on a hot dog. I first tried it at Chompies. Just about every time I have gone back to that delicatessen, which is alot, I have order their Chicago Dog. Sonic and Freddy's offer decent ones. This one is easy to recreate, and I have on many occasions.

From the Chompie's in Tempe

I have a dream to have a gourmet hot dog party. Or start a club, kind of like the Finer Things Club, to talk about and taste different topping combos. There is even a pin board I've dedicated to other hot dogs to try.

Who else loves hot dogs? Would you come to a hot dog party? Or join a gourmet hot dog club?

Birthday Food

Last Thursday was my birthday, so in honor of the occasion I got to eat some delicious and photogenic food. I'd like to talk about it all before all the Thanksgiving festivities.

First off, the Boy and I went out for lunch on my actual birthday. I thought of all the places I have wanted to go to eat and decided on Joe's Farm Grill. And lucky me, upon arrival I learned that they give a $10 discount toward your meal on your day of birth. Score! The Boy and I shared a Sonoran dog, fruit cup, and dark chocolate malt.

After lunch, we headed next door to The Coffee Shop to get ourselves a coconut cupcake. That place has amazing stuff.

Friday, after going to the Desert Botanical Garden, I wanted to take advantage of the holiday drink special at Starbucks. The Boy and I wanted someone else to join in our celebration this time, so we convinced Dad to join in. We got Peppermint hot chocolate and Salted Carmel hot chocolate for the price of one. Then we headed over to Dunkin Donuts for some pastries. Can I just say their selection is lacking for a donut place? I needed more sprinkles and butterscotch.

That evening, Husband and I went out for dinner. While driving around (I couldn't think of a place to eat because I was distracted my regret brought on by a set of avocado Pyrex bowls that I passed up at Goodwill), I saw a pizza place that looked promising. It was fate that we found Picazzo's. We ordered their Chicken & Chipotle pizza was perfect.

The celebration ended Sunday night when Mom and Dad had us over for dinner and cake. Ever since the Boy realized my birthday was approaching, he and Mom have been talking about making a camera cake for me. I'm not a fan of cake (the cupcake mentioned above was a stretch for me), so Mom made a brownie camera for me. It was yummy and punny.

I love birthdays and any other reason to eat and photograph delicious.

Dogtown Chili Dogs

Last week the Boy and I went to Downtown Tempe with Husband's Dad. To be quite honest, it was pretty depressing walking down Mill. At least 3 shops that were open on Valentine's Day were completely empty. There was some silver lining to the adventure, though, in the form of a hot dog. Off of Mill, in the back of a building we found Dogtown Chili Dogs. The food was delicious!

The Boy's basic dog

Husband's Dad's Sauerkraut dog

My Mexican dog

Tamales were on the menu, too. Husband's Dad got 2 beef ones.

The Boy loved sharing the bread with the birds. And terrorizing the birds. And threatening to eat the bread once he threw it on the ground.

Sonoran Hot Dog

Last week I took a day to eat meat and try my luck at making Sonoran dogs. I've talked about these delights before, but here is a diagram that can best explain what is included in one of these treats:

I bought some Hebrew National hot dogs and wrapped turkey bacon around them because we had some on hand. Instead of pinto, I used black beans. The mayo is actually chipotle mayo, which is mighty tasty. This was a fair attempt, but I'll need to work at it a little more before I can share an exact recipe.

eat your heart out thursday - morenos

do you remember how i raved about the sonoran hot dog from my trip to tucson? i found a resturant that sells them in the valley!!! before going to the temple lights, we all had dinner at moreno's in tempe. amazing! i'm convinced that everyone needs to eat one. and i commit to treat, or at least offer, any out of town visitor to a sonoran hot dog via moreno's. i want one now.


they have amazing caramelos, too. i am a mexican food junky and i don't care who knows it.

eat your heart out thursday - el guero canelo

while in tucson, we ate a fantastic mexican food place. el guero canelo is known for their hot dogs wrapped in bacon smothered in all things fantastic - like an amazing taco hot dog. they offer other things like actual tacos and amazing quesadillas. most items are served with the bare basics - meat and maybe one topping. any other desired toppings are available at a salad bar. i love that part of el guero canelo because i enjoy piling on as much pico de gallo as possible. i cannot say enough how good the food tastes. originally husband and i just ordered a hot dog and tacos, but after consuming those pretty quickly i insisted that we share a large quesadilla. i tend to over eat when we are at yummy resturants that we rarely visit, especially when a doggy bag is not an option. i feel the need to pack in the great food to tide me over until the next time i am able to eat the food again. el guero canelo definitely had me feeling the need to pack in the good stuff. i hope to find something in the phoenix area that can rival it, but until then i will dream about tacos piled to the sky with pico de gallo.

eat your heart out thursday - my classy lunch

yesterday i ate an open-face chicken hot dog sandwich for lunch. with a knife and fork. and it was delicious. you have permission to be disgusted.