Today is National Hot Dog Day. If you ever doubt my fandom for a delicious frankfurter, simply type “hot dog” in the search bar of this blog. The number of hits that pop up will ensure that you never question me again.

Okay, so you want me to put my hot dog where my mouth is? In no particular order, let’s browse seven of my hot dog experiences as documented in Don’t Blink.

1. The Big Dog. It will be 12 years ago next month that I had the audacity to order “The Big Dog” at Northern Quest Casino. When the server came out with my entrée, I seriously thought it was a joke. The 22-inch gigantic hot dog topped with chili and cheese was “extra” to say the least. What wasn’t extra? The fact that it was on special that night for just $9.

This is me with The Big Dog at Northern Quest Casino in Spokane during the summer of 2012.

2. The Killer Dog. There is a favorite restaurant of Sid’s family in Myrtle Beach called Carolina Roadhouse. They offer terrific steaks, seafood, burgers, and much more. I always bypass all that stuff and go for the Killer Dog. Topped with chili and cheese like “The Big Dog” (but much smaller), it became a running joke that I would always order the hot dog instead of the many better options on the menu.

Sloan looks on at the Killer Dog I was about to eat at Carolina Roadhouse in 2017.

3. Is A Hot Dog a Sandwich? A year ago, I produced a video at WSU that was a lot of fun. We asked one of our food scientists to answer the age-old question of whether a hot dog is a sandwich. Dr. Foraker did a fabulous job as he described the scientific and historic merits on whether a hot dog is a sandwich or not. He then passionately offered up his personal opinion. No spoilers here, you must watch the video to find out what he said.

We made a video that asked one of our #WSU professors if a hot dog is a sandwich.

4. Ice Cream Hot Dog. All the other hot dog stories in this post are resoundingly positive except for this one. Last November I was in Chicago for a conference. During one of the evenings, we were invited by a vendor to the Chicago Ice Cream Museum. It was at this museum that my co-presenter and I were offered an ice cream Chicago Dog. It consisted of a poppy seed bun filled with hot dog-flavored soft serve ice cream and topped with mustard and relish. Needless to say, we passed.

This isn’t a joke! They make ice cream Chicago Dogs at the Ice Cream Museum.

5. Is A Corn Dog a Hot Dog? Ha! Okay, I promise this is the last topic that begins with a question. I would probably say a corn dog is not a hot dog, but I did write an entire blog post dedicated to corn dogs several years ago.

Sloan eating a Sonic corn dog.

6. Wienermobile. I achieved one of my life goals when I saw the Wienermobile in-person. The “big hot dog on wheels” visited Myrtle Beach in 2018 and parked in front of a Publix grocery store. It was fun to scope it out, touch it, and pose for photos in front of it. But the best part was definitely the free hot dogs from the Oscar Meyer trailer that was a short distance away from the Wienermobile.

Back in 2018, our family visited the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile while it was parked outside a Publix grocery store in Myrtle Beach.

7. Costco Dog. Even though I made it clear that this list wasn’t organized in any particular order, I bet a lot of people believe I saved the best for last. Who doesn’t love the $1.50 hot dog and soda combo at Costco? When I listed the top five things I buy at Costco, you probably won’t be surprised that a hot dog from the food court was on the list. It isn’t just that the value is amazing but that the hot dog itself is really good!

Sloan and I eating Costco Dogs in 2019.

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Trust me, those seven instances just scratch the surface of hot dog mentions in my blog. If you are still hungry, keep searching! Or, save yourself some time and just eat a hot dog right now. Don’t Blink.