Tag Archives: Wienermobile

I Always Celebrate National Hot Dog Day

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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.

Powerade Thursday Rundown

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Does anyone else find it nuts that we are less than a week away from the Fourth of July? As much as I would like to give you some fireworks with this Thursday Rundown, I think it is going to be pretty lame. Here we go…

Brick of Fries – Last weekend at Hoopfest, we indulged in a very unhealthy snack. After I was done playing for the day, our family plus Fr. Jeff Lewis and my teammate/friend Amy would head to the park for lunch and shade. Both days, Sidney ordered a block of fries for us. Because Beau had fallen asleep, it was just Sid, Sloan, and I to tackle the brick. Thankfully Amy provided a little bit of help as it was an enormous, greasy task to eat that whole thing …but it was also really delicious!

Sloan begins to dig into the block of fries we bought at Hoopfest on Saturday.

Powerade Deal – Yoke’s is a prominent Spokane-based chain grocery store that doesn’t always have the best prices. However, this month it has offered an absolute steal. At the beginning of June, it sold the big Powerade bottles for just $.68. That price was available for a couple weeks as I would go in and purchase 10 bottles at a time. Last week it was increased to $.79 per bottle but I still bought large quantities to get us through the Hoopfest weekend. When I walked inside Yoke’s yesterday, the price per bottle took a hike to $.99. Although still a decent price, they are no longer worthy of buying them in large quantities.

A look at the Powerade shelf at the Yoke’s located in Argonne Village after prices increased to $.79 per bottle.

Wienermobile – On this date in 2018, we had a close encounter with the Wienermobile. The “big hot dog on wheels” visited Myrtle Beach 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 Mayer trailer that was a short distance away from the Wienermobile.

In 2018, our family visited the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.

Winnie – We read a lot with the kids but I seldom give book suggestions. However, I want to recognize a children’s book that tells the origin of Winnie-the-Pooh. When Sloan, Beau, and I read “Winnie” last night on our back porch, we learned that our modern day Winnie was a black bear named Winnipeg. His owner, Harry, bought him for $20 and trained him to help train horses as part of the Canadian war effort. There is much more to the story but eventually Winnie would meet the real life Christopher Robin. The story captivated the attention of my children while also teaching them about historic events. Not too boring but also not too fluffy, we thought this book deserves two thumbs up.

Beau, Sloan, and I had a nice time reading “Winnie.”

Prices Going Up – I once wrote an entire blog post about the best soda machines you will ever find and even made a TikTok out of these secret beverage dispensers. A big part of what made these soda machines stand out is that a 12 oz. can of soda cost just $.25. Unfortunately, that is all coming to an end. When I visited the machines this morning, the below sign communicated the lousy news that a price hike is coming. In a future rundown I will update you on the new cost of a can because I know you all must be extremely distraught.

I am not looking forward to the price increases at the soda machines at the Coke plant on Montgomery St. in Spokane.

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Fries, hot dogs, Powerade, soda? Once again I focused more on food and drink than originally planned. Oh well, the hot dog talk makes sense as we approach Independence Day. Have a great night. Don’t Blink.