Enough of 'gourmet' hot dogs!


Updated on 14 November 2012 | 0 Comments

The ultimate American fast food is being souped up over here - but our man can't taste the difference.

Out in restaurant land, possibly because we’re still in ‘Austerity Britain’, when it comes to new openings this has definitely been the year of comfort food. Burgers, pulled pork, Mexican and hot dogs are the trends, often starting out being served from various vehicles as part of the ‘street food revolution’ before going indoors.

But these aren’t just any old hot dogs. No, these are of the gourmet variety. Or at least that’s what the marketing hype would like you to believe.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about bockwurst or bratwurst or any other German sausage varieties. I'm talking good ol' American-style.

The odd couples

London, perhaps unsurprisingly, has fallen hardest for this reinvention of the wheel. In trendy Fitzrovia, Bubbledogs pairs hot dogs with champagne in one of the oddest couplings since John Sergeant and Kristina Rihanoff on Strictly Come Dancing.

The set-up in most of these places is similar: you pick a dog (usually a choice of pork, beef or veggie) and then you pick your topping. Thus there’s an almost infinite variety of flavour combinations, which in theory is exciting.

What’s less exciting is when you realise that lying underneath the chilli cheese or special slaw is just a fairly average hot dog.

And slathering the sausage in exotic ingredients (that don’t always work either) is actually just an excuse to slap up the price tag.

The quality threshold

Don’t get me wrong, you’re not eating exactly the same type of hot dog in one of these more upmarket establishments as you are in, say, a theme park. The meat is undeniably better sourced and better prepared, the rolls fresher.

There is a difference, obviously. Nonetheless, I argue that it's so much harder to make a hot dog taste really great, regardless of the ingredients, certainly compared to its country cousin – the burger. At least that's been my experience, and I've tasted plenty of both over the past year.

The lukewarm reviews that both Bubbledogs and the Gourmet Hotdog Company are getting suggest I’m not alone...

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