by Patrick Sills

Created on: March 30, 2009   Last Updated: March 31, 2009

Answering a question of who makes the best hot dogs is a rather subjective endeavor. For starters, there are literally hundreds; if not thousands of restaurants and/or independent hot dog stands scattered across the country.

The hot dog decidedly has its roots in the United States, but one will certainly find this simple concoction of weiner and bun available practically anywhere. As a result, each of us will go through our entire lives without truly knowing which of these places truly makes "the best."

Hence, the title to this topic should be modified to, Who makes the best hot dogs you've tasted?

Then there are the vastly different preferences in taste. Hot dogs can be cooked in basically three different ways. They can be boiled in water. They can be cooked on a grill or rotating spit. Finally, they can be cut open and fried in a pan. These methods will render completely different tastes.

When a person favors one of these cooking methods over the others, the establishments that don't prepare them in the preferred manner are eliminated from the equation. As an example, when making them at home, I like my hot dogs boiled in water.

Charcoal-grilled examples tend to become overcooked or even burned to a crisp. Spit-rotated weiners from convenient stores can be left with too much grease. Fried hot dogs are just plain nasty.

I cannot speak for the Culver's restaurant chain as a whole, but in my local area, they recently switched from the spit method to frying, and I will never order a hot dog platter there again! The mere thought of frying a hot dog puts my gag reflex into motion.

Hot dogs can be made of many different meats. These include pork, beef, and turkey for the most part, but they can also be processed from wild game brought home by hunters. Venison, moose, caribou, and elk are a few that come to mind.

Hot dogs can also be made with no meat at all, but instead with vegetable matter. Veggie hot dogs are quite tasty, and much better for you. Therefore, the ingredients will also determine a person's defintion of "best" as well.

With all of these factors taken into consideration, I have to say that the best hot dogs I've tasted to date hail from the A&W chain of restaurants.

During the 1960's, my family would go to A&W practically every Friday night, and I fell in love with their hot dogs at a very young age. The only condiment I add to this day is mustard, and A&W hot dogs taste exactly as they have for decades. They are rotated on a spit, but for whatever reason, they are not greasy.

I'm certain that many authors to this topic will favor a specialty place in some big city like Chicago or New York, but my vote is firm. When it comes to hot dogs, A&W has me hooked for life.

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