As a non-carnivore, I find that I tend to judge places based on their name and marketing. There’s a tiny shop on 6th in Tacoma called Red Hot that I hadn’t seriously checked out. From the OnTap listings they always had a decent beer or five on line, but I couldn’t get past the name, and the concept it implied.
What’s a vegetarian going to do at a hot-dog stand? I mean, sure, I could drink beer, but I like my beer with some comestible, as a general rule, particularly if I’m drinking during the daytime hours. (Keeps the judgment down to acceptable levels).
But seriously, what’s a vegetarian going to eat at a hot dog place?
Plenty, it turns out, since the Red Hot has both veggie dogs and veggie brats. Now, mind you, I’m still not going to be able to order any of their bacon/chili combinations (though the Hosmer Hound, rhapsodized upon by my neighbor, looked awfully tempting), but the standard offerings? Not a problem.
The North End Not Dog was just like a Chicago, with a veggie dog instead of the standard beef offering. While the texture was a bit off (as is the case with most non-meat sausages), the flavor was nearly comparable to that of a beef hot dog. And the toppings were fresh, plentiful, and slightly painful (apparently, sport peppers are hot).
The beer? I went with the Boulder IPA, reasonably priced and quite enjoyable. Mr. Fuz had a pear cider. After I ordered, my eye fell to the Dogfish Head Burton Baton, which I had wanted to try. There was a discussion:
Mr. Fuz: “Are you going to get something else?”
Me: “Well, I’d like another beer–specifically, the Burton. But I’d only get something if you were having another hot dog. And I shouldn’t drive if I get the beer.”
Mr. Fuz waves the second hot dog off, then. Apparently, my liver is more important to him than a hot dog slathered in peanut butter and covered in bacon. That’s touching, in its own way.
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