Maui Wowie

Hakuna Matata!! Today was such an amazing day. We got into Ashley's car and hit the road to Maui Dog- Hawaiian Hot Dogs & Sliders. No one had ever been there before - so we called On Star for directions. While we were chit-chatting away, we spilled the beans to our On Star representative that we are part of a club that eats wieners every Wednesday. However creepy this could sound to some, she was more than happy to jump in on the conversation and let us know that today just so happened to be Appreciation Day at her office and that they were catering in.... (wait for it)....wieners!! Talk about hot dog destiny... the stars were aligned today my friends. Not to be outdone, Zach called his mobile On Star representative, and asked her to tell us about the largest hot dog found in the Guinness Book of World Records (FYI: it was so large, it fed 1000 people. That would feed our club for roughly 167 Wiener Wednesdays - which is about 3 years worth).
After our 13 mile - 30 minute transport, we had arrived at our destination. It was a humble yet colorful restaurant shack, peaking out onto Indian School Road. When we stepped out of the car our senses were overwhelmed with scents of roasting hot dogs, fresh chopped pineapples, and onions mixed with sweet peppers on a grill; the aroma lingered and filled the air.

A menu painted on white wood hung from the side of the restaurant, and we turned the corner to find very Hawaiian inspired decor. Starting on the outside, surfboards were painted on the floor; vibrant blues, greens and reds adorned the walls.



The view from the shack, in all its glory. Also seen above, Sara riding the waves.

 It was a two-man show on the inside: one taking the orders and running the cash register, and then one behind the counter. Half a dozen tables were placed on the inside of the restaurant, and all were taken! After placing our orders, we scooped up a large bench located in their outdoor patio.

Alex "Charlie Wien" - I'll be wienning for the rest of the day: Sweet&Spicy Dog (Turkey Dog, Chipotle Garlic Mayo, Spicy Brown Mustard, Pineapple Topping, Sweet Pepper Mix, Onions), fresh Tigers Blood icee

Sara "Queener" - hot dog same as above, with a blue raspberry & wild cherry fresh icee

Ashley "Wiener Chief" - There are too many wiener chiefs and not enough wiener Indians: Tiki Dog (Turkey Dog, Chipotle Garlic Mayo, Maui Mustard, Coconut Topping, Avocado, Bacon)

Zach "Wiener Woofer" - Hana Dog (All beef hot dog, Chipotle Garlic Mayo, Avocado, Pico de Gallo, Cilantro, Monterey Jack Cheese, Bacon) with fries

Amy "Plain Jane Dog" - Hot Dog, Garlic Chipotle Mayo, Onions, Avocado, icee

Renee "Chode-Chomper" - Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Zip. Clearly she didn't attend, and for this, we are all at a loss for words. RIP Chode-Chomper, R.I.P.

Maui Dog surpassed all of our expectations. We all took one small step outside of our hot dog comfort boxes; one giant leap for mankind. The fun Hawaiian touch that each of our dogs had, made them strangely and shockingly mouthwatering! Majority of the group decided this was the best hot dog we had eaten to date.

Maui Dog: 9.75/10

Hot Dog Happiness

We almost missed out on our WW experience today. Zach "wiener woofer" Alter had back-to-back meetings and put the royal kibosh on our WW outing. This was unfortunate for many reasons; the main one being that no one else had a say, nor had they brought anything to eat for lunch. Lucky for us: the clock struck wiener:thirty and Zach skipped down the hall with a kielbasa in his step! He was ready to rumble, as was his gut.

We had about 30 minutes to find our next hot dog venue and get back to the office for Zach's next meeting, which meant we were basically going to have to participate in our very own little hot dog eating contest. The next "new" venue was 11 miles away, and since we didn't want to have to dip our buns in water and swallow the dog whole, we decided "why break something you can't fix" - and we hit up the Hot Dog Stop once again! We had already said we wanted to come back, so today was the day. Plus, we had our newest members attend, so this time we got to sit at a table of 6 instead of 4.

This place never ceases to amaze us. It is hot dog heaven; they have a hot dog condiment bar AND a hot dog condiment station!! 

Condiment Bar & Condiment Station, Sigh

Orders were placed as follows:

Alex "tba": Philly dog (grilled onion, green & red peppers, sans bun)

Amy "plain jane-dog": Grilled dog with regular french fries (she hit up the condiment station & condiment bar for some onions & ketchup)

Sara "queener": Grilled dog with sweet potato fries (she also hit up the condiment station & condiment bar for some ketchup, mustard, spicy red pepper, celery salt & garlic salt)

Renee "chode-chomper": BLT dog (bacon wrapped all beef dog, lettuce, diced tomato, mustard in a tortilla)

Zach "wiener woofer" & Ashley "tba": French Dog Special (Polish Sausage in a french baguette, covered in mozzarella cheese)

Zach continually orders the absolute best item on the menu at Hot Dog Stop. He is a true aficionado, and we usually have the utmost respect for the orders he places during our lunchtime routine. However... we all thought it was a little unusual that his hot dog & fries & soda meal deal came to $6 and some change... and then 15 minutes later he was rung up at the counter again with a whopping $12 fee! He spent majority of his lunch money on the candy & crap buffet. (picture below).

Second Visit to Hot Dog Stop: 8.75 / 10

Because we are all adults, I don't think I need to point out the obvious. However, one of these pictures is not like the other... and I'm not too happy with the person who bypassed their bun & candy buffet, and ordered a big... apple.

tsk tsk

All Queener wants for Christmas is her very own hot dog vendor truck on wheels! 

Whoopie for Wieners!!

Instead of hiding in the dark, we decided to let a few people in on SheKnow's club of secret wiener wooers.

Less than a day after "sharing" this blog, we decided it would be interesting to check out our google analytics (industry thing, we can't help it!). We got 30 page views in a few short hours! We also got a few comments, and we'd like to share.

Nicole DelVecchio of NY says "lol oh my god, I think my love for you just escalated times 1 million"

Ricardo Neto of NY says "I love wiener!"

Lindsay Hayes of AZ says "I'm reading and laughing and suddenly hungry..."

Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs

Normally when we pull into the SheKnows parking lot and announce our triumphant return, we all scatter back to our desks and get to work. I take a few necessary moments to gather my thoughts, and begin to type on this blog so that I can fill you the reader, in on our latest undertaking. Today was a little different my friends. Today we got back to the office, and our desks, and all managed to hang our heads about an inch away from our keyboards, while surreptitiously unbuttoning the top part of our pants. Two hours post lunch, our pants are still unbuttoned with embarrassment, and tiny twinges of hot dog pain fill our bellies - but not our hearts.

At the stroke of noon our Microsoft Outlook calendars dinged in harmony as our "viva la hot dog" appointment popped up on our screen. Like dasher and dancer, donner, and vixen - we were off like Santa's reindeer on a mission, into Zach's car. Today we invited 2 "honorary" members to join in our lunchtime festivities. These "honorary" members quickly became indited into the club. It brings such joy to our hearts to know that we can reach out to others, and show them our wiener ways.



Our newest members!!

 We went to "Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs and Grille" - any establishment with a name this fancy including the word "famous" sets our expectations pretty high. And it did not disappoint. From the second we set foot into this institution - we were kindly seated and notified that someone would come take our order!! If any of you have followed our blogs thus far, our past hot dog ordering encounters have taken place while waiting in line at a counter or speaking into a tiny machine founded in cement. We are moving on up in the wiener world - we are finally being recognized as wiener connoisseurs. The menu pamphlet was located on the tabletop; in between the mustard, ketchup, salt, pepper and stack of napkins. The whole left column of the brochure was dedicated to Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs and Uncle Al's Sausages. The middle column was dedicated to "Sides, Extras & Desserts". The orders were placed as the following:

Zach/Wiener Woofer - Philly Dog (Cheddar Cheese, Grilled Peppers & Onions), Chili Cheese Crinkle Fries
Peto/Name TBD - Memphis Dog (Red Onion Sauce & BBQ Sauce), Onion Rings
Sara/Queener - Philly Dog (Cheddar Cheese, Grilled Peppers & Onions), Buffalo Cheese Fries
Amy/Plain Jane-Dog - Virgina Beach Chili Cheese Dog, Crinkle Fries
Renee/Chode-Dog - Virgina Beach Chili Cheese Dog, Cheese Fries
Alex/Name TBD - Chicago Dog (Mustard, Relish, Onions, Tomato, Dill Pickle Spear, Sport Peppers & Celery Salt all on a Poppy Seed Bun)

The buffalo cheese fries were absolutely mouth-watering and extremely satisfying. Buffalo sauce, melted cheese, and crunchy crinkle fries served to be a tremendous trio. Each and every hot dog stood strong with their own personality - and did not disappoint. We left the table standing with only dozens of dirty napkins and a remnant of laughter along with our former, skinnier, selves.




Some of the order, in all its glory!

 Alex, one of our newest members, took the following pictures. She was the one who ordered the Chicago Dog. If the following pictures don't do her initiation justice, I simply don't know what would.

Chicago Dog BEFORE - Chicago Dog AFTER
RIP Chicago Dog

As time was winding down and lunch was coming to a close, a few members realized that both Amy & Renee had left half of their bun in their glistening red basket. Now, there are only a few rules in our club, but one of them is that Cross Your Heart, Hope to Die, you'd rather finish your hot dog then get someone else's hot dog thrown at your eye... or worse, get kicked out of the club. Before we knew it, both were shoveling their soggy bun down their throats so that the latter wouldn't happen.

And now, this blog will come to a bittersweet end. I believe it has been our longest post to-date, and we hope you have learned a few valuable things along the way. Sometimes, there is strength in numbers. Our club is growing, and we will all support each other through tears and struggles, belly aches and body battles, so that we succeed in our mission.

Famous Uncle Al's Hot Dogs = 8.25/10

Wiener War

Today is Wiener Wednesday, and because Renee "chode-chomper" was unavailable during our regular lunch hour, we had to postpone it until tomorrow. It's kind of ironic, because we all get together and discuss "Wiener Wednesday".. however, we have never actually gone out to lunch and nibbled on wieners on any given Wednesday since this blog has started. Our lunch hour excursions tend to occur on Thursdays. Sigh.
So...
I'm declaring war.
Wiener War.
On the world.

I'm challenging as many of you as possible to go out there, start up the grill, and declare Wiener War on the World with us. I want the air to fill with footlong wiener fumes on this beautiful Wednesday evening. Do yourself a favor and, like Zach would say, "love yourself some wieners".

Until tomorrow...
The Wiener Warriors (may the force be with you)