Sunday Brunch: Hot Dog,
Hot Dog, Hot Diggity Dog
1 July 2012
July is International Hot Dog
month! Hot dogs have been (an unhealthy) staple
to my diet since childhood, and every time I
have one, it's a taste of times gone by. I've
had them with the bun, without the bun, on a
stick, in a pretzel, cut up in rice, and cut up
in Macaroni and Cheese. Some of my friends think
I'm crazy about the last one, but to my
knowledge, it is a common method of hot dog
consumption in America, at least in the North
East. Needless to say Walt Disney World, home of
the quintessential American food fare, has hot
dogs in many shapes and forms as well! So a few
times this month, Sunday Brunch will be taking a
bite of Walt Disney World's hot dogs!


Image from
http://emilyslovee.blogspot.com/2010/10/hot-diggity-dog.html
Hot dog, hot dog, hot diggity
dog'over at Disney's Hollywood Studios, you
could probably find two locations where this
song is sung. One would be from fans of Mickey
Mouse Clubhouse, where Mickey and friends sing
and dance along in the Disney Junior - Live on
Stage. Another place would be at the end of
Sunset Boulevard in the Sunset Ranch Market,
where fans of hot dogs could enjoy three
different types of gourmet hot dogs at Fairfax
Fare!

We'll start with the Barbecued
Pork and coleslaw hot dog, as it is the most
basic and familiar. This hot dog is pork
overload! Well, I'm pretty sure Disney serves
all beef hot dogs, but regardless, there's a lot
of meat on this hot dog, which I found to be a
bit much. The coleslaw helps to offset the sweet
and smoky barbecued pork, but still a hot dog
and pulled pork is a lot for one bite. One can
think of it though as a whole picnic meal in one
hot dog! My one friend did enjoy it, saying 'the
ground beef is like a manwich. [It] is very
fine, probably not Grade A, but Grade Y'for
yummy!' (I found this quote in my notebook with
no name, if you are this friend please tell me
so I can credit you!)

Simply called the Burrito, this
hot dog is essentially a burrito with a hot dog
instead of beef or chicken. With lettuce,
tomato, cheddar cheese, jalapeno, and sour
cream, this hot dog is Tex-Mex meets America. As
previously stated, I've had hot dogs with a
variety of different carbohydrates (bread, rice,
pretzels, macaroni, no bread), so it was
interesting to try it with a thin tortilla. The
thin tortilla was a bit underwhelming as I'm
accustomed to having my hot dog surrounded by
something of more volume and substance. I do
love tortillas, but with a hot dog it was'odd.
Rather basic as fusion cuisine goes, this hot
dog is still unique and worth a shot if you're a
fan of either burritos or hot dogs.

Finally we come to the Walt
Disney World hot dog that could possibly change
the world of hot dogs. I was a bit surprised
when I encountered this hot dog with some
friends, as the concept of the combination of
the two was a bit surprising to them. Some have
had hot dogs and Mac and cheese at the same
time, but not together in one bite. From the
south eastern coast, Middle America, and the
Washington, D.C. area, this concept of hot dogs
and mac and cheese was foreign, so it was
exciting to see how my friends reacted to this
hot dog.
Listed first on the menu, it is
the dog most guests are excited about! Macaroni
and Cheese with Truffle oil and bacon bits not
only has the taste of nostalgia, but an air of
class with truffle oil. My first encounter with
this hot dog was with my old roommate John. He
stated 'the bacon is awesome with the truffle
oil, very good flavor, but the hot dog part is a
little dry.' Overall, he felt it was 'very
scrumptious.' While I didn't have one that
night, I was excited to try my first bite.

John smiles with approval!
When I finally got a chance to try it with Hidden
Mickey Monday Alex, we were a little disappointed, though I think
this can be credited to the unfortunate inconsistency in the making
of this hot dog. Our first time trying it, the bread was completely
stale and I could not find the truffle oil at all. Everyone and
everything deserves a second chance, even food, so I tried it again
and loved it just like John did. Cheesy macaroni piled high on a hot
dog, It was my childhood meal on a bun instead of a bowl. A splash
of truffle oil and crunchy bacon bits helped to make it feel a
little more grown up and add more dimension to the flavors.
With all these ingredients on a hot dog, another
issue worth mentioning is the size of this hot dog. Later, my friend
Aaron had tried it, and he definitely liked it overall, but found it
a bit messy. If you're not careful, this hot dog can easily fall
apart. We ended up needing forks to polish off the dog! Still a
minor fault, for the most part I did enjoy the Mac and Cheese dog
and I look forward to giving it a third try!
The gourmet hot dogs of Fairfax Fare vary in the
range of qualifying to being gourmet, but they are still rather
unique food items at Walt Disney World worth venturing over for.
Hopefully the next time you make it down to the happiest place on
earth, you'll find time to get yourself a unique hot dog, hot dog,
hot diggity dog.