My little Pomeranian, Mercutio, is my baby. Seriously, it's an unhealthy attachment. I just want to take him everywhere. Some places kick me out on the spot even if he's in a bag and other places like Fishs Eddy insist twice that I put Mercutio down so he could run around. Hmmm, run around in a dishware shop with stacks of breakables on the floor, thanks anyway.
Anyway, I think this attachment started with the first dog my boyfriend and I adopted, Bisou. We decided that we wanted an older dog since everyone adopts puppies — not to mention the senior citizen would be chill and already trained (score!). We were in love with a polite 10-year-old, five pound Pomeranian; unfortunately she had seizures and arthritis.
Instantly, I became a hovering mother. I read every book on pooch seizures and was determined to make her better. Her time with us was full and rich with happiness but a few months after adopting her, she passed away from an infected uterus, something that could have been prevented if she was spayed earlier on in life. But there is a happy ending, I promise.
During her time with us, Bisou and I (yes, together) researched all about how food affects dogs' health and what exactly is in dog food. Um, it's gross, like, really gross. Without her illnesses, I might not have thought twice about giving her low-grade commercial dog food. She made me a better mutter (mother+mutt=mutter).
So what's in it you ask? Let me start off by saying there are some good premium organic dog foods out there, just remember to check the labels. The good stuff like chicken, beef, and lamb, should all be the first ingredient and never followed by the word “by-product.” By-products are basically everything not fit for human consumption like organs, bones, eyes, brains, hoofs, etc.
Now, you may not think that's so bad — dogs are animals, and after all, eat organs. But what also goes into those by-products are the 4Ds, dead, dying, diseased, and disabled animals, as well as road kill, zoo animals, and, legally, euthanized cats and dogs. Your pooch could potentially be eating an animal part that has cancer, other diseases, or remnants of euthanasia chemicals that could be fatal long term. Would you eat that? I didn't think so. I won't even get started on preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.
With all the scary stuff in dog food, I started making my own organic food for Bisou and now for Mercutio. I want Mercutio to live a long, healthy life, sans cancerous meat and other spooky bits. It's easy once you get the hang of it but you have to research dog diets to make sure your pooch is getting all the nutrients he or she needs and consult with your vet.
In addition to dog food, I also bake my own dog treats using organic, human-grade ingredients like organic brown rice flour and wholesome organic fruits and veggies. Humans can actually eat them but it won't taste good to you since there isn't any add sugar or salt. All treats are wheat-free and sans preservatives and artificial colors and flavors. Plus, they come in super cute recycled paper coffee bags.
And since I probably scared you all, I'm offering 15 percent off Variety Packs this week. Your pup will get to try a nutritious treat in four fab flavors: peanut butter carob, sweet potato oatmeal, banana carob chip, and apple cinnamon oatmeal.
Visit Get Lick'd to get your 15% discount!
For me, and I would guess for many readers as well, the best part of traveling anywhere is checking out the local foods both at restaurants and grocery stores, and possibly bringing back a lifetime supply of them. Especially since writing this Hot Dog of the Week column, I don't go anywhere without scouring the local butcher shops, markets, and diners for unique hot dog brands and variations.
Recently in Vermont I grabbed some Mackenzie's franks and a couple bags of New England buns to freeze and take home. It would be almost criminal not to—in Pennsylvania these products are non-existent. Mackenzie's are actually made by Kayem who also make the dogs for Fenway Park as well as bright red Maine-style snappers.
Mackenzie's are natural casing, beef and pork, eight-to-a-pound franks. Though great on their own—I boiled mine for a few minutes and finished them in a stainless steel pan with some butter—but I couldn't resist committing some regional blasphemy and putting my own twist on the dogs, in the form of homemade chili and some pepper cabbage, an old school Philadelphia hot dog topping that I'm inexplicably obsessed with.
No cream cheese or bananas or anything on these dogs—but I'm sure pairing butter-toasted New England buns with Pennsylvania Dutch pepper hash will put somebody into a rage—and I threw some mayonnaise on a few of them too. Delicious.
People ask me all the time these days where I am on the traditional vs. trendy haute dog argument. My answer is yes to everything. I want to try them all.
Although the best “haute dog” purveyors are the ones that have done their homework and understand the background of sausage-making and hot dog history—much the same way the best high-end chefs are classically trained in French technique, no matter what cuisine they currently practice.
And while it's interesting to try all sorts of crazy hot dogs once or twice, sometimes I just want one that I know is going to be great every time. That's when I go back to the old-school place that's been around for 60 years, or maybe one of the few new-school spots that are really coming through on the promise of elevating hot dogs to a higher level.
My goal when experimenting at home is to start with incredible ingredients, take a few things from different regional variations and hopefully create something delicious. And you can't really go too wrong with natural casing franks and New England buns. The chili has some allspice, which gives it a little bit of a “Greek sauce” kick. Not browning the beef first goes against everything I ever learned in professional kitchens, but it's one of the secrets to a real hot dog sauce-style chili.
The pepper cabbage recipe is closer to something you would find in a jar at an Amish stand—more of a “pickled” cabbage than the pepper hash you might find at Philly hot dog joints, which tends to have carrots, more sugar, and more finely chopped cabbage.
Get the recipe for Hawk's New England Chili Dogs with Pepper Hash »
Hawk Krall is a Philadelphia-based illustrator who has a serious thing for hot dogs. Dig his dog drawings? Many of the illustrations he has created for Hot Dog of the Week are available for sale: hawkkrall.net/prints/.
More Hot Doggery
- Nicky and Pete's in Philadelphia »
- Dogmatic Gourmet Sausage System in NYC »
- South Philly Dog »
- Danny's Drive-In in Stratford, Connecticut »
- Fat Franks in Bellows Falls, Vermont »
- El Completo, Chile's Take on the Hot Dog »
- Red Snappers in Maine »
- Zweigle's in Rochester, New York »
- Cincinnati Cheese Coney in Ohio »
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Jessie Morin