Hot Dogs

Where can one find loaded hot dogs, chili, pierogies, sandwiches, and more all in one restaurant? Why, at Pittsburgh Willy’s of course! I have to admit, I’m a huge fan of hot dogs. I like them plump, greasy, and loaded with toppings. Pittsburgh Willy’s has it covered. It just so happens that last week I was jonesing for some serious back east comfort food and I had recently met the owner/chef of Pittsburgh Willy’s, Mr. Randy Walters in a local coffee shop near my house. He invited me to stop up to try one of his hot dogs, which he promised would be a “taste of Pittsburgh, only better.” I took a trip up to the Merchant Square Antique Mall, where Pittsburgh Willy’s is located to see what this was all about.

It’s pretty cool little place; just a little nook inside the antique mall with Steelers and other Pittsburgh decor on the walls. When you walk into the Merchant Square antique shop, you will know where to find Pittsburgh Willy’s by following the smell of onions being sauteed. When I stepped up to order, Randy recommended that I try the “Wild Willy” for my first time. It’s a quarter pound all beef hot dog topped with chipped ham sauteed in butter and then smothered with cheddar cheese. It’s a bad ass hot dog that’s not for the faint of heart. Besides hot dogs, Pittsburgh Willy’s has a lot more good stuff going on there as well – He serves some serious meatball sandwiches, homemade chili, and on Wednesdays and weekends he boasts some awesome made from scratch pierogies. It’s pretty hard to find some good homemade pierogies in Arizona, so I jumped all over my chance to grab a plate of those too. Randy cooks the pierogies with enough butter and sweet onions to launch Paula Dean into orbit – they were truly sublime. Pittsburgh Willy’s also has one more menu item that I would like to try. The “Blitzburgh.” It’s 6 luscious potato and cheese filled pierogies smothered in butter and onions, then topped with sauerkraut, homemade chili, cheddar cheese, and Kielbasa. I’m working my way up to trying this, but I know I’ll have to get on the treadmill for 3 days after eating this meal. And how are the prices? Fantastic! The Wild Willy was $4.95 but the real deal is the Pierogi Dinner, just $5.95 for six pierogies and a drink. What? Did you say dessert? Oh yes, Pittsburgh Willy’s has that covered too. He has an assortment of ice cream sundaes and some east coast candy.

But honestly, the part I like best about Pittsburgh Willy’s is the fun, easy going atmosphere that Randy provides. You might as well be in his house, while he’s cooking in his own kitchen. He makes the whole thing a great experience by sitting down, talking, and getting to know his customers. Pittsburgh Willy’s gets an A+ for good greasy food quality and spectacular service. Randy makes it obvious that he is passionate about the quality of the food he offers and his first rate service!

Pittsburgh Willy’s Gourmet Hot Dogs and More
1509 N. Arizona Ave
Chandler, AZ 85225
(480) 857-2860
http://www.pittsburghwillys.com

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As I continued my journey for world class hot dogs, I stumbled upon Ted’s Hot Dogs in Tempe, AZ.  Ted’s is a small hot dog chain based in the Buffalo, NY area. They have numerous locations, the one in Tempe being the only location that is outside the Buffalo area.  A bit of background; Ted’s was founded in 1927 by Theodore “Ted” Spiro Liarosthe, a Greek immigrant who originally sold hot dogs off of a horse drawn cart.  He eventually acquired a hot dog stand and the rest is history.  80 years later, Ted’s is still family owned and operates 8 locations.

I walked into Ted’s on a Saturday afternoon and the line was quite long, approaching the front door.  I stepped into line and began to check out the menu.  Ted’s has a few different types of hot dogs; a regular, a foot long, and an all beef.  They also offer bratwurst, white hots, and burgers.  Their sides are French fries and onion rings.  I noticed that in order to make the food fresh and keep their service quick they ask you for your order while you’re still pretty far back in line.  By doing this, your hot dog is grilled fresh and ready for you by the time you get to the cash register.  It’s actually a really good system.  The line wraps around the store and takes you right past the grill so you can see the cook making your dog fresh.  When the time came for me to order I decided to go with the all beef hot dog and a side of onion rings.  What’s pretty cool is that Ted’s charbroils all their hot dogs and burgers over natural wood charcoal.  It’s a different approach to cooking hot dogs than some of the other places I have checked out.  They also have an assembly line system in place – they grill your dog, then the next person adds condiments and toppings, then the cashier gets your drink and takes your money.  You can get anything you want on a Ted’s hot dog – ketchup, mustard, relish, sauerkraut, chili, cheese, mayo, lettuce, tomato pickle…etc.  I had them coat my dog with chili, cheese and onions.  The other really cool part about Ted’s is that they make the onion rings fresh right in front of you; they do not use frozen onion rings.  They start out with sweet onions, bread them, and drop them in the fryer right then and there.   How are the prices?  Pretty reasonable.  My jumbo all beef dog was $3.20 plus chili ($0.60) and cheese ($0.60) bringing my hot dog cost to $4.40 plus $2.75 for the onion rings and another $1.39 for a medium iced tea.  My total with tax came to $9.23.

I walked over to my table, there’s some east coast love going on in this place, they have racks with the local Buffalo newspaper for your reading pleasure and vinegar for your fries.  they also have Buffalo decor all over the walls to add to the effect.  I have to say, I was in hot dog heaven.  I enjoyed sinking my teeth into this beauty, it was plump, smokey, and it snapped – it’s definitely the burn factor coupled with the natural casing of the hot dog.  The chili was pretty good too, it’s a real thin chili with no beans… good for topping a hot dog.  I have to admit though, I think the onion rings were the best part, they were so sweet, thin, and greasy.  Ted’s gives you enough of these things to feed a small army.  I couldn’t even finish the bag.  With every bite I think I felt my arteries harden a little more. Ted’s has the hot dog biz figured out, I could easily make this place a regular lunch spot.  If you’re looking for a good hot dog, Ted’s is sure not to disappoint.

Dr. Lyn’s Expert Medical Opinion -  Dr. Lyn says, “Your total cholesterol increases by 10% with each bite, but in my professional opinion, it is well worth it”

Ted’s Hot Dogs
1755 E. Broadway
Tempe, AZ 85282
(480) 968-6678
http://www.tedsonline.com

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The next stop on my Phoenix metro area hot dog tour list is Boomer’s Sweet Home Chicago in Glendale, AZ. I wasn’t aware of this hot dog shop until I read a small write up about it in Phoenix Magazine last month. Phoenix Magazine gave it one of the best dogs of the valley status so I thought I would put it to my own test. This is a small restaurant hidden in a strip mall on the corner of 59th Avenue and Bell Road in Glendale, AZ. When I walked in, I initially received a good sign from the fact that there were a number of local firefighters putting in a large order in to go. My dining companion and I approached the counter and I asked the cashier what was good on the menu. She advised me that the Italian beef was excellent which I ordered to go, but since I was really there for the hot dogs I proceeded to order the chili cheese dog with onions and a half order of chili cheese fries on the side. Yes, I know I went a little overboard on the chili. As a side note, Boomer’s has a really wide menu that includes burgers, sandwiches, and sliders as well. My dining companion ordered the “Char” dog with mustard and grilled onions and we both sat down and waited for the server to bring the goods out to us.

Our order arrived about 10 minutes later – overall, it was pretty good. I like the steamed poppy seed bun that Boomers uses, but I think that they use a little too much chili and cheese. Now everybody knows that I like my hot dogs messy, but I had to use a fork and knife to eat this one and I like to maintain finger food status with my hot dogs. The chili was pretty good, not too many beans but nothing special. The hot dog itself had good snap, but I was disappointed that I couldn’t really get the essence of the whole thing because I had to use a fork and knife to eat it. The hot dog is always the star of the show, but the toppings should complement it smartly. Same with the chili cheese fries; they were good but nothing special.

Now, on the other hand, I really liked what my dining companion had ordered; she got the “char” dog which means they char broil it a little bit

Boomer's "Char" Dog

during the process. I personally had hesitated about getting it this way because I assumed they would cut into it thereby eliminating the snap of the hot dog. However, they did not cut into it so snap was maintained very well. The grilled onions were a really nice touch to the whole thing as well. Below are some pics of the chili cheese fries and the “char” dog.

Overall, Boomer’s Sweet Home Chicago is pretty good; I enjoyed it but I probably wouldn’t make it a destination restaurant. I would probably eat there again if I was on that side of town, but probably wouldn’t make a special trip out there just to get a hot dog.

Boomer's Chili Cheese Fries

Boomer’s Sweet Home Chicago
5932 West Bell Road, Suite D-109
Glendale, AZ 85308

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