Hot Dogs

Now, don’t get me wrong. I love a thick, buttery filet mignon as much as the next carnivore. But I gotta say, hot dogs have a special place in my (cholesterol-saturated) heart.

I have been hearing about Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe for years. Like the O in Oakland and D’s SixPax & Dogz in Regent Square, Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe specializes in wieners. I find it odd that a restaurant would stake it’s whole business model on a food that is probably the easiest food in the world to cook. You could cook your dog with a Zippo, if you really had to. I suppose that speaks to what the hot dog means to us as a country: fast to cook, easy to eat, and lots and lots of choices when it comes to condiments. Who doesn’t love a footlong at the ball park? Yes, I’d say hot dogs are an important part of our national identity. Even though being “so lazy you can’t make a hot dog” should be a bad thing, hot dog shops chalk it up to being American and cover it with chili-cheese.

Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe has twelve restaurants scattered all over our Western Pennsylvania region and even one in Ohio. On Saturday afternoon, I visited the Greentree location. I was cautiously optimistic, and more importantly, very hungry.

Walking in, I noticed the décor of BHDS resembled a cross between a Dairy Queen & your mom’s living room. Above the napkin/ketchup counter hangs a sign that says “Live, Laugh, Love.” There’s not a whole lot on the menu at Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe, but I appreciate that they’ve got package deals for families. “Family of four” gets eight dogs and many French fries & pops, while “family of five” gets TEN hot dogs and many French fries and pops. It’s all very convenient, I think, to an embarrassing degree.

I ordered a chili-cheese dog, a plain dog with mustard, and some fries with cheese. And to wash it all down? A glowing, frosty Mountain Dew. This is either going to be awesome, or send me in to some kind of systematic organ failure. I dug in happily.

I began with the fries. The melted cheese on the fries was not what I expected; it wasn’t the typical congealed nacho cheese I was used to; this cheese was runnier (more runny? That sounds GROSS) and less sticky. I was surprised to find that the potatoes had a starchy, freshly cut taste. Not terrible!

On to the dogs! The buns were fresh, soft, and warm. The hot dogs aren’t very big, but I was happy that they use bun-sized wieners. My hot dogs were topped with a perfect amount of toppings; they were loaded, but not soggy. The hot dog with mustard was basic and fine. The chili-cheese dog was excellent! OK, so it wasn’t as good as a Dairy Queen chili-cheese dog (Thank you, West Virginia upbringing, for making me such an astute and worldly food critic), but it was definitely the second best chili-cheese dog I’ve ever had. I could easily eaten more than my two hot dogs! The best part is that I bought lunch for myself & a friend and the total bill was about $12.00. I love it here.

Oh! I have to tell you about my Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe commemorative cup! Or better yet, let me show you. Click on the photo at the top of this article, and look closely at my cup in that photo…

Yes, folks, that is a hot dog wearing a snow hat and parka, shoveling snow during the Blizzard of 2010. Perfection. If that doesn’t make you want to visit Brighton Hot Dog Shoppe, maybe it’s just not your kind of place.