Hot diggity dog: favorite franks of Western Mass.Date: 7/27/2020 Its exact origins are shrouded in the mists of history.
We don’t know just how the hot dog evolved, but all we know is the German immigrants who brought their version of the sausage to the United States in the middle and late 19th centuries created one of the first fast food and the unofficial meal of summer.
Originally, frankfurters were sold to be held in your hand and eaten until someone decided to put them in a bun. Apparently some hot dogs came with a white glove to wear while eating the naked sausage.
Historians believe that it was either at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, in Chicago or the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis that buns were first used.
Who gave the name “hot dog” to describe the German sausage is also unclear, but it was being used by the turn of the 20th Century.
That bun became the delivery system for a dizzying array of condiments. A 2019 survey saw the top two toppings were mustard at 33 percent and ketchup at 30 percent.
On July 22 the country celebrated National Hot Dog Day, a date that slipped by hungry Reminder Publishing news staff. We knew it needed to be acknowledged so we fanned out to try to visit some great purveyors of dogs in our area.
Standard disclaimer: yes, we may have missed your favorite hot dog place. There is only so much time and so many dogs out there.
Nick’s Nest: 1597 Northampton St., Holyoke
Started in 1922, Nick’s Nest carries on the tradition of a limited menu, a time-honored and shop-specific style of dog and prep. They offer perhaps the quickest meal in the region – something this old reporter has always appreciated.
The dogs are boiled, taken out of the water when ordered, rolled in a seasoned oil and placed in a steamed bun. You then have the chance for extra condiments and the shop offers quite a few options.
You can take-out or eat in at a counter looking out onto Northampton St. A regular dog is $3.29.
They now offer soft-serve ice cream, a perfect dessert.
It is little wonder between the taste of the dogs and the charms of the place why it has endured.
Chef Wayne’s Cajun on the Go: 320 Worthington St., Springfield
We all know and love the late and lamented Big Mamou but Chef Wayne Hooker’s presence in the area’s restaurant scene endures with his to-go restaurant that features a wide variety of Cajun specialties, one of which his Cajun Hot Dog.
The “hut,” as Hooker calls it, offers a hot dog that contains some jalapeño peppers. This is a grilled dog placed in a bun with Cajun seasoning, some remoulade sauce and topped with chopped green onions. It’s served with your choice of Cajun fries, sweet potato fries or rice.
This is good eating and the cost is $7.
White Hut: 280 Memorial Ave., West Springfield
We are all waiting for the triumphant return of a Western Massachusetts tradition, right up there with Nick’s Nest. The Holyoke eatery is older, but White Hut had been around since 1939, until it closed earlier this year.
The new owners are now renovating the iconic building, but the food is being served out of a food truck in the parking lot.
Also like Nick’s Nest, the White Hut’s menu has always been very specific: hot dogs and hamburgers. When the previous owners added French fries some people have told this reporter they were offended!
A hot dog is $3.75 and there is a long lists of condiments including the White Hut’s signature fried onions.
Whoop-Dee-Do Hotdogs: 7 Hall Hill Rd., Somers
When searching for restaurants and food stands that offer hotdogs, I came across a Google listing for Whoop-Dee-Do Hotdogs. “Say no more,”
I thought. “With a name like that, it’s going to be a good time.”
I didn’t know what to expect, but when I arrived at the 7 Hall Hill Rd. in, Somers, I found a tiny roadside stand set-up in front of a house with umbrellaed-picnic tables on the lawn. It was about as mom-and-pop as you can get. I was excited. I find the best food comes from tiny eateries.
The owner was a very nice man with an even nicer dog. The latter of the two visited with me while I perused the menu options that were posted on the side of the stand where you stood to place your order. There were 12 hotdogs on the menu – The Chilli & Cheese Dog, The Firehouse Dog, The Somers Dog. Clearly, I had come to the right place.
I decided to order the kind of dog I couldn’t get just anywhere. I asked for The Wackiest Peanut Dog. Described as a “grilled dog on a toasted roll, smothered with Reese’s Peanut Butter topping & topped with caramelized onions and crunchy French fried onions,” it was anything but typical.
I’ll be honest, when I unwrapped my foil-enveloped dog, it wasn’t much to look at. Between the peanut butter and the French onions crumbed on top, it took me a second to locate the hotdog. But I was in for a penny, in for a pound.
My first bite was surprising. Despite the assortment of toppings, the hotdog was what I tasted first. And it was a good-quality dog. The peanut butter was melty on the hot dog and was more like a sauce than the globs of peanut butter you might imagine. The French onions added a nice crunch to the texture. It was a highly satisfying flavor and not at all as “Wacky” as the name and ingredient suggest.
At $4.50 it was a good price, but bring cash because Whoop-Dee-Do Hotdogs doesn’t take plastic.
Despite bottles of water and soda for sale, I took advantage of a good, old-fashioned lemonade stand next to the picnic tables. The operator was a young acquaintance of the owner, perhaps his granddaughter. Now, that’s how you capitalize on your customers. Come for the dogs, stay for the cute kid shilling lemonade!
Whoop-Dee-Do Hot Dogs is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Big Daddy’s Ice Cream & Grill 955 Boston Rd., Springfield
My next stop was . Big Daddy’s is traditional, drive-in-style eatery with separate windows for ordering and pickup. While the dozens of hard and soft-serve ice cream flavors on the board were tempting, I was on a mission.
Big Daddy’s doesn’t have fancy names for specialty-creation hotdogs. Instead, they have a build-your-own menu of sizes and toppings, a lot of toppings. For sizes, they offer a hotdog, a “Big Daddy” 1/4-pound hotdog and a 12” hotdog. As I had decided to go for gusto, I ordered a 12” dog with chilli, nacho cheese, relish, peppers, onions and lettuce. I had never had lettuce on a hotdog and was excited to try it.
The hotdog was actually quite attractive, despite the monstrosity of toppings I had requested. Eating the dog, a true foot-long frank on a crisp, toasted roll, was messy – in a good way. After all, hotdogs are not a dainty food to be enjoyed with pinkies up.
The dog tasted as advertised – 100 percent beef. The toppings were hot and weighty on the tongue, the way most hotdog toppings are, except for the lettuce. Instead of the shredded iceberg I was picturing, the dog was served with whole, fresh, leaves of romaine. This gave it a light and slightly crunchy texture to balance out the other toppings. I was nicely surprised by the combination.
I ordered a pina-colada milkshake to go with it, and while they didn’t have the pina-colada, they made me a coconut milkshake with bits of pineapple in it. Not only was it tasty, I appreciated that they went the extra mile to work around something they were out of.
The only downsides to my experience at Big Daddy’s was a fairly long wait and how quickly the toppings added up, although that was more a case of my excitement for tasty food getting the best of me. The 12” dog was $4.75 and, at two toppings for $1.50, my monster dog ended up costing $9.25. Again, my fault for letting my eyes be bigger than my wallet.
Big Daddy’s Ice Cream & Grill is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, and an hour later on weekends.
Krazy Jakes: 2537 Boston Rd., Wilbraham
My final dog destination was Krazy Jakes, a fast-casual restaurant in Wilbraham with a Caribbean-themed decor. There were five hotdogs one the menu, mostly variations on your typical chilli dog or frank with sauerkraut. There was one that stood out, however – the “Dog-o-Rito.”
At $8.50, it was two beef hotdogs with chilli, cheddar cheese and onions. Pretty standard, but wait, what’s this? Served “in a crisp flour tortilla.”
My friends, this was no ordinary hotdog. When it was brought out, I was fascinated. It looked like a large burrito. In fact, eating it felt like tucking into a burrito with a crispy fried shell.
The main difference between this and a burrito, of course, was that when you bit into it, Surprise! Chilli cheese dogs were inside.
It was very filling and entirely satisfying. I will definitely be ordering this dish again.
Krazy Jake’s Restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
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