When we think of the Moose Lodge, we think of men in cream-colored blazers drinking beer elbow to elbow with scruffy gen-x rockers. Well, on top of having very affordable beer and a friendly staff of bartenders, the Moose Lodge also serves hotdogs. It’s part of their charity fundraising work.
The lady who puts this delicious, soupy concoction together follows a three-step process. First, she microwaves the hotdog and the bun together. Then she goes to the stove where a pot of chili waits, and ladles some greasy meat into the paper tray. Then comes the cheese, which has been sitting on the counter in a bubbling crockpot. I won’t tell you how unbelievably cheap the whole thing was, which seems counter-productive to the whole fund-raiser concept. All in all, the hotdog was the perfect thematic compliment to the Moose Lodge.
Moose Lodge Chili Cheese Dog – Grade B
Further away geographically, but only a hop and skip in the Austin party scene, is the Hot Dog King on Red River. After catching a show at the Beauty Bar as we are wont to do on a Saturday night, my food frakking deputy Julia and I decided to wait in line at one of the most popular food trucks in the "Entertainment District" (I can never type that phrase without sarcasm quotes). I’ve reviewed the Hot Dog King before, but I’d never had the venison dog.
Yep. Tasted like a hotdog.
Hot Dog King Venison Dog – Grade B
A block further down we get to Bar-B-Q Heaven, a food stand where there’s one guy inside the trailer and another guy leaning against the window who kibitzes and takes the customer’s money. I ordered the sausage wrap because it was truly astonishingly cheap, but I was pleased to find that it was pleasantly rib-sticking food.
Technically of course this is not a hotdog. But the sausage wrap occupies a parallel ecological niche. It’s like going fishing for sharks and catching a grizzly instead. This is tubular meat in bread, designed for speed, portability, and the power to please a man-sized hunger.
Bar-B-Q Heaven Sausage Wrap – Grade B
