Frank talk: 10 more Orlando dogs to bark about
Primrose Lanes isn’t the only local venture that’s had a good run on hot dogs in the past year.
The folks at Cholo Dogs have been pretty busy, too.
Back in November of last year, co-owners Chris Delahoz and Jordan Eichenblatt expanded their cart-only operation to a stand inside Orlando’s 20,000-seat Amway Center. In February, they added another at Orlando City’s Exploria Stadium. And just last month, they opened a spot inside Persimmon Hollow Brewing Co.‘s Lake Eola-adjacent salon de suds.
No, they’re not scratch-making the hot dogs. Those come courtesy of Nathan’s Famous. But the creative team of Dom Jean-Louis and Jeff Butler (respectfully vice president of slingin’ weens and head ween slinger) have been busy adding all kinds of house-crafted offerings to the founders’ original menu, including braised brisket for the rice bowls, chili and all manner of sauces for the tube steaks and five chorizo/beef-blend smashburgers, each modeled on a Cholo Dog original ween. Oh, and spicy snickerdoodles, too. Baked on premises.
Price points should prove acceptable to surly social media economists, as well.
At Persimmon Hollow, the weens go for $7, by the way. That’s a buck more than you’ll find them for on the Cholo Dogs cart. And $2 less than the $9 price tag at the stadiums.
How to make a $15 hot dog: a Primrose Lanes-prompted primer
“The cart is fully owned by us, we don’t have to pay rent or fees,” Eichenblatt, a fan of the much-bandied about Primrose Lanes $15 dog, explains.
“I think that [the Primrose dog was] just a case of sticker shock. It’s new. People aren’t used to paying $15 for a hot dog and most don’t consider the fact that it’s made in-house. I don’t think anyone else in Orlando has a higher-end, craft hot dog experience to that level, and I think it’s great.”
That said, there are dogs all over town worth barking about. Presented here: a hefty handful.
Junior Colombian Burger
These definitely aren’t for Plain Janes. Junior offers a Chicago-style version, but the Junior, pictured here, is 100 percent homegrown, featuring a frank topped with mozzarella, potato sticks, garlic sauce, pink sauce, mayo, ketchup and pineapple sauce.
“What we’re doing sort of comes from that same perspective, with different stuff,” says Cholo Dogs’ Delahoz. “They do a lot of really fun and fruity things with their sauces, and they will top them with potato sticks, so it’s pretty similar to what we’re doing. Super Rico Colombian Street Food & Bar (located in downtown Orlando at 57 W. Central Blvd.) is really delicious, too.”
More info: Multiple locations around the Metro; juniorcb.com
Chicago Dog & Co.
This Altamonte Springs stand, run by native Chicagoans, has been open for about two and a half years now, and co-owner Doug Walters says they still get plenty of first-timers walking up every week, either to try their signature tastes of the Windy City or get a taste of what they’re missing. They sell something like 150 to 200 Chicago dogs a day, he says.
“But the Chicago dog is a lot to eat,” he notes. “Seven toppings. It’s a handful.”
And so while this famed handheld, along with the city’s Italian beef sandwich, are the best-known items on the menu, Walters’ personal favorite is a serious city icon all on its own: the Maxwell Street Polish, which is said to have been created at a stand now called Jim’s Original, located at the corner of Maxwell and Halstead Streets back home.
“They char-grill a Polish sausage and serve it with onions and mustard,” says Walters. “It’s a very different flavor than the Vienna beef in a Chicago dog. Different flavors, different spicing, no casing. We don’t have a char grill, so we deep-fry the Polish, which gives it just a little bit of a crunch. A little yellow mustard, some onions and we put sport peppers on it. That’s it. Really nice and simple. Easy to eat. Very enjoyable. It’s a real classic.”
More info: 1113 W. State Road 436 in Altamonte Springs, 407-335-4010; chicagodogandco.com
SoDough Square
They’re better known for their killer Detroit-style pizza, so good it was the Critic’s Pick for Best New Restaurant in this year’s Orlando Sentinel Foodie Awards, and so good they’ve since branched out from their original location in Orlando’s SoDo neighborhood to sweet digs in Winter Park, but the Michigan Street shop offers something that Winter Park does not: the Coney Dog.
“It’s a staple for Detroit,” says owner Rob Bair, who was, in fact, in Michigan at press time and just about to have a Coney Dog. “The star of the show is the chili that we fly down from Detroit. The same one they use at Lafayette Coney Island.”
It’s one of the most iconic hot dog stands in the Motor City, and this beanless chili is perfectly balanced, Bair notes. “It’s just perfect.” At $5.99, the price is pretty perfect, too.
More info: 419 E. Michigan St. in Orlando, 407-237-0699; sodoughsquare.com
Oviedo Bowling Center
Many gripes on the Primrose Lanes thread complained that $15 just isn’t bowling alley pricing. Though many countered with the idea that the newly refurbished Primrose Lanes is far more an upscale restaurant/lounge that offers bowling than the traditional sort Colonial Lanes was beforehand, some still balked. To them, I offer this $8 post-frame frank, available at the Oviedo Bowling Center. You can also enjoy it, as I did, as an accompaniment to pinball and cold adult beverages at the Pinball Lounge (also located inside the Center). It comes with fries and toppings. It’s definitely from out of a package. But it will scratch your itch for under $10.
More info: 376 E. Broadway Street in Oviedo, 407-366-5000; oviedobowlingcenter.com
CrunCheese Korean Hot Dog
“Again, I think these are like a distant cousin of ours,” opines Cholo Dogs’ Delahoz of these deep-fried corn dogs on a stick. At CrunCheese in Waterford Lakes, you can go totally traditional or get weird with different fillings and toppings. Some, like the potato dog, mix it in with the batter. Love condiments? Here, they have everything from jalapeño ranch to sweet chili.
“I think it’s cool,” he adds. “The more you can take an ordinary food and combine it with other flavor profiles, the better. I’m a fan of stepping outside the bounds to try stuff.
More info: 465 N. Alafaya Trail in Orlando, 407-203-3010; cruncheeseusa.com
Hot Dog Heaven
“I think that poppy seed bun is what does it for me,” Cholo Dogs’ Eichenblatt theorizes. “it’s what really sticks out.”
Whether it’s that or the other sanctified ingredients: the must-be-Vienna-Beef dog, the sunshine-yellow mustard, the neon relish, the crisp white onion, the tomato, the pickle, the sport peppers, the celery salt (and don’t you dare even THINK about putting ketchup on it), this dog is a done-one-way deal with natives. There’s no arguing. And they’re all happy to hammer ’em down at Hot Dog Heaven.
More info: 5355 E. Colonial Drive in Orlando; 407-282-5746; hotdogheaven.com
Vegan Hot Dog Cart
After serving the city for just about 25 years, the feral folks wheeling the Vegan Hot Dog Cart are making inside dogs. Inside downtown’s Sly Fox Pub, that is. The cart may have been tamed (now with AC!), but the dogs are still howling good and entirely plant-based. That doesn’t mean they’re trying to call it health food. These vegan dogs (they’ve got brats and burgers, too) will do the job of satisfying, whether you smother ’em or not.
More info: Located inside Sly Fox Pub, 63 N. Orange Ave. in Orlando, instagram.com/theveganhotdogcart
Cupid’s Hot Dogs
Ready to fall in love with simplicity? You could do worse than a chili cheese at Cupid’s Hot Dogs. This, and other dog iterations here, are a beacon to Southern Californians for whom this locally-spawned hot dog stand is a classic. It’s the only east coast Cupid’s outpost to date. And you know you want a pic beneath that amazing, iconic sign.
More info: 1515 Lee Road in Orlando, 407-674-8517; cupidshotdogs.info
Costco
Good news for longtime members: Costco’s classic $1.50 dog-and-a-drink deal, which the company first started in 1984, seems all but sacrosanct. In fact, years ago, it was reported that when then-president Craig Jelinek complained to CEO Jim Sinegal about the cost of the dog, Sinegal fired back, “If you raise [the price of] the effing hot dog, I will kill you. Figure it out.”
He did.
Jelinek’s the CEO now. And with Costco’s gross profits still in the billions and up over last year, it would seem he’s learned that goodwill and perceived value go a very long way. And also that people really love hot dogs.
More info: Multiple locations, costco.com
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