Original Joes… a quaint chain that can be found tucked into various Edmonton areas (and other locations across North America). If you know of Original Joes you probably aren’t thinking “hot dogs”, you’re probably thinking about their other good food like their burgers, lettuce raps, etc. But thats a lie isn’t it. We all know the first thing you think of is their Thursday night wine night where you can get good bottles of wine for 50% off AKA…plastered. But in all seriousness, the food at OJs is quite good so seeing a fancy hot dog on the menu is exciting. And what a beautiful combination: getting blitzed off a fancy bottle of red on a Thursday, savouring a gourmet dog among family and friends.
This review I’m going to try something different. I’m going to treat this review like an essay. Thesis: Can you have too much of a good thing? Lets explore. This time I brought my pal and OJs wine night enthusiast, Darren. TAKE IT AWAY…
Darren’s Review
Order: The ‘Original’ Double Dog with jalapeño and banana peppers
Price: $18
Fun Fact: did you know that hot dogs are the greatest food choking hazard?
I think that’s pretty crazy, but you know what else is crazy? My absolute favourite place to have 6 bottles of wine on a Thursday also sells hot dogs! Who knew! After warming up with a couple refreshments I am ready to get down and take on some dogs. The double dog has not one but TWO weiners…
Fun Fact: Stingrays and Sharks also have two weiners but anyway moving on…
The dogs are nestled in a XLL fun sized bun which was definitely not gluten free and was probably larger than my head. For toppings I went with the double banana and jalapeno pepper combo. The first bite was pretty explosive; my mouth feels like the bedroom door that Jack breaks in half with an axe in the climax scene of The Shining. This of course causes my eyes to water significantly, enough that I look like I’m crying, so the server avoids our table for a good half hour. I’m not going to pretend to be a foodie/ professional YELP restaurant reviewer but I thought this was a pretty lit AF hot dog.
Here are some hot stats to sum things up.
Toppings: 8/10 because I love juicy peppers.
Weiner: The dogs I’ll rate separate because it was called the double dog. DOG 1, 8.5/10. DOG 2, 8/10. Dog 1 took the lead because it was just a tad better cooked.
Bun: N/A (Julia has asked that I also rate the bun but I can’t bring myself to rate a piece of bread so were going to skip that one.)
Overall OJ’s double dog gets an 8/10 from me because I said so and this is my review. Go back to YELP if you can’t handle it.
Julia’s Review
Order: The ‘Original’ Double Dog with bacon and cheddar
Price: $18
Some notable things about this dog: it actually had two weiners inside, wisely butterflied for easier eating. They are polish dogs, meaning they are more “peppery” in flavour and are more dense then a traditional hot dog weiner. Now keep that in mind… a fairly dense and peppery dog, X2. Second note, this is a restaurant, it serves full meals. So the price of $15 is justified. They had to make a hot dog a meal, so they jacked it up and made a monster dog, accompanied by two sides of your choice.
The very large double dog comes in a baguette which again, is more intense then the usual light and airy buns that accompany hot dogs. The baguette made a good boat for the two dogs but it was quite filling on its own as a large dense piece of bread. Toppings; it comes with a mustard/mayo/dill sauce, tomatoes and fried onions. The dog is already a hefty $15 so it already feels like an investment but for $1.50 each you can add various cheeses, bacon, mushrooms, sauteed onions, avocado, guacamole, jalapeño peppers and banana peppers. I added cheese and bacon.
Let me bring this all back to my thesis… Can you have too much of a good thing? As Darren said, it was a very tasty hot dog. The different components went together really well and I will not deny that. But I almost felt like it was a sandwich competing for my attention. The weiner was very powerful on its own, in taste and density. And then there were two so it was just so much meat. Usually I would be really happy about that, but then it was incased in a heavy bread and covered in zippy toppings that really activate your taste buds. Conclusion: yes, too much of a good thing. This hot dog would be stellar if something gave. Maybe a less intense weiner like two beef dogs, or just one polish dog. Or maybe a lighter, airier bun. Or even less complicated toppings like just a mayo and sautéed onions on top? I don’t know. I am not a chef. I am an all star hot dog eater and this just was a bit much in my professional opinion.
Toppings: 8/10 Wavers on unique and classic which is a great combination
Weiner: 7/10 Very well cooked and butterflied which always gets brownie points from me. Found it too peppery though. And a bit too much meat.
Bun: 7/10 Despite Darren’s very rude comment, it is imperative you should rate the cradling hand in a hot dog. This one was nicely toasted and could back up the double dogs. Again though, a bit dense.
Overall score: 7/10
This hot dog could be a 10/10. Someone tell the OJs Head Chef to sit down with me to explore ways to streamline this meal into a winner. Try it next wine night and tell us what you think. Cheers!
THE HOT DOG BLOG - Edmonton 