It seemed like a great, easy idea for a Superbowl party: Serve hot dogs, offering the favorite respective regional toppings of the Bears and the Colts.
Chicago dogs are are a no-brainer...but is there a favorite Indianapolis, or even favorite Indiana, type of hot dog? My Internet research is drawing a blank.
Since Dungy is a Michigan native, I'm leaning toward a Michigan-style coney-dog sauce and usual accoutrements. But does anyone out there have any reliable insight into the regional preferences of Indiana wiener eaters?
5 comments:
I'm from Indiana, and I eat them plain, if that helps. Simple and to-the-point. Hoosiers are plain-talkin' people -- we don't mess around. :)
Most of my friends just use catsup, mustard, and relish. Sorry I don't have any other ideas...
I'm with Anonymous. I'm a Hoosier born and Michigan raised, and Michigan's Coney Dogs are much better (ooo, that was my stomach growling for one). Indiana dogs are pretty much Oscar Meyers, probably boiled.
Now if you wanted to go into Colts history, they used to be the (ahem) Baltimore Colts (got their name from the Pimlico racetrack...). So you could go for good German brats, or Italian sausage (there's a famous Little Italy in Balto), or (dare I say it) crab dogs (hey, there are so many strange things in the food world, why not crab hot dogs?).
Go COLTS!!
If you want to go the Bawlmer route, I have the recipe from the former First Lady of Maryland, who made them with mayo and cracker crumbs, the way God intended.
We do eat them on burger buns with a schmear of cocktail sauce, so they'd probably complement the Chicago dogs. Well, in a portable party-food kinda way.
Hey! I just thought of another one: Braaaiiiins!
No, really. Alton Brown did a miniseries last year where he and his posse rode motorcycles across the country sampling local restaurants and cuisines from sea to shining sea.
They stopped in this small town in Indiana, and they asked a local couple what they should eat if they wanted to go full-on native, and they said, "brain sandwiches."
So he found a little German tavern that has been around for ages, and he got a brain sandwich. He was very polite, being a good Southern boy, but you could tell he didn't like it.
The next scene was shot just outside of town, and Brown is speaking in a whisper, like one of those "confessionals" on Big Brother. And he says that brain sandwich was really gross, but maybe that's the key to a lot of regional delicacies, that the people in that part of Indiana are mostly of German ancestry, and brain sandwiches are a little part of their heritage, and the fact that everybody else thinks their brain sandwiches are gross helps make it their unique thing, a signifier.
So, on second thought, you probably don't want to serve your guests brains, but I thought it was sorta interesting.
There is a great place in Carmel called Zacky's Hot Dogs. They have AMAZING food. They have a "Hoosier Dog". It's a deep fried Vienna Beef dog wrapped in smoked applewood bacon and topped with spicy corn relish and sour cream. Zacky said that they have been FLYING out the door. I intend to try one next time I am in. I got a Chicago dog today and it was unbelievable. :) They also make one called an Indy "Blue" dog. it is topped with grilled onions, bacon and blue cheese crumbles.
If you are ever in Carmel, I DEFINITELY recommend going to Zacky's.
Post a Comment