Quick Bite: QuikTrip’s Blueberry Pancake Roller

Hey, Violet Beauregarde — rise and shine!

It’s well established that we here at LunchBlogKC are big fans of QuikTrip. And we get more than a little excited when there’s a new rolling food to be had. So when I spotted the Blueberry Pancake Roller sign on the way to work the other morning, I had to stop and try one.

I may have actually tried this new item three times over the past few weeks — and I’ll warn that it may not be for everybody. It depends on your affinity for bready breakfasts. The Blueberry Pancake Roller is pretty dense, and while it’s tempting to get the “2 for $2.22*” roller food deal, you likely won’t need the second.

Flavor-wise, it’s a nice balance of salty and sweet, meat and bread. I didn’t even run into any of the gristle bits typically found in this kind of sausage link. Gristle bits are the worst.

I couldn’t tell if there was any built-in maple flavor to the pancake part. While it's good by itself, more sweet-toothed patrons might want to add extra syrup. Maybe look around and see if QT has any complimentary syrup tubs at the condiment bar.

Overall, the Blueberry Pancake Roller is a fine addition to the morning lineup — probably my favorite of the rolling breakfast options. And I’m so happy to live in a world where it’s possible to eat blueberry pancakes while driving.

Rating: 3 sporks out of 5
$1.39 for one, $2.22 for two (the 99¢ price in the pic above was an introductory deal)

Haus

Who’s haus? Bier’s haus.

A couple of months ago, a bunch of co-workers came back from having lunch at Haus and told me they’d just had the best fries ever. That’s right -- ever.

Clearly, I had to try these fries for myself, and while I don’t know if they’re the best, they are excellent. Haus somehow pulls off a crispy exterior with a chewy center, the result of a two-stage frying method involving a brine and possibly dark wizardry.

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Dog Nuvo

Best in show.

I love hot dogs. My go-to lunch when I need something quick is two dogs from QuikTrip. I crave them more than burgers. So when Groupon ran a deal for fancy hot dog joint Dog Nuvo, there was no way I was passing that action up. For once, this guy was going to eat a hog dog that didn’t have packaged condiments on it.

Dog Nuvo is in the space formerly occupied by Souperman, which was another one of my lunchtime clutchtime standards until its demise. I’d actually been to Dog Nuvo a handful of times since it opened last September, although this was Robert’s first trip.

We selected three of the gourmet dogs to try from the menu, as well as some truffle and asiago potato chips that were pretty tasty. Here’s what we thought of the dogs.

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Carny Surprise

It was between making this or Funnel Cake au Gratin.

Did you hear about the Casserole Party hosted by Emily Farris at Pryde's Old Westport last week? Sounds like it was wicked awesome, but alas, we weren't able to be there. Besides, the only casserole I've ever made is a little something called Carny Surprise, and since it's a modification of Taste of Home's Corn Dog Casserole, I doubted it was eligible for the big night.

True, the rules of the Casserole Party state that you can manipulate a pre-published recipe to make it your own. And while I've made a few changes to the Corn Dog Casserole recipe that might technically allow it to qualify, I still feel obligated to add a disclaimer that Carny Surprise is perhaps best described as a “straight-up rip-off.”

The deal is thus -- there are three big differences between Carny Surprise and Corn Dog Casserole. First, the Taste of Home recipe calls for a scant one-and-a-half pounds of hot dogs. Knowing there's no way that could ever even come close to possibly being enough, however, I double that.

That's right. Three pounds of hot dogs.

I don't use just any hot dogs, either. In order to more authentically evoke the seedy flavor of carny folk heritage, I go for “Old-Fashioned Wieners” from McGonigle's Market. Sure, at $4.99 a pound, they're mighty expensive, but they're worth it for both the delicious taste and unbeatable snap. Everything else in this recipe is dirt cheap, though, so it evens out.

The second difference is that Carny Surprise is to be served with a barrel of yellow mustard for topping.

The third difference is that I cut down the celery and the green onions to one cup each. I'm not quite sure what celery is bringing to the party anyway.

So it was a bummer to miss the casserole party, but it just so happened that this month's agency luncheon here at the office had the same theme -- and that was all the excuse I needed to get my casserole on and whip up a batch of Carny Surprise.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs hot dogs, cut into coins (I recommend getting the best quality dogs available, if possible from the meat counter)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup sliced green onions (two bunches should do it)
• 1 cup diced celery
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 packages Jiffy corn bread mix (8½ ounces each, 17 ounces total)
• 1½ cups milk
• 2 teaspoons rubbed sage
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• Barrel of yellow mustard

Recipe

1. In the largest pan you have, saute celery in butter for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add onions, and saute for 3 more minutes. Place in a bowl and set aside.
2. In the same pan, saute the hot dogs for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Add to the bowl with the celery and onions. Stir it all up real good, and set aside 2 cups.
3. In the largest bowl you have, combine eggs, milk, sage and pepper. Stir in the cornbread mix, and add remaining hot dog mixture. Add 1½ cups of cheese. Spread into a 3 quart baking dish. Top with the reserved 2 cups of hot dog mixture and the remaining ½ cup of cheese.
4. Bake uncovered at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.
5. Serve the Carny Surprise alongside the yellow mustard barrel for topping.

Here's a warning -- after standing over a pan while sauteing three pounds of hot dogs, you will absolutely smell like hot dogs for the rest of the day.

Did I say warning? What I meant was, “Here's the best part.”

30 Rock's Cheesy Blasters

Don't leave us hanging, Meatcat!

What is a Cheesy Blaster, you ask? Watch this and find out.

They sound awesome, right? And while we've waited and waited and waited so patiently for Meatcat to arrive on his magic skateboard and bring us Cheesy Blasters, he's totally giving us the cold shoulder. Not cool, Meatcat. Not cool.

Clearly, we had no choice but to take matters into our own hands and make a batch of Cheesy Blasters ourselves. Here's how we did it.

Ingredients

• Hot dogs
• 8 oz bag shredded jack cheese (NOT pepper jack, just plain jack)
• 8 oz bag shredded mozzarella cheese
• Can of pizza sauce
• Pepperoni
• Tube of thin crust pizza dough

A note on the hot dogs: We used Johnsonville Stadium Style Beef Franks since they were the biggest I could find, hence more room for jack cheese. Once the Cheesy Blasters were assembled, though, we had a leftover pizza lump, so I think this recipe could easily accommodate any standard 8-to-a-pack hot dogs. Unless they're turkey dogs, the inclusion of which in Cheesy Blasters would be nothing less than morally wrong. Same goes for turkey pepperoni. I wish we'd gotten a picture of the leftover pizza lump -- there was something truly disturbing about it. It looked like it might start to scoot away of its own accord, like the raisin concoction John Cusack's mom made in Better Off Dead.

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to temperature stated on the pizza crust directions.
2. Assemble pizza. We went in the order of pizza crust, pizza sauce, cheese and then a protective barrier of pepperoni in hopes of minimizing mozzarella/jack co-mingling.
3. Cook hot dogs on stovetop according to package directions.
4. Cut a slit lengthwise in the hot dogs, and stuff with jack cheese.
5. Cut pizza into strips, not quite as wide as the length of the hot dog. You want some hot dog overhang coming out of each end.
6. Roll a hot dog in each pizza strip. If at all possible, try to roll it so that the seam of the pizza ends up on the bottom but the jack cheese in the hot dog faces upward, thus preventing too much cheese from oozing out as it melts.
7. Bake according to pizza crust directions, until golden brown. Don't forget to spray your baking sheet with Pam.

Boom! You got Cheesy Blasters!

No shocker, they turned out pretty delicious -- at least the sum of their parts. It probably helped that by the time our Cheesy Blasters came out of the oven, we were a couple of Old Styles into the evening. If there's anything bad to say about the Cheesy Blasters at all, it's that I envisioned them looking somewhat more cylindrical, and not so much like Hot Pockets.

Actually, here's the worst thing about Cheesy Blasters: It's nigh-impossible to get the jingle out of your head. Seriously, it's starting to drive me batty.

Meatcat, please come hang out with us. We'll even sweeten the deal with all the Old Style you can drink. How can you turn that down?

Blame It On Cain’s (Tulsa Road Trip 9/09, Part 2)

Despite the events below, we swear we really do like to drink good beer sometimes.

Cain’s Ballroom

Shaw: One of the best parts of Cain’s is that they’ll sell you Budwesier a six-pack at a time, plastic rings and all. We walked in and headed straight to the bar to pick a few up.

Good thing, too. The lady working the line told us they only had five six-packs left, so the four of us each bought one. And then just to be safe, we went back and got the last one a couple of minutes later.

Robert: Not only does having a six-pack at the ready mean you don’t have to go back to the bar and miss part of the show, but I imagine this is what it must feel like to walk around a ‘70s beer bust barn party.

Tonight was Elvis Costello’s last night on tour for his country album, Secret, Profane & Sugarcane. The ex-Angry Young Man played a lot of songs from that, as well as treated us to Americana takes on favorites like “Mystery Dance,” “Everyday I Write the Book,” and, of course, “Blame It On Cain.” It was a pretty fantastic show, and “The Carnegie Hall of Western Swing” was the perfect venue for it.

Shaw: With a band that included two guitars, an accordion, stand-up bass, dobro and fiddle, it was like hearing a country-flavored Elvis Costello cover band with the real Elvis Costello singing. Different, but incredible.

Rocking a purple fedora, Mr. Costello looked very dapper -- though at one point, the green cast of the lights plus his hat and the thick frames of his glasses made him look like the Riddler.

Robert: Maybe Elvis Costello really is an International Art Thief after all.

The Soundpony

Shaw: After the show, we decided to grab a quick beer at the next door to regroup and figure out where we should go from there. However, since The Soundpony had $1.50 Natural Light draws and some old school video games, we ended up staying awhile.

Robert: I took honors on Ms. Pac-Man and Moon Patrol, and Ryan dominated us all at Galaga. The Soundpony also has a Donkey Kong machine that even features the option to play the rare Donkey Kong 3.

Jeff, Ryan, Jeremy and I came here when we went to Cain’s to see Wilco last year, stopping in during happy hour, which lasts from 3 to 9 p.m and includes a free hot dog for every $4 you spend. That’s right -- a six-hour happy hour with free hot dogs. KC bars, please take note.

Shaw: The Soundpony is a cool bar. But man, that is a truly awful name.

I'll also give cheers to the music selection, but jeers to the bartenders who used the microphone behind the bar to subject everyone to their painful vocal accompaniment.

QuikTrip

Shaw: We left The Soundpony to go wander around downtown and look for some more substantial eats. But as it was after midnight and most places had stopped serving, we ended up calling a taxi to take us back to the QuikTrip by our hotel.

Robert: Ah, QT -- land of delicious roller-grilled foods. I got a burrito and a chili cheese taquito dog. Seriously, they’ve got to be just spinning a Wheel of Random Ingredients to concoct these new cylindrical delights.

Shaw: I stayed on the less adventurous end with two hot dogs for $2 and a 99¢ bag of Fritos. Without the availability of Chicago dog fixings or sauerkraut, the only proper way for me to have my hot dogs was with mustard and relish. No ketchup shall defile my hot dogs. Nor shall catsup, for all the Hunt’s fans out there.

Robert: I was a little disappointed there wasn’t even a single egg roll to be found on the grills, though. I do love some late-night Chinese food.

Next time on Lunch Blog: What does it take to get a Whatafarm in Tulsa?

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Cain’s Ballroom: 423 North Main Street | Tulsa, OK 74103

The Soundpony: 409 North Main Street | Tulsa, OK 74103

QuikTrip: 229 North Gilcrease Museum Road | Tulsa, OK 74127

The Penguin (Shaw Goes to Charlotte, Part 1)

To enjoy this post Southern Style, top monitor with chili and cole slaw.

Thanks to a public Facebook shaming about how I never visit, I finally made plans to go and see my good friends Chris and Michelle and their kids Nora and Hank on their home turf of Charlotte, NC. Of course, while I was there I had to check out some of Charlotte’s finest grub -- #1 on my list being The Penguin. Not only is it the top ranked restaurant on Urbanspoon, but it came with a strong recommendation from Chris and Michelle, too.

The Penguin is notably small, with four booths, six tables and about 15 or so stools for lunch and side counter seating. Combine that with the popularity of the establishment and you’ve got yourself a bit of a wait. Everybody from the staff to the patrons handles this in stride, though. No exasperated sighs or snarky comments -- the wait is just part of the experience.

Once we finally got seated, we ordered drinks and hot dogs for Nora and Hank, and then Chris, Michelle and I started drawing up our battle plans. So we could sample a variety of stuff, we settled on splitting fried pickles (half-order for $3.25), buffalo wings ($6.75), and a Small Block Burger topped Southern Style with chili, mustard, onions and cole slaw ($3.25). At Chris and Michelle’s urging, I also had to try the famous Winky-Dinky Dog -- a hot dog loaded with pimento cheese and chili ($2.75).

I’ve had fried pickles before in Kansas City. First, years ago at BJ’s Lounge (now the Lava Room) where they were spear-cut and reminded me of overcooked bananas. The second time was the other week at Tomfooleries, where they were served with an overly thick, bready battered coating. The fried pickles at The Penguin were a completely new and utterly tasty experience.

At The Penguin, the pickles are cut into chips and dipped in a kind of light, flaky batter that made me think of a fish fry. On their own, these fried pickles are tangy and almost buttery without being too greasy. Dip ‘em in a little ranch, and you take it to a whole new level.

The Winky-Dinky Dog was also a new experience, although at first I didn’t think it was going to be a pleasant one. The first couple bites grossed me out a bit, registering as salty, squishy and distinctively processed. Somehow by the end I was convinced it was awesome.

Less impressive but still good, the Southern Style Small Block Burger represented itself well. However, the wings proved to be just okay. The buffalo sauce struck me as spicy without a lot of flavor and almost watery.

The price is definitely right at The Penguin, and the menu is filled with all kinds of national and local diner favorites. With a few brews in me, I could see myself making lots of deliciously bad decisions there. But I don’t care if they are just chicken tenders -- I’m not eating anything called “Penguin Fingers.”

Next time on Lunch Blog: My trip to Charlotte concludes with Fuel Pizza and Price’s Chicken Coop.
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1921 Commonwealth Ave | Charlotte, NC 28205

NCAA Opening Round Munchies: Sprint Center 1/2 Lb. KC BBQ Dog + Grinders Tacos

March Madness -- it’s not always pretty.

Went to the first day of the 2009 NCAA Tournament's opening round at the Sprint Center with some friends on Thursday, and grabbed lunch while I was there. Now I don’t know for sure that during the construction of the Sprint Center there was an ongoing top-secret development process underway to create a signature Kansas City-related menu item, but I like to think there was. And whoever said “let’s just throw some brisket on an unnecessarily large hot dog” deserves a raise.

The 1/2 Lb. KC BBQ Dog is a ridiculously huge all beef hot dog, topped with brisket plus onion straws and “famous” barbecue sauce. About the only thing that could make it more Kansas City is if the sauce was from Arthur Bryant’s or Gates or one of the other estimated 17 gazillion barbecue joints here in town, rather than being a sauce vaguely called “famous.” Which I’m pretty sure is code for “we buy it by the vatful.” Keeping in mind that arena food is always overpriced, at $8 I don’t feel like I got fleeced too bad, either. Not so much with my $4 soda.

Between sessions we went to Grinders, and I got the Thursday special of three for a dollar tacos. I knew they’d be fantastic when the waitress told me they were taking a while because they were “still on the grill.” Grilled tacos!

Sure enough, they were way delicious. Even though the tacos are grilled, they actually come out pretty soft, filled with seasoned taco meat and melted cheese -- picture a floppy quesadilla. This is about the closest I’ve come to Amigos soft tacos since that outfit closed up shop around here.

Finally, here is some expert Lunch Blog tournament commentary -- and by “expert,” we mean it’s all about the mascots and pep bands.

• There was no way the Maryland Terrapins weren’t going to win -- they had turtle power! Seriously, Testudo the Diamondback Turtle busted out some sweet moves every time the pep band played the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” theme. Meanwhile, the California Golden Bear was just kind of aimlessly meandering around with his hands behind his back. Lame. I hate the California Golden Bear.
• Pep Band of the Day goes to the Morgan State Bear Pep Band -- they turned up the funk and went band camp all over Estelle’s “American Boy” and others. Mad grooves and so much fun to watch, especially the guys rocking the cymbals. If I was in a kung fu movie, I’d want them to be my soundtrack. The Morgan State Bear even breakdanced. (Brokedanced?)
• In a fight between Pouncer the Tiger from Memphis and the Clemson Tiger, the Clemson Tiger would win. However, in a dance-off, it’s Pouncer, no contest.
• Note to the CSU Northridge pep band: “Handlebars” by Flobots is an intriguing choice, but it’s not working for you guys. Also, your mascot Matty the Matador and Jay Leno are one and the same.
  

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Grinders: 417 East 18th St. | Kansas City, MO 64108

The Brick

Or, the harrowing tale of “The Great Meatloaf Shortage of ’08.”

I remember being really surprised by how good the food was at The Brick the first time I had it when I was there for Trivia Riot one Friday night years ago. Until then, I only knew the dive as a cool place to see rock shows. But I was hungry and the meatloaf sandwich was noted on the menu as the house favorite, so that’s what I got. It was so delicious that I haven’t had anything else there since -- save one Tuesday when we went for Guys’ Night to play bingo and the food special was all-you-can-eat tacos. Which was a perfect complement to the beer special of all-you-can-drink PBR.

Our table at lunch last Friday ordered a grand total of four meatloaf sandwiches -- Wells, Dylan and Strickler each got one, while Shaw and I decided to split that and a Chicago-style hot dog. Moments later, the waiter returned and told us they only had enough meatloaf for three.

Wells’ instinct for self-preservation kicked in and without hesitation he said, “One of those is mine.” Seeing how The Brick was Strickler’s suggestion and Dylan had never had the meatloaf sandwich, Shaw and I chose to make no claim on the remaining two. We’re good people like that, here at Lunch Blog. Instead, we opted to get the Scimeca’s Famous Italian Steak.

We totally choked on that call -- the Italian steak sandwich was tasty enough, with a breaded, juicy pork patty and plenty of mozzarella, but ultimately no substitute for the meatloaf sandwich we wanted so desperately that everybody else was enjoying yet we'd regrettably passed up in a dumb moment of misplaced good will. We should’ve at least gone with The Pubby, a burger “Served at This Location Since 1967,” and loaded up with bleu cheese, bacon and an onion ring.

I can’t stress how much you are messing up if you haven’t had the meatloaf sandwich. It’s a slice of meatloaf with chipotle ketchup and pepper jack cheese on wheatberry bread. We’re talking a pretty thick slab of meatloaf, too. Later I was wondering why they didn’t just slice what meatloaf they did have into four pieces instead of a mere three. I mean, ba-dam -- problem solved. Only reason I could come up with is that maybe The Brick’s secret ingredient is pride. Pride in a sandwich well made.

Our table also split an order of Singapore wings. Coated in a slightly spicy ginger sauce, they were just kind of eh. Can’t for the life of me remember why we thought ordering Asian food at The Brick was a good idea in the first place, much less why the price of $10.95 for a dozen didn’t give us pause.

Same story on the Chicago dog -- okay but nothing special. Must remember to only get these from street vendors, or when I’m actually in Chicago. It’s got to be rough being an average entree when you’re sharing space on a menu with something as awesome as the meatloaf sandwich.

If I had last Friday's lunch to do all over again, I would totally tell Dylan tough luck, buddy -- I got dibs on that meatloaf sandwich.

My Secret Brick Fantasy: My waiter hands me a PBR plus half a meatloaf sandwich wrapped in some kind of wax paper for easy eating. Then he says, “Hey, I’m really sorry, but we need to clear out the tables because Doris Henson is about to play a reunion show right this very second.” All of a sudden, I look around and the place is packed and the band opens with “The Power” and I get to get rocked while munching on a meatloaf sandwich. Could it get better than that?
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1727 McGee | Kansas City, MO 64108

Road Trip: 237 Miles to Tulsa

And nary a Krystal the entire way.

See Wilco. Take down beers. Those were our chief priorities when Jeff, Ryan, Jeremy and I road-tripped to Tulsa last weekend. And with four guys in a car together, you know the snack action isn’t going to be pretty. It can’t be a good idea to recap what all we dominated on the trip, but nevertheless, here goes.

• Smokey Ben’s Barbecue: The house specialty is Hot Mommas -- short, fat, spicy sausages that are ridiculously delicious. Seriously, if you ever get to go to Smokey Ben’s and try them, let me know what you think. You can also tell me how to get there, since the only reason we found this joint in the first place is that Jeff and Ryan historically refuse to print out directions, meaning we inevitably get lost.

• Road Snacks: I thought this would be a good excuse to try some new varieties of Archer Farms potato chips I saw at Target -- schezwan barbecue and cheddar bacon. Couldn't actually tell if either flavor tasted like what it was supposed to taste like, but it's certainly within the realm of possibility that they did. Jeremy wouldn't let us eat them in the car.
  

• The Soundpony: Right next door to Cain’s, the place where Wilco was playing, was this bicycle enthusiast bar that had for sale beers, hot dogs being cooked on one of those carousel grillers -- and bikes themselves. I think Ryan pointed out that if you’re buying a bike at the same place where you drink, you probably aren’t all that serious about cycling to begin with.

• Random Street Vendor Outside Cain’s: Making a bold move and choosing to have my dog Chicago style, the guy fixing it might’ve set a world record for speed when he was throwing on all the toppings. A solid Chicago dog to be sure, especially considering it was from a cart in downtown Tulsa.

• Cain’s: Didn’t eat there, but it would be remiss not to mention that you can buy beer here a sixer at a time, still in the rings. And that is the coolest.

• Whataburger: After checking out a few other downtown dives after the show, I passed on a Whataburger run with Jeff and Ryan. Nice guy that he is, though, Jeff thought I might like a burger so he got an extra triple. Then upon getting back to the hotel and discovering I'd crashed out while he was gone, Jeff threw the wrapped-up burger at my head like 90 miles an hour loudly demanding, “You eat that! You eat that burger!” Terrified, I made it maybe three bites in. Ultimately it was a lost cause.

• Mary Jane’s Pizza: At some point, Jeremy ordered a pepperoni and sausage pizza. How the pizza was when it was hot, I cannot say. I can tell you it was pretty good about seven or eight hours later when I woke up. Is there a breakfast better than cold pizza? Apparently Mary Jane’s is open until -- wait for it -- 4:20 in the morning. Not really my thing, but I can appreciate their commitment to the joke.

• Arby’s: My fellow road-trippers are all wrong -- potato cakes are a world of awesome beyond curly fries. My Jamocha shake ruled me the rest of the day, familiar comfort for the ride home.

Also worth noting is that there is either a Subway or a Sonic and usually both about every fifteen miles or so on whatever backwoods route Jeff and Ryan had us taking to Tulsa. While the Subway storefronts tend to blend in by holding shop in what looks like temporary tract housing, Sonic is always the newest, shiniest, gaudiest thing in town -- standing out even more since without exception they're built by property that is fairly dilapidated if not abandoned altogether. Okay, it may not seem all that interesting to you, but it starts to take on an increasing air of strange fascination the more Subways and Sonics you pass.

And yeah, Wilco was good, too. But that goes without saying.

Fat Frank's

"The Wurst Place in Bellows Falls."

If mustard ever replaces money after the apocalypse, then Fat Frank’s will be Fort Knox. While I was home this past week, I finally got to try this incredible Vermont staple with my family in tow. We tried to come here around Christmas, but it was sadly closed and I returned home thwarted. Not this time. And man, was it worth it.

Fat Frank’s is a small two-story establishment on the main drag of Bellows Falls, Vt., a town just across the river from Walpole, N.H., home to Ken Burns, L.A. Burdick Chocolatiers, and Charles P. Shaw, DVM -- my father and subject of the Amazon.com #1,492,134 bestselling book "A Country Practice." I spent many a Saturday buying candy, toys and baseball cards at Fletcher’s and other stores down the street growing up. Located on the site of the former Real Scoop ice cream parlor, Fat Frank's is across from Nick’s Bar and Grill, which has the most welcoming/threatening logo I’ve ever seen -- a meaty arm raising a mug of beer that says either “Cheers,” or “I’m about to punch you in the face with a frosty mug of brew.” But enough background.

Walking in, you’re immediately overwhelmed by the array of options in front of you. In addition to the order counter, this place has a fantastic display case where you can buy hot dogs and brats by the pound, as well as a self-service steamer station with standard hot dogs. I had decided beforehand to try one of the signature Fat Franks, but was also compelled to try a standard dog for comparison. I should add that the sign outside boasted “The Best French Fries Ever,” so per Lunch Blog rules, I was eager to see if they held up to such a lofty claim. While waiting for everything to arrive, we looked at the extensive mustard selection available from an outfit named Raye’s.

When the food came, it lived up to its name. I had The Rockingham Dog and it was gigantic, piled high with sauerkraut, cheddar cheese, onions and a strip of bacon all on a homemade bun. Both hot dogs I had were delicious, so would the fries be the best ever? Sorry to say, I’ve had ones I like better even just the week before at recordBar, although these were darn good regardless. Homemade and hand cut, cooked to just the right amount of crispness with a true potato flavor. This was the first time I've ate fries not with ketchup, but exclusively with mustard. I tried all five flavors of Raye's, and found each to be excellent.

I'll be back, Fat Frank's. Next time I'm home.
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92 Rockingham Street | Bellows Falls, VT 05101