Review: I eat a hot dog once every six months or so. Why, you may wonder? Because, for the most part, hot dogs are disgusting tubed amalgams of the forgotten nether-regions of pigs, cows, chickens, etc. So, it was with trepidation I walked into J Dawgs after helping a friend in Provo pack up a thirty-foot moving van.
At J Dawgs you can get an all-beef hotdog or an all-beef polish dog; no more no less. Your topping choices are similarly limited: sauerkraut, pickle (dill spear or sweet relish), onions, jalapenos, banana peppers, yellow mustard, ketchup, and special sauce (more on this later). This type of model is risky business because the single product you sell has to be very good, otherwise everything you sell sucks. Let's see if J Dawgs business model is successful.
I had a polish dog with everything on it. The special sauce came highly recommended, so I went with it.
The first bite. Dang. The first bite. I don't yet know where J Dawgs sources its beef, but they found some winner meat. The polish was big and meaty, savory, had nice pepper and spice, and just enough fat to make it juicy, even after significant time on the grill. The casing even had that little snap you look for in a quality dog. Great stuff. The bun was hearty, soft, and freshly prepared. The toppings were a little hit and miss. I enjoyed everything, but the sauerkraut lacked punch. And the special sauce, which was generously applied, was so aggressively sweet that it overpowered the beautiful savoriness of the polish. Some spicy mustard, instead of the special sauce, would have been a perfect condiment. (Upon reviewing J Dawgs website, spicy mustard is a special-request condiment, but it's not advertised in store. Wish I had known.) So, leave the sauce and down the dog.
I'm looking forward to going back to J Dawgs, and it'll certainly happen long before six months from now.
Rating: 7/10 (5/10 is average). This rating may well increase if the spicy mustard they serve is good quality.
(Update: I drove to Provo to file a divorce and frequented J Dawgs again. This time, I had a polish with kraut, onions, dill pickle, and spicy mustard. The great savoriness of the polish shone through. I wish the mustard had been a little higher quality, but this is a general critique of all J Dawgs toppings. In any case, I dig these dogs.)
New Rating: 7.5/10
Just a tip from a humble j dawgs employee... If the special sauce was overwhelming, ask for light special sauce next time. A lot of people prefer it that way. It's also great with the spicy brown mustard too!
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