Charleston HDJ Review - Tricky Fish, redux

There's an old saying that goes "fool me once shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me."

Shame on me, then.

When I first reviewed Tricky Fish a year and a half ago, they had just opened and I didn't even give the hot dog a Weenie Rank because it was so non-WVHD-like. I've been back on numerous occasions, but I opted for one of their non-hot dog items, even though I did notice that they had changed their hot dog and the new version sounded much more WVHD like. On several of these trips I considered giving the new offering an honest review, but I was little nervous about it.

Nervous, you see, because shortly after I posted my review, another blog reviewed the place and the blog comments turned into a virtual battlefield complete with allegations of venomous attacks on a young artist and vicious counter attacks by the parents of said artist. I decided to steer clear of the row, less I become collateral damage in this war of words.

But I figured after a year-and-a-half the water was safe enough to go back into, especially since that other blog has seemingly decided to review only chains and faraway restaurants. [poke] [poke]

Tricky Fish has kind of recreated itself in the past year, adding a large front deck and the words "Urban Beach" to their name. The recreated hot dog also has a new name: "Nathans Famous." Yes, that's what they call it on the menu. I found this interesting; that an establishment would and could name a dish the name of another restaurant. Interesting, but understandable; I mean Nathans Famous weenies are pretty awesome and why not recreate yourself in the image of something awesome?

The first bad thing about ordering this or any of the other "hot dogs" on their menu (they have a veggie dog and an Italian Sausage dog) is that you have to sift through a large number of available toppings to get the basic WVHD toppings. Thankfully chili, slaw, mustard and onions are among the items on this list.

The second bad thing about ordering this hot dog is that it comes with a knife and fork. Really, people, how many times do we have to go over this? The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council and tasteful people everywhere know that you don't use utensils to eat a hot dog! Click here to watch the NHDSC Hot Dog Etiquette video.

The third bad thing about this hot dog is that the toppings are so overwhelmingly applied that one has no choice but to eat it with the knife and fork. Look at the photo: You can barely see the bun for the scads of chili and slaw poured over the poor little thing. There was absolutely no way to pick it up without losing half of the toppings.

Not that losing the toppings would have been such a bad thing: The taste of the chili was OK - fairly spicy and very meaty, but it really didn't taste like something that should be on a hot dog. The slaw was so bland that if it had been missing it would not have affected the taste one iota.

It's a shame to waste a perfectly good Nathans Famous weenie like this.

This time they do get a score: 1.5 Weenies.

I won't be fooled again.

Late night WV hot dogz at Sheetz

Some of you will no doubt be wondering why on earth I'm reviewing this chain when so many better HDJ's exist in North Central WV. The reason is actually quite simple: by virtue of my 'new job' I've been keeping ever more odd hours. So, I set out to see where one is to go at 2AM for a WVHD. I found out, strangely enough, you can go to a Pennsylvania based business to fill that burning desire.

For the uninitiated: Sheetz, based in Altoona, PA, is a convenience/gas store with about 300 locations in PA, OH, MD, VA, NC and WV (furthest south in WV is Weston, IIRC). They offer a variety of "Made to order (tm)" subs and sandwiches (which the customer orders by a touchscreen terminal[some locations even have order screens at the pumps!], making the items EXTREMELY customizable) as well as a large fountain drink section, coffee and cappuccino selection and, more recently, self service milkshake makers (which are surprisingly tasty).

So, what about the dogz? You can get them with an assortment of toppings, from cheese to mayo (I opted for neither, going for the traditional WVHD combination of mustard, onion, chili/sauce and slaw). The wiener was lightly browned by virtue of being cooked on one of those continuously rolling grillers. The bun was straight out of the bag and cold. To this was added mustard and onion (which tasted surprisingly fresh for 2AM) some variety of canned chili/coney sauce and a prepackaged/refrigerated slaw. Given the, apparently, standardized toppings, I imagine there is not much variation from location to location.


In the case of Sheetz' Hot Dogz this would seem to be an unfortunate thing. The wiener, while grilled, was more than a little over cooked (not burnt, but cooked to the point where it had about the same consistency of boiled shoe leather). The slaw seemed overly creamy (almost to the point of slimey) with no sweetness and minimal flavor, it offered no synergy to the experience. The out of the can chili, seemed to be akin to one of the less expensive, canned varieties, with small chunks of the meaty substance sitting in a chili-like sauce, like the slaw I found it lacking in flavor. While the dogz initially come in as some of the cheapest I've ever had at 2 for $0.99, some toppings cost extra: chili adds $0.15 per dog and slaw is $0.39, cheese is an additional charge as well, should you feel so inclined (thus removing price as a potentially pivotal purpose to partake).

While this is the only retail option I've found for a WVHD at 2AM, I have to think/hope there are other/better options for late-night sustenance. Even with 0.5 weenie bonus for being 1) a PA based company offering a WVHD and 2) having them available 24h a day, they still only manage a 1.5 weenie rating.

Huntington Hot Dog Joint: Far from Great Dogs at Farley's--Barboursville

Those who have taken Route 60 between Barboursville and Huntington have certainly noticed Farley's Famous Hot Dogs, a long-time roadside tradition for many in Cabell County. Farley's is located in an orange building that looks rather similar to the Stewart's Original Hot Dogs location on 5th Ave. This is due in part to the fact that Farley's was once affiliated with Stewart's, but severed their relationship when Stewart's stopped making their own root beer (apparently, Farley's still makes their own).

While I did not have any of the root beer, I did try their hot dogs with an order of crinkle cut fries (which are rapidly becoming my deal breaker between a merely good and a really great hot dog joint).

I wanted to like their food. I really really really did.

The place is so cool and nostalgic. The service is so great. The whole place represents survival of a mom 'n pop joint in the face of global multi-nationals and even against larger regional chains like Stewart's and Sam's Hot Dog Stand.

But, alas, this was one of the worst hot dogs that I have had since I began reviewing local joints.

No, the worst.

Well, at least the bun wasn't bad. But it totally goes downhill from there.

The wiener was not the quality that is typical of a Huntington HDJ. It had sort of a government-subsidized flavor and tasted, well, cheap. I guess if you must cut corners, it is better to do so with the weenie than the sauce or the slaw, but this particular frank was two steps below my minimum passible grade for a rating of "adequate."

The sauce was actually quite good, as the spice level was just right and there was a nice balance of ground beef-to-juice. However, there was just a smidge of it on the dog. It was almost like they were running out and were trying to save the last little bit until the next batch was heated up. The sauce was tastey enough that it alone could have sort-of saved the dog, but skimpiness doesn't cut it on a West Virginia hot dog.

Regulars of the site will note that onions are rarely commented upon in reviews unless they are particularly good or totally wrong. In this instance, the latter was the case. The onions were not diced or even chopped, but rather chunked. Furthermore, they were not sweet but rather the strongest, cheapest white onions this side of Aldi.

Now for the slaw. I've been pounding my head on just how to describe how bad it was, and this is what I came up with: imagine really bad instant grits that were made too runny and waaay too salty. Now imagine they were made for a diabetic. Now substitute the hominy for diced cabbage. Next, slop it all on a hot dog. Bingo.

In plainer words: Worst. Slaw. Ever.

To add insult to injury, the crinkle cut fries were soggy and completely unsalted (I guess they used all of their salt making the cole slaw). The final kick in the ribs was the fact that they serve Hunt's ketchup instead of Heinz. Unless it is 2004 and you are trying to make a political statement, there no rhyme, reason, or excuse to not serve Heinz ketchup with your fries. None. Serving anything else insults both the customers and the fries.

The sauce and the service both get 4 weenies, but that is it.

Everything else pulls it down. Way way way down.

Overall score: 1.5 weenies.

I will go back to try their root beer and get a bowl of the hot dog sauce (served as chili in a bowl). I'll probably have to wear a disguise, though.