Burger King is dogging the competition
This week, I reached out for hot diggity Grill Dogs, from Burger King, the No. 2 burger flipper with 12,000 restaurants across these United States.
It’s a weird thing about hot dogs. They’re the red, white and blue All-American food, as patriotic as baseball and apple pie. Go to a ball game from Yan- kee to Dodger stadium, or a movie theater from New York to Hollywood, or any convenience store in between, and you’ll find hot dogs on a roller griller or spinning around a light bulb, Easy Bake Ovenstyle.
Hey, on July 4 in Coney Island, Joey Chestnut isn’t jamming 68 hamburgers down his belly. Hot dogs are pure Norman Rockwell Americana.
Everywhere except the drive-through.
Try to find a national hot dog chain, the closest you get is Wienerschnitzel, with 320 restaurants. And the chain’s name, Wienerschnitzel, doesn’t even mean hot dog. Wienerschnitzel is a breaded and pan-fried veal cutlet.
Naturally, Wienerschnitzel restaurants don’t even sell wienerschnitzel.
Whenever a leading burger chain has attempted hot dogs, it was a nonstarter. Even McDonald’s couldn’t make a go with hot dogs back in the ’60s.
Poor hot dogs. But Burger King is giving franks another national, fast-food tryout.
Here’s the Grill Dogs breakdown: nothing special — plain ol’ hot dogs, topped with the usual condiments, served on a hot dog bun. The Classic Grilled Dog has ketchup, mustard and relish. The Chili Cheese Grilled Dog has, well, chili and cheese.
Total calories: 310 (for the Classic). Fat grams: 16. Sodium: 960 mg. Carbs: 32 g. Dietary fiber: 2 g. Protein: 11 g. Manufacturer’s suggested retail price: $1.99.
The Chili Cheese Grilled Dog weighs in at 330 calories, 19 fat grams and $2.30.
When Dunkin’ Donuts introduced bagels in 1996, Dunkin’ overnight became America’s top bagel seller. Same thing now with Burger King and hot dogs. When you’ve got 12,000 restaurants, and you’re selling something your competitors don’t have, you’re No. 1.
Burger King is flame-kissing its hot dogs on the same grill it cooks Whoppers. So the King’s dogs don’t have a rubbery texture like boiled or steamed franks. Burger King’s dogs have a little char and snap to them — that’s having it the right way.
Best news here: The hot dogs are legit Oscar Mayer all-beef franks. You know how we respect favorite brand names in the drivethrough.
Unless you speak up, the Classic comes with yellow mustard, ketchup and pickle relish. That’s having it their way. Depending on where you live, a righteous hot dog may come with only mustard, or with only ketchup, or just relish.
It’s a little disappointing that Burger King isn’t offering spicy brown mustard. That’s the preferred ’stard of hot dog connoisseurs.
Is Burger King gambling on hot dogs? Sure. Hot dogs have flopped before, several times, in Burger Land. But according to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, Americans eat 20 billion hot dogs a year. Burger King just needs a nibble of that number.