PETA PICKS THE TOP FIVE VEGGIE DOGS IN AMERICA

I like my hot dogs the old fashioned way - made out of beef.

However, there are other ways to enjoy hot dogs, and one way is PETA style.

Read below the release from PETA.ORG about their vegetarian hot dogs around the country.

Norfolk, Va. — Vegetarians love hot dogs! Veggie hot dogs, that is. So—for the first time ever—PETA has ranked the top five veggie dogs available from restaurants and food carts across the country for hot-dog lovers who respect animals, the environment, and their own health. Here are the winners in descending order:

· "Fire on the Rhine" from Dirty Frank's Hot Dog Palace (Columbus, Ohio)

Grilled with sriracha, chili paste, garlic, and onions and topped with spicy sauerkraut, this bad boy will definitely get your juices flowing. Also available are the "Ohioana," with spicy corn relish and celery salt, and the "Hot Bollywood," with spicy mango chutney.

· The "Chicago Impostor" from Franktuary (Pittsburgh)

Served in an old church, the "Chicago Impostor"—with mustard, relish, onion, banana peppers, celery salt, tomato, and pickle spear—is surely divinely inspired. Also try the "New Yorker" with kraut, Vidalia onion sauce, and mustard.

· "Veggie Puka Dog" from Puka Dog (Honolulu and Koloa, Hawaii)

You can go with all the traditional condiments or go for the flavor of the islands with relishes made from mango, coconut, pineapple, banana, papaya, and star fruit.

· The "City Dog" from City Dogs (Salt Lake City)

You can't miss at this all-vegetarian food cart. The City Dog comes with freshly diced tomatoes, pickled asparagus, sport peppers, onions, and celery salt.

· The veggie dog from Lettuce Eat Healthy (St. Petersburg, Fla.)

This food cart serves up yummy veggie dogs complete with jalapeños, sauerkraut, chili sauce, relish, raw and cooked onions, ketchup, and yellow mustard.

· Honorable mentions go to the "Red Hot Bayou" from Cyber-Dogs (Seattle), the veggie dog from Soul Dog (Poughkeepsie, N.Y.), and the veggie dog from D's SixPax & Dogz (Pittsburgh).

Homemade dogs for Father's Day

A guy walks into a turkey farm with a knife.

No, this is not a joke but rather the start of the slaughtering process at Duerksen Turkey Farm.

I am no expert on how to make a turkey brat, but I do know how to eat a turkey brat.

You see, the Duerksen Family are friends of mine and they decided to give me some of their homemade Turkey Bratwurst filled with cheese.

So after weeks of holding on to these for a special occasion, I broke these out for a Father's Day grilled dinner.

When biting into the brat, the casing did not take much work to snap open. The cheese inside did not spew out on the grille and make a lake of grease the way some of the major manufacturers brats do. Rather, the cheese added taste, but you could still taste the turkey in the brats. The turkey flavor was almost that of a breakfast sausage. It was very good.

So if ever Up Nort' in Michigan, you will have to look for the Duerksen Turkey Farm logo on the grocers shelves. Your tummy will be happy that you bought them.

Onion Crunch

One of the perks of having a blog that trickles to the masses is that product companies find you.

Well Loeb's Foods found us and they asked if I would try a bottle of their Onion Crunch on some hot dogs I prepared at home.

When first contacted, I felt honored and told them I would give it a whirl. The bottle came, and I got excited. I tore open the packaging and saw the contents.

Behold, a clear plastic bottle with tastiness ready to be sprinkled on my hotdog, or whatever else I chose to get some onion flavor on. As advertised, Onion Crunch would also enhance pizza, steaks, hamburgers, or salads.

Onion Crunch is NOT Bac-O's. Same idea, except not the grease content nor the darkness of that nasty highly salted over baked piece of furniture leather.

The onion was not overpowering to the hot dog. The crunch pleasantly enhanced the overall taste, and they were not as killer to the breath as freshly chopped onions ironically.

If you are in the grocery store and you see Onion Crunch, your hotdog will thank you for buying it!

Hey Onion Crunch, here is your next slogan..."Your hotdog will thank you for it".

If you have never seen an onion run around a city or shouting from stairs, click HERE to be swept away to a highly entertaining 30 second commercial.

THANKS ONION CRUNCH!

Johnny B'z

Here is some hot dog math for you. When does 2 = 3?

The answer: Two of Jonny B'z dogs weigh the same as three of the 'other guys.'

Priding themselves on their grilled buns and 100% beef hot dogs, Jonny B'z makes some tasty dogs. The buns are more rectangular with sharper corners than the traditional hot dog bun, and rolled with a light butter so the grill does not burn the bread.

Once the dog was bunned up, I opted for the Jonny Dog (ketchup, mustard, relish, onion) and a Chicago Dog. The Chicago Dog had sport peppers and those babies packed a little punch. I like spicy food, and these made my toes curl a bit. You could tell the quality in each of the tasty bites of the dogs. Grade: B

Atmosphere- The building is in a part of town that is being revamped for more of the modern renaissance trend with other restaurants and eclectic store fronts. On the walls of the restaurant are black and white pictures of America's hot dog mecca's. There are also paintings done by local elementary school students and there renditions of what hot dogs look like. I was part of the lunch crowd that had construction workers, business men, and families enjoying a simple lunch. You will notice at Jonny B'z that weekend hours extend to 3 a.m. You want to know what kind of atmosphere happens after midnight? Picture all of those things that mamma told you to stay away from, and combine that with late night munchies. I will have to come back after the clock strikes the bewitching hour just to experience THAT atmosphere. C+

Value- The two dogs I had came as a part of a combo platter that included a drink all for around $5. Not breaking the bank by any stretch. Those fries though that I pilfered off of SDJ's plate would have been worth five bucks alone. B+

Side Dish Jody says...I had the hamburger combo which included a juicy well seasoned hamburger, homemade fries and a delicious fountain Diet Coke. The burger and fries were exceptionally tasty and for $5.50 was a good value. I especially like the local Elementary School artwork on the wall. Other than burgers there was not a lot of non hotdog options. B+