No, I am not intending to refer to what may or may not be going on at the moment in the household of Anthony D. and Huma Abedin. Those are the WEINERS. This is about WIENERS. As we have now officially left North Carolina, I’ll comment on the intense competition in the hot dog world in that state. There was so much yelling about being “the best” that we naturally had to sample the claimants. From Jimmy’s in Winston-Salem to Costco to Yum Yum on the campus of UNC at Greensboro and JB’s on the way to Charlotte, we tried those who yelled the loudest, or who made it onto the pages of the Sterns’ Road Food. Pictured here is a sampling of the competition:
Besides deciding that Costco in Greensboro was the most over-the-top example of American retail excess we have ever seen, we did decide that their hot dog – a real foot-long, shown on foil – was the best North Carolina wiener, though it did not come with the more typical NC chili and slaw. What do you expect from Yankees? (Particularly those who have experienced Cincinnati’s Skyline chili one-way two-way three-way.) So the Costco’s wiener was the winner. And Anthony D. probably won’t be.
Yesterday we left Columbia and briefly toured Augusta, Georgia, before heading to Aiken SC. Unless you’re a golfer coming to watch the action, not much to see in Augusta. We did tour the Morris Museum of Art before we left.
Aiken is a lovely town. However, most Northerners come down here as part of a long-established Winter Colony, and they come with their horses. Many of the streets are unpaved out of consideration for their hooves, and the place is loaded with mansions, stables and equine-related services. We dined at the lovely Willcox Inn, where I would have needed about 10 more pounds of jewelry to feel properly dressed. You get the picture.
We arrived yesterday evening in Beaufort. In South Carolina, it’s pronounced “Bewfort,” whereas in North Carolina we visited “Bowfort.” (In case you are reading this aloud.)
More on Beaufort tomorrow. Today is laundry day!
So maybe instead of a book you could do a collaboration with Rick Steves (local travel guru and leading voice of the legalize marijuana movement ) on PBS/NPR. Just thinking.
Besides, now I have to go to Cincinnati and experience the one-way two-way three-way–and I don’t even LIKE chili! Or hot dogs! But Costco here in Kirkland is right around the corner, so maybe I’ll go get a dog for lunch . . .
You are leading me down the path, JB. Yes you are.
The path of destruction? Enjoy it while you can.
We know Rick well – watch his shows, live by his books in Europe, hate that he divorced his wife, and got to shake his hand last year at the New York travel show. He would shake his head at the amount of luggage we are travelling with!
Re Cincinnati chili, it is definitely an acquired taste. And you’ll need at least a year to acquire that taste, so plan ahead.
Are Costco hot dogs really that good? Wow. I’m blown away. I usually give all the Costco fast-food eaters the stink eye as I check out, but now you have me curious!
Well, go hungry. They are the biggest hot dogs I have ever seen, and very nicely spiced. I do understand about the stink eye, and I felt very exposed just sitting in the “café” area eating, but our friend Gail was right about the quality and the value. We food reporters have to put ourselves in compromising situations sometimes for the sake of our readers. It all comes with the job.