Top Dogs

Foodservice professionals at the high school and university levels and beyond share some popular, and unexpected, ingredients that will be topping hot dogs this summer.

“Our hot dog topping bar includes a lot of veggies, hot cheese and chili. In order for the hot dog to be counted as a protein under lunch guidelines, we serve lentil soup on the side.

“To keep the hot dog bar neat, don’t overfill the containers, always clean up after each lunch period, and don’t add new product over old. That way, the toppings always look fresh and appealing.”
—MICHELINE PIEKARSKI, MSM, SNS, Director of Food & nutrition Services, Oak Park & river Forest High School, Oak Park, IL

“Our hot dog bar is actually a self-serve baked potato/hot dog bar. We did this because the toppings are compatible: chili or taco meat sauce, yellow and white shredded cheese, salsa, broccoli, onions, tomato, relish, sour cream, ketchup and mustard. We use black containers for contrast with the toppings.”
—LISA SIMS, School nutrition Director, Daviess co. Schools, Owensboro, KY

“Our General Manager Junoh Ordenstein and Chef Mark Wright come up with some great specialty dogs: the Fajita Dog with onions, peppers and enchilada sauce; a Hoisin Dog with Asian Slaw and a Corned Beef Dog.

“I just approved some menu items for one of our new lunch wagons, M\mo Burgers: a Kimchi Dog with ko chu jang (a pungent Korean red chili condiment) aioli and kimchi slaw; and a Teriyaki Dog with house-made Teriyaki glaze, negi (onion) aioli and caramelized onions. The Momo Burgers cart specializes in gourmet burgers, but is offering hot dogs as a cheaper alternative.

“My favorite is the Hawaiian Hot Dog on a bed of ham topped with pineapple and guava BBQ sauce. As we say in Hawaii, it is ono (tasty).”
—ANDY LACHMAN, Manager, Food Services, university of Hawai’i at Manoa

“During basketball season, we did a sensational ‘Show Dog’ for the student fans during the ‘Big Show’ event which is all about free throws and getting crazy. The Show Dog is a foot-long all-beef dog with an extra size bun to match! We serve it in a shoebox with more than 20 ingredients.

“When the customer orders, we toast the bun in garlic butter on a flat-top, then place the dog in the bun and give them the shoebox with a handful of fresh corn tortilla chips, propping up the dog. Then, we add the items the customer requests, such as caramelized onions and peppers, nacho cheese, sauerkraut, chili, red salsa, green salsa, guacamole and more. In the end, this is a knife and fork affair—sometimes the original dog is not even visible, buried in toppings!”
—DAVID MCHUGH, Executive chef, San Diego State university