W.Va. Hot Dog Joint Review

The Big Loafer

Huntington Mall

Regular shoppers of the Huntington Mall have seen tons of stores come and go over the years. I'm always boring my wife with by pointing out where the Pied Piper, Walden Books, and the Hickory Farms used to be. Some stores, however, have remained staples of West Virginia's largest shopping complex. Among restaurants, one that comes to mind is The Big Loafer. Folks in the Mountain State know The Loaf as a melding of Appalachian cuisine and fast food. Their signature item is called, um, the Big Loafer and is the best meatloaf sandwich on the planet. That is all well and good, but we at WVHotDogs.com are a few years and several licensing deals away from starting a meat loaf sam'mich blog. Fortunately for us, they also sell hot dogs.

I ordered mine with everything, which was sauce, slaw, mustard, and onions. The service was more than friendly and the turnaround was quick, which, combined with the +100 Big Loafers I've eaten in my life had my hopes set for a killer WV hot dog.

Boy, was I in for a letdown.

The first problem was with the bun. The bread was totally stale and they microwaved (?!?!) it in order to freshen it up. Such behavior in a hot dog joint is totally inexcusable anywhere west of Milton. If they are old, call Heiner's and get some more. Don't insult me with nuked, rock-hard buns.

Another problem was to be found with the weenies, which were laying in a pool of their own filth (ie a water bath). While I am more lenient on such dogs than anyone else here at WVHotDogs.com, I still don't want to see the warming pan. Do it in the back and not at the front counter, por favor. I was willing to forgive this spectacle if they tasted ok. They didn't. Cafeteria grade, all the way.

The sauce was ok. Not great, not bad, just ok. It was incredibly meaty with strong notes of chili powder, but the noticeable lack of any other spices and only the faintest hint of salt left it on the bland side of things.

The slaw was, much like the sauce, fair-to-middlin.' It was sweet, too sweet for my taste, but probably just right for a Charlestonian, and finely chopped. The downfall was the fact that it was bone-dry. I imagine that mayo or salad dressing was involved in the concoction at some point, but had drained to the bottom of the storage unit.

Overall, we are looking at a very, very average hot dog from a great fast food place. The finished product was just like how what I imagine the finest hot dog ever served at Barboursville Middle School tasted. 2.5 weenies.