W.Va. Hot Dog Joint Review

Hometown Hot Dogs

Fairmont

South of Fairmont in the area known as White Hall, just across from the Middletown Mall, just down old Route 73 sits Hometown Hotdogs. This HDJ is usually mentioned in the same circles as Yann's and Lupo's and since it is by far the most accessible, it gets to the be the first of the Fairmont HDJs reviewed by WVHotDogs.com.

Hometown Hotdogs is, like most good HDJs, an unassuming looking little place. It is a hot dog joint in every respect but it also has on the menu that other Fairmont favorite, pepperoni rolls. There are other things on the menu like nachos, stuffed baked potatoes, sandwiches and the usual side items like fries and onion rings.

Since this is after all, Marion County, I went in fully expecting to being forced to eat a hot dog with no slaw (I don't subscribe to Chris James' old "when in Rome" thing, at least when I have a choice). Imagine my surprise when the menu offered slaw as the first item in the optional topping list! I really hope the Marion County coleslaw cops don't find out about this.

With a renewed optimism I ordered up not one, but two with chili (OK, sauce), slaw, mustard and onions. When the dogs were presented I was surprised again with a nice helping of slaw on top. "Strange things are afoot," I thought. I thought about going to the car and checking a map to make sure I was still in Marion County. But after tasting the sauce/chili I was brought back to reality: The "medium" sauce I ordered was plenty hot enough for my southern W. Va. taste buds. And it was very good. It had a wonderful flavor and perfect texture. But the slaw, well, it looked pretty good and had decent texture, but I found myself wishing it were sweeter to offset the spicy sauce/chili. But it wasn't bad for contraband.

Weenie was OK. The buns could have used a good steaming and the onions were coarse, but overall the dogs were pretty good.

I really think I should give extra points for the bravery exhibited by the owners for having slaw available. Maybe I can coax other Marion County HDJs to follow suit by bribing them with the promise of a 5 Weenie rating and thereby help move the slaw line north. I'm torn between my responsibility as a journalistic soldier in the new media and my fervor to be a bearer of the good news of slaw for all God's children!

But, alas, my journalistic integrity reels me in. In all honesty Hometown only rates four Weenies. I would imagine that those used to the high-octane sauce they sell in Fairmont would probably score it higher, but by statewide standards it doesn't quite meet the high standards required for a Five Weenie dog.