Last week, we had a temporary cease-fire in this summer's Hot Dog Wars, as we celebrated the first annual Sausage Fest at the Luciano Compound in Germantown Hills. Well, it’s a new week and the weenie war is back on, full tilt this week as two Peoria landmark restaurants are in the running for the crown of Peoria's best hot dog.
MBIP Contributing Writer, Mike Foster had a chili cheese dog from The Hofbrau House the other week and he highly recommended I include them in the Peoria Hot Dog Wars. And so today The Hofbrau goes wiener to wiener in a battle pitting them against the current hot dog winner, Lou’s Drive-In. May the best dog win! Ringo, sound the battle drum! Hello, Bongo!
And here we are at this week's battle ground. The Hoffbrau House on Jefferson Street.
The wooden German soldiers are standing at attention, ready for the wiener wars to begin.
They're open...
So let's open the door and let the hot dog wars begin!
Here's two familiar faces as we head inside, Steve Tarter, the business editor for the Peoria Journal Star and the PJ Star Marketing and Public Affairs manager, Phil Jordan.
The front counter area is getting ready for the noon day rush...
I'm going to find a cozy spot at the bar to settle in to.
Here's my view from the trenches at the bar.
The countdown to Oktoberfest has begun in here.
They still pack them in here at lunchtime.
The back kitchen is busy with incoming orders.
Here's just four of the many import drafts on tap here. Some day I need to do a post on all of the beers on tap in here.
And here's two foot soldiers that have agreed to join me in today's hot dog wars, Matt Buedell and Becca Lurye. We met Matt, who's works the police beat for the Journal Star, a couple week's ago and Becca's an intern and is learning that the entire Journal Star newsroom eventually ends up here at the Hofbrau House in the afternoon. But don't tell anyone, it's a secret. Dennis Anderson never needs to know this.
Here's bartender Crystal taking down our orders for today's Hot Dog Wars entries. What a great smile and cute dimples...
And her black nail polish is cool too!
And through the miracle of the interwebs, here comes the dogs! Let the war games begin, Ringo sound the battle drums...oh wait, we did that already, never mind. George could you just swear and insult Paul and Yoko and we'll let the War Games begin? Thank you very much...for the aintree iron.
Wow, the hot dogs look great here. I got a chili cheese dog and a plain hot dog that I've slathered with the Hofbrau's signature spicy German mustard. God, I love typing in the word, "slathered." One of life's little guilty pleasures.
Holy freaking macaroni, this is the best chili cheese dog ever! The chili is tangy and the hot dog is really tasty. If they would've only grilled the onions and toasted the bun, this would be the ultimate chili cheese dog.
For the mid-weenie palette cleanser I ordered a bowl of beer cheese potato soup. The soup here at the Hofbrau is the best in town. We don't need to go into battle to decide that, it just is. So there!
Okay, the mustard dog is next. I use this to judge the hot dog for taste, texture and overall American goodness. This hot dog is one of the best I've ever had. Sorry Lou's, but you've just been defeated. There's a new hot dog king in town and it's The Hofbrau House.
And just to prove that everyone from the Journal Star eventually ends up here, Adam Gerik, the Digital Editor from that aforementioned paragraph factory and a forever Kansan (facts culled from his Twitter page) has shown up and eaten the daily special in one Norman Fell swoop.
And here's today's troop from this week's hot dog wars finishing up at the table we ended up sitting at. Adam's holding up a laptop that has Matt's mugshot that didn't show up in this photo. Stay tuned for the mugshot and the story behind it, as Matt is writing it up for a future installment right here on MBIP.
Danke Schon and we'll see you all tomorrow.
Hot Dog War Status
It was close, but The Hofbrau House defeated Lou’s and is now carrying the hot dog crown. The chili is snappier and the hot dog has a great taste to it. So far, this is Peoria's best hot dog, in my humble hot dog opinion.
Hot Dog Rating
Three and a half Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles. If they only would’ve grilled the onions and toasted the bun it would’ve been a perfect four. This is going to be one tough wiener to beat. There’s a masturbation joke somewhere in there, but I’m not going near it.
Hofbrau House
2210 NE Jefferson Street
Peoria
309-686-9739
Further reading: MBIP, PJ Star and Beer Advocate.
