Well, this is it. The final battle in Peoria’s Hot Dog Wars. I announced way back in April that the war would rage on till Labor Day and this is the last Tuesday before that holiday, so to quote Kenny Loggins: “This is it.” God I hate quoting Kenny Loggins, but what are you going to do?
Pete Clarno who owns and operates the No Wake Zone with his lovely wife Linda said that they’ve created a chili dog recipe that will kick the current crown holder in the Peoria Hot Dog War’s ass, The Hofbrau House. We tried this once before, but due to a family emergency Pete got called out of town. Well, he’s back and ready to do battle! Ringo, old chum, by now you know all too well that you need to sound the final battle drum. Khhaaaaaaan!
Okay, last time was a cease-fire at the No Wake Zone, but today, Pete’s back and it’s time for a battle to the finish to see who is the weenie winner of Peoria’s Hot Dog Wars. I can feel the tension building already!
They have a good crowd in here for a Sunday afternoon. Most of these people don’t know that a full-scale weenie battle is about to begin. They all look happy, I guess ignorance is bliss!
And here they are, Pete and Linda Clarno, the owners of No Wake Zone who claim they’re going to lay waste to The Hofbrau House. They look confident and I’m excited to see this chili dog creation that Pete says will blow the Hofbrau House all the way back to Germany. And then of course there’s the matter of the mustard dog. I’m guessing Pete and Linda are smart enough to have gotten rid of any generic mustard, if they had any in the first place, but time will tell!
Here’s this week’s war correspondent’s that came along to witness this glorious battle! Clockwise from left: Sheryl, Mark, Clare, Kathy and Steve.
Crystal is here to take the order that will tell the tale of Peoria’s Hot Dog Wars, an epic moment!
We now interrupt the Peoria Hot Dog Wars to take a look at Crystal’s toes. Nice! Okay, back to the Hot Dog Wars, already in progress...
Linda led the way into the battleground. It smells of chili back there...I love the smell of chili in the morning...it smells like...victory! Or maybe not, we’ll see.
Here’s Pete gathering up his troops as they prepare to wage war against the Hofbrau House. It could get bloody in here...especially if someone drops a ketchup bottle.
The homemade chili is simmering away and it looks and smells great. I love the smell of...oh wait, I did that already...never mind.
Onions are simmering on the griddle is a puddle of butter and they look and smell fantastic.
Hot dog buns are lined up like pretty maids in a row on the grill. They too are simmering in butter. So far, so good!
Okay, Pete has unleashed the big guns now, he’s going to deep fry the hot dogs! What’s that sound? I think it might be the Hofbrau House getting ready to retreat!
Okay, time to put the uniform on these soldiers of the weenie wars!
The soldiers are placed inside of their buns. There's a proctologist joke somewhere in there, but I'm not going near it.
Even without any dressing, these deep-fried dogs look pretty tasty!
Okay, the full-scale weenie battle has begun as the onions are placed on the dogs. In a twist I've never seen, Pete is not chopping the onions into little bits, but he's using the whole onion slices. Nice move!
And now a generous portion of the chili is ladled on top of the hot dog, this is looking good!
Instead of a cheese sauce, Pete is using freshly grated cheddar cheese. Nice!
Here's the two weenie warriors all dressed up for battle. They look great!
Okay, back at the foxhole, Pete serves up the dogs. The battle is on!
For the mustard dog, Pete offered up quite a selection of tasty mustards, here's three...
And here's three more and not a generic mustard in sight!
Pete shows his mustard savvy by having many of the Koops mustard flavors on hand. It's a great mustard product and I chose the Arizona Heat for the mustard dog. Okay, time for the final battle to begin, put on your helmets and may the best weenie win!
This being the final battle, I wanted a second opinion and contributing war correspondent, Steve, agreed to be a guest judge for this battle. The dogs have been cut in half and we're off and eating!
Man bites dog in this final edition of the weenie wars. Steve was blown away by the hot dogs here...
And so was I! The chili cheese dog was spectacular and both of us agreed that the onions and chili were out of this world tasty. The buns were grilled and bakery fresh and the taste and crispiness of the deep fried dogs really came through on the mustard dog.
Okay, the war is over, thanks to Pete and Linda for an outstanding and exciting finale to Peoria's First Hot Dog Wars. The winner is posted below...
The Winner In Peoria’s Hot Dog Wars...
Is No Wake Zone! Thanks to all who participated and congratulations to No Wake Zone for having the best hot dog in Peoria, in my humble opinion. Stop by this Sunday and try out the award-winning chili dog for just 75 cents a dog and meet myself, Pete and Linda and some of the MBIP contributors and friends. It’s the Sunday before Labor Day, so it should be a good party. The event happens from 3PM to 9PM and in addition to 75 cent chili cheese dogs, there’s two dollar domestics all day! We hope to see you there!
Hot Dog Rating
Four Oscar Mayer Wienermobiles! The best chili dog in town, stop by and see for yourself!
The No Wake Zone Bar & Grill
4925 N. Galena Rd.
Peoria Heights
309-688-4840
Related Posts: (The top three contenders below No Wake Zone in Peoria Hot Dog Wars, Volume I) The Hofbrau House, Lou’s Drive-In and Meadows Avenue Tap.
P.S.
I take a weird sense of pride in the fact that Peoria Hot Dog Wars is highly Googable now, if Googable is indeed a word. Anyhoo, check it out by clicking here.