Last month at Fast Food Critic, John reviewed a burger from Five Guys Burgers and Fries. His photos and description left me craving 5G, so I decided to revisit the rapid growing quick serve establishment. I’ll be honest and say I’ve never been a big fan of Five Guys, despite rave reviews they’ve received from others. I hadn’t been in several years, and wanted to give them another shot. John’s review inspired me to do that, and even try something new. 5G is primarily known for burgers, however they also serve an item rare in the fast food industry these days… the elusive hot dog.

On this occasion it’s the Bacon Cheese Dog, and I was not disappointed. It’s a very good dog. I decided to add diced raw onions and mustard/ketchup to the bacon and American cheese. One thing which makes Five Guys special is the ability to pile on a large variety of free toppings to your burgers and hot dogs. In fact, 5G’s recently revamped website says there are “15 FREE Toppings”. Today I felt like standard, typical ingredients, but will get more adventurous with choices in the future.

As I waited for my food I munched on whole peanuts in the shell, a nice perk offered to all customers. I watched the burgers and dogs sizzle on the grill, which made me hungry. It’s a nice change from many fast-food restaurants where you have no idea how, or by whom your food is cooked. Upon getting my order I noticed the dog is a good size and the beef frank is split right down the middle. Having it split in half was a nice touch, and helped distribute the toppings generously and evenly. The diced raw onions were tasty and fresh, the bacon was crisp and salty, and the frank was full of flavor. The American cheese tasted fine, but unfortunately was barely melted. It would have been improved with a more consistent melt. Having part of the cheese warm and gooey while the rest stayed refrigerated cold and firm… was a minor turnoff.

The frankfurters are supplied by Hebrew National, containing 100% kosher beef with no artificial ingredients. Not the best I’ve eaten, but still one of the better franks around. The buns were soft, fresh and toasted on the inside, though nothing special.

A single dog is not enough to satisfy a hungry appetite, and at $3.89 each it could get expensive to fill up. I’ve yet to try the fries, either Cajun or Regular, but I’ve heard a lot of positive response from people who have. FFC founder Timothy plans on reviewing both in the near future. The bacon cheese dog plus fries and drink will cost you about $6 and change. It’s definitely worth trying and something I can easily recommend. Since hot dogs are a rare breed in the fast food world, go show them some love. Yes, Five Guys is a burger place, but it’s nice to see every dog does have it’s day.

Price: $3.89 / Website: FiveGuys.com

Fast Food Critic Score: B+

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Nutrition Facts - Five Guys, Bacon Cheese Dog.

Calories - 695
Calories from Fat - 425
Total Fat - 48 grams
Carbs - 40.5 grams
Saturated Fat - 22 grams
Trans Fat - 0 grams
Cholesterol - 96 milligrams
Sodium - 1700 milligrams
Protein - 26 grams

If you saw the picture of Hot Dog Man, and wished you had your own statue, here it is. FFC reader Teddy found the source for the giant weenie, in addition to his lesser known but equally bad-ass french-fried sidekick. These statues stand a full 6-feet tall, weighing 88 to 100 pounds. At $1159 each, they’re too expensive for most people to afford or justify purchasing. They’re really intended to be sitting outside the door of fast food restaurants, or other types of public eating spots. The good news is a smaller version of each statue sells for only $269. Those stand a little bit under 3-feet tall.

Visit ButlersAndSigns.com to order, or to get product details and shipping info.

If anybody buys one of these, please send us some photographs so we can share the event with the world. Thanks again to FFC reader Teddy in Pennsylvania.

“STOP… OK… OK… we’ll never eat your family again. I swear to you!
Now please… PLEASE just leave us alone, scary-ass Hot Dog Man.“

Photograph from givepeasachance’s Flickr photostream.

There are not many fast food chains that still serve hot dogs, chili dogs or any other variation of dogs these days. One of the few is Sonic Drive-In. That’s appropriate, since Sonic is a bit of a rarity itself. I’m not aware of any other fast food chain which offers this type of curb-side service. Customers pull up and park their car in a long row positioned just in front of the restaurant’s kitchen (there is no public ‘interior’) with each parking spot having a small lighted menu and speaker system to communicate with the employees inside. After you’ve finished browsing the menu, just press a button to place you order, and a voice will greet you.

You are surrounded by people in cars on both sides of you. Folks are eating, music is playing, a couple is making-out in the car to your left, and some kids are screaming and fighting in the car to your right. It’s much like a regular sit-down restaurant, except people are seated at motorized vehicles instead of tables.

Then, a friendly smiling face (known as a “carhop”) comes walking out to your car with your food, at which point you have the option of driving away or staying put and having a mobile-meal. In the latter case, Sonic provides you with a tray device that clips to the window of your car, serving as a temporary perch for your food. It’s a clever invention, and gives easy access while eliminating all the clutter inside your car.

Unfortunately, the previous two paragraphs describing Sonic’s environment is more exciting than their Extra Long Chili Cheese Coney. This item is the definition of bland and generic. Despite the reasonable $3 cost, it’s still over-priced in my opinion.

The bun looks, tastes and feels like a cheap supermarket brand. It’s not toasted, warmed or prepped in any manner. It appears to be straight from a plastic bag. The wiener is “extra long” alright, but length isn’t everything. Sadly this tube of meat is also extra-thin. As you can see from the picture, my finger is thicker than the dog. The taste of the meat is not bad, but it’s bland with no particular spice or flavor jumping out. The chili is decent, and helps give some much needed punch, but still basically tastes like they heated up a can of Wolf Brand, and it’s not enough to save the dog. The cheese was not very “cheesy” tasting, despite making plenty of greasy mess. I think it was cheddar, but honestly it was hard to tell. Considering the nutrition facts (calories, fat, sodium, etc.) this dog should have more flavor.

No matter how I spin this review, it comes out the same way. There is simply nothing above average about the Extra Long Chili Cheese Coney from Sonic Drive-In. It’s a completely forgettable, average product. It’s not bad - but it’s just not good enough to recommend to anyone except those with a major case of the chili-dog munchies.

Price: $2.99 / Website: SonicDriveIn.com

Fast Food Critic Score: C-

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Nutrition Facts - Sonic Drive-In, Extra Long Chili Cheese Coney.

Calories - 600
Calories from Fat - 290
Total Fat - 33 grams
Carbs - 54 grams
Saturated Fat - 11 grams
Trans Fat - 1 gram
Cholesterol - 75 milligrams
Sodium - 1700 milligrams