Spike's Junkyard Dogs, Allston, MA

I'm a little troubled. I really love going to Spike's, but today, all of a sudden, I get a headache. And I'm sitting there eating my dog and I realize that this is not the first time I've gotten a headache when I'm at Spike's. In fact, I distinctly remember getting one the last time I was here. It really put a damper on things. So I get home and it's time to do some Internet research. Google, show me "Hot dog headache!"

"Hot dogs and other cured meats such as bacon, ham, and salami contain nitrates. Nitrites are formed by the reduction of nitrates in the saliva or by bacterial action in the intestine. The vasodilator effect (widening of the lumen of blood cells) of nitrites is responsible for the hot dog headache and flushing of the face and neck commonly associated." (link)

So while I did not experience any flushing of the face and neck, I think I may have been a victim of the Hot Dog Headache!

I had the Ballpark Dog (Spike's mustard, onions, cheddar) in anticipation of the coming season. Pitchers and catchers report in just a few weeks! It was good, but to be honest, it was really like a Spike's dog masquerading as a ballpark frank. It's a ¼ lb all beef dog, which is a little overbearing. I think it might have tipped the meat to condiment ratio a little too far to the meat side. They had the onions right (uncooked and diced), and the Spike's mustard is great, but I'm not sure I'm down with the cheese. I know the hot dog vendors at Fenway don't carry around cheese, and if they did, it would be Cheese Wiz in a packet or something and not this fancy cheddar. Relish was necessary.

For the encore, I split a veggie dog with Taleen. We wanted to try the All American, but the baked beans had meat, so we went with the old standby: the Lonely Guy dog. This one has three different kinds of onions (sautéed, diced, and scallions) on it along with some Spike's mustard. It was my first veggie dog at Spike's. I can't say that I was pleasantly surprised, but it was not a horrible experience. It was squishy, didn't have any snap, and had a decent dose of that fake-smoke flavor (I hear you can buy that stuff in a bottle). On the upside, it was way better than the Wonderdog I had a few years back, which was so overloaded with fake-smoke flavor that it put Slim Jims to shame. The onions made my breath smell bad and everyone agreed that this dog was named appropriately.