I know this blog is about me getting to know Kansas City, but this past week I ended up in Florida. So, I thought that I would get to know the state, specifically the city of Venice, a little by sampling some of what it has to offer food-wise. That is sort of the point of the blog isn’t it? I wanted to try some local eats to get a sense of what kind of food they enjoy down there. I am getting a bit ahead of myself, though. Before I could enjoy the Sunshine State’s culinary offerings, before I could sample any local Venice eateries, I had to get there first. For me, that was a big deal.
You see, when I was a kid I was afraid of heights. Like, really scared of them. Fortunately, for the most part, I was able to avoid them, but there were two things I did rather frequently that involved heights. The first was traipsing around Germany and England and their many ruined castles. This always, without fail, involved a freakin high tower with a freakin steep stairwell. Occasionally it involved hanging off the edge at the top and kissing a stone for its supposed magical properties. To my credit, I always did it. I do not think I ever stayed at the bottom; though, I am sure my father can let me know if I am wrong on that point.
The second thing I did that involved heights, on a semi regular basis was go on airplanes. We had to get to Germany and England, after all. So, we boarded big 747’s and ascended to the clouds every few years or so. The thing is, as a kid I somehow disassociated flying from being up high. It never bothered me that we were so high up. Maybe it was being completely enclosed, maybe it was a trust I had in authority, but I never once (that I can recall) was scared while on an airplane. Later in life, as an adult I have not flown nearly as often. When I did fly for the first time, as an adult, though, I realized something very quickly as we left the ground. My brain no longer disassociated flying from being up high. In fact, they suddenly were very much connected in my brain and it made for a very rough flight. So, now I am afraid of flying as well as heights. Awesome.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago and I received a text from my boss asking if I wanted to fly down to Florida to do some on site work. I was excited at the opportunity, as I had been anxious to do some travel with the new job. In the back of my mind, though, I was anxious about getting back on a plane. It had been a while since the last time and I was not sure how I would react once in the air. I did it though, and at first I was pretty dang anxious. The first trip was a super fast turnaround though and we only had time for fast food. The next week I did it again and I was starting to get used to flying. I still had a lot of anxiety when taking off and landing, though.
The point of all this is to say that getting to Florida was kind of a major mental hurdle for me. I knew I was excited to have a job where I would get to travel the country, but I had been dreading getting back on a plane. When I received the text regarding heading south through the clouds, I was excited at the prospect of expanding my blog to a national level, but knew I had to face my fear to do it. In the end, it paid off. The second trip down to Florida yielded some tasty results. So now, without further ado, let me tell you about those results.
Obviously, with it being a coastal town, seafood was on my brain so it is no surprise that we ended up at a seafood place. What was a surprise however was that I found my new second favorite hot dog spot in the country. What was also kind of a shock was that none of the restaurants we went to had alligator on the menu. Oh well; maybe next time.
The central reason for the trip, sadly, was not food. I was down there for work, so finding a good place to eat was not a top priority. Fortunately, there were plenty of options close enough to walk to and not take up a bunch of time. For lunch, we settled on a place called Mad Dogs Hot Dogs. The menu immediately grabbed my attention with its large variety of toppings. Each menu item was themed after a different US city and came with at least four things to accompany the dog. I knew that had to be the place we tried and fortunately after some discussion, my co-workers agreed. We made our way through the parking lot in the muggy Florida heat. I loved every step of it as I have lived a lot of my life in South Dakota where it is cold and dry. I love the sun and heat even if it comes with a little (or a lot of) humidity. Mad Dogs was just a tiny little hut at the other end of the lot. It sat squarely in the shadow of the Taco Bell directly next to it. I have seen hot dog street vendors with more real estate than this place. However, this unassuming little Florida hot dog joint did more in its little hut than a lot of restaurants do with a lot more space.
It starts with the variety. There was so much variety that It was hard to whittle down their selection of dogs to just one. There was a Chicago dog, a personal favorite of mine. There was a Coney Island, a classic for a reason. In the end, though, I went with the Seattle Splitter. This one came with a cream cheese and cooked onion mix on top along with jalapenos. Typically it came with a BBQ drizzle, but I have never been a fan of BBQ on hot dogs. Fortunately, Mad Dogs allows you to mix and match any of the ingredients; like a Subway but with hot dogs. I opted to replace the barbecue sauce with some creamed horseradish. For my side, I went with an order of the cheese fries. Well, on the menu it was called an appetizer rather than a side. I will get to why in a moment. Finally, we each got a shake with our hot dog because the two locals with us convinced us we had to. It ended up being a great decision.
Let’s start with that hot dog, though. By default, they use Hebrew Nationals, which I have recently discovered to be the best hot dogs you can buy. Their buns seemed like standard wonder bread. Here is where my one criticism comes in. I would have liked to see some creativity with the buns. It is always possible other dogs came on different buns, but I saw no indication of that on the menu. Now we get to the toppings though. This is really what made the place a standout spot for me. The cream cheese onion mix was a perfect way to keep things together and not have the onions falling off as you take bites and it really added some richness to the flavor. The jalapenos gave it the necessary kick to broaden that flavor. Some savory from the dog, sweet richness from the onions and cream cheese, and then the heat from the peppers. I really feel, as I always really feel, that barbecue sauce would have taken over all the flavors. I am glad I swapped it for the horseradish which simply aided the other ingredients. It gave some extra creaminess to the onion mix and punched up the heat of the jalapenos a bit. It truly was one of the best hot dogs I have ever had. I would love to go back and try more of them, but 1000+ miles may be a bit too much of a commute for the lunch hour.
Now, remember when I mentioned that the fries were listed as an appetizer and not a side? Well, that is because you get enough of them to share with the whole dang table. Here’s the thing, too. The price gave no indication that the serving size would be so big. I want to say they were like $3.50. Think Five Guys fries as far as helping size goes, then imagine they are big, fresh, crisp on the outside fries. I like the fries at Five Guys, but they are fast food fries. At Mad Dogs Hot Dogs, despite the price, they are real restaurant style fries and mine were covered in cheese sauce. An excellent pairing to the dog, but I only ate about a third of them.
Then, there was the shake. They had an interesting selection of flavors, including Mango which is what I went with. The shake itself was perfect in texture. Velvety smooth; thick, but still drinkable with a straw. As far as I am concerned, as soon as you have to take a spoon to a shake, it is no longer a milkshake. Mad Dogs does it right. It was the flavor, though, that really stood out to me. Mango is one of my favorite flavors for anything. However, it can be hard for other flavors to stand out against it. Here, the vanilla ice cream still came through, which is a testament to the quality of ice cream used. Overall, the shake tasted somewhere between a shake and a smoothie. It was a nice compliment to the meal and fit really well with the classic feel of the place.
It is funny, because I had been looking at so many other restaurants to try while in Venice. I had looked at a list on Google Maps several times and had not even noticed Mad Dogs Hot Dogs. I am convinced that if we had gone elsewhere I would have never even noticed the building as it could easily be mistaken for a storage shed used by the adjacent Taco Bell. I am so glad I finally glanced at its menu, though. So much creativity and they execute their vision so well, at least with the one dog I tried. The other KC folk in my group also seemed just as impressed and at least one of the locals we were with had frequented the place often. There was one issue with the little hot dog joint, though. After the lunch we had, dinner in Florida would have a lot to live up to. I had come to Florida with hopes of finding true fresh seafood, straight from the dock. After lunch, though, all I could think of was hot dogs. So, how did dinner compare to that perfect little Hebrew National lunch? I will have to tell you in next week’s post. I really want Mad Dogs to have its day with this one. Just that one amazing hot dog made the flight and all the anxiety that went with it totally worth it.
Eatin' to Know You, KC 