We might eat a lot of BBQ in North Texas, but we also eat a whole bunch of hot dogs. According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, the city of Dallas was the third-biggest consumer of hot dogs in 2021. Only New York and Los Angeles ate more.
From Atlanta to Washington D.C., major areas across the United States have their own style of hot dog. But Dallas, a city that eats more hot dogs than Chicago, doesn’t. That is, until now.
The brainchild of attorney Matthew Toback, the Texas Original is an all-beef, hickory-smoked wiener with chili. Served on a brioche bun, it’s garnished with marinated and grilled jalapeños as well as Dublin-cola-marinated onions.
“It’s Texas, so it’s gotta be all-beef,” Toback tells Local Profile. Texas dogs, he adds, must have jalapeños, but he wanted to give that style a different spin to capture DFW’s local flavor.
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Toback, a long-time Dallas resident who’s originally from Massachusetts, researched (and tried) specialty hot dogs from all across the country. Then, he food-tested every concept with people in North Texas to create a Dallas-style dog for his Cowtown Dogs food truck.
“People here are already eating lots of hot dogs,” says Toback, adding that many North Texas residents like to eat hot dogs at cookouts. For him, it’s just a matter of creating a local hot dog culture in DFW. He points to the decision by Portillo’s to open a location in Collin County as proof that North Texas is an untapped hot dog market.
“Our goal is to establish a regional hot dog,” says Toback. “We hope we get competition because that will create a hot dog culture.” Our stomachs hope they do, too.
Try the Texas Original at the Cowtown Dogs food truck, located at 234 S Riverfront Blvd A, near the Dallas County Courthouse. Toback hopes to bring his food truck and Texas Original dogs to Collin County for upcoming events and festivals.
For more, check out Cowtown Dogs’ official site and Facebook page.
Source: https://localprofile.com/2022/04/27/hot-dogs-dallas-texas-original-style-food/