The food department at the New York Times recently taste-tested 10 hot dog brands to determine the best.Koegel franks and Viennas from Flint were not on the list.
Now that’s what I call fake news.I’m sorry to use a Trump term like that, especially a bogus one, but my buns are steamed about this. How could the best newspaper in the land not only not rank Koegel atop its list but not even test them in the first place? That’s outrageous. Oscar Mayer dogs were on the list. (Ick.) Trader Joe’s dogs were on the list. (Dog food.) Nathan’s was on the list. (Cat food.) Hebrew Nationals were on the list. (OK, those are acceptable but only with lots of mustard.)
But no Koegel.
And they call themselves a newspaper. OK, maybe – since Koegel isn’t yet a national brand, far as I know – the Times’ grillers simply didn’t know about them.
Whatever the case, as someone who resided in and around Flint for more than 25 years, I immediately posted the Times story to my Facebook feed, knowing the local outrage that would ensue.
“SERIOUSLY??!!!” one person responded. “What’s a taste test without the best hot dog in the world?”
“They’re clueless!” said another.
“It’s New York,” said a third. “They prefer the mystery meat they call a hot dog.”
“My relatives from Texas come up every year for Christmas and they take back a case of Koegel’s with them. They have all their friends in Texas hooked on them now,” said one more.
One woman added this story: “When I lived in the east, they did not know about Koegels. I would come to Michigan and buy a case on dry ice and haul them home. At parties people raved about how good they were and where could they buy them. No doubt they are the best, but I think they remain the best because it is family owned and controlled with family pride keeping them the same quality we have always come to expect. Some say they are not really hot dogs, they are Koegel’s, a product in a class by itself.”
I heartily agree. I think it IS the family’s focus on quality that keeps Koegel’s the best.
And how do I know they’re the best?
Simple. Because I don’t like hot dogs. When I contemplate eating one, my brain inevitably conjures some vague, fuzzy memory of the horrible things that are supposed to be in them. Or were, anyway, at some point. You probably have similar thoughts. If you didn’t, they wouldn’t have started putting “all beef!” and “nitrates-free” on the packaging.
But I don’t have those thoughts when eating a Koegel. I trust them. And it may sound silly but that trust somehow makes the dog taste even better. (I like mine with mustard and onions, by the way. No ketchup. Never ketchup.)
If you agree, perhaps you might want to leave a comment beneath the online version of the story, which you can find at www.nytimes.
Image credit: Erica Firment
Plaths Meats in Rogers City have better dogs just saying
It isn’t summer until I have a grilled Koegel laughing hot dog.
Is the hot dog laughing or you?
Oh, gosh…. Koegels vs. Hot Dogs?
Leagues apart… Dontchyathink?
After living most of my 73 years in Michigan, and -always-buying Koegels, last summer I moved to Florida. After a few months, I realized I was going through withdrawal! I thought I would be resigned to having them only when I came back to Michigan to visit, but to my delight I discovered a truck that delivers in my area twice a year. Let me tell you, it was a greatly anticipated event when I went to pick up my order of Viennas!! I agree with the person who said that Koegel Viennas should be in a category by themselves!
And if you get a chance, try the “cheesedog, with everything,” at the hotdog stand in downtown Grand Blanc, with an ice cold root beer. “Everything = onions and red sauce, which really does taste different than ketchup. Otherwise, never ketchup on a Koegel!
And speaking of steamed buns, the Flint style coneys took a step back when the restaurants stopped steaming their buns. Yes I am talking to you Starlite and Angelos, bring back the steamer please.
When the biggest wiener is out of country for a few days, we can talk about Hot Dogs.
Congratulations freddie, you finally got one right. This past weekend Obozo was visiting Indonesia lecturing about the evil of too much patriotism.
Patriots care about our country, they don’t snuggle up with Russian murderers and pretend nothing shady is going on.
Oh freddie, we’ve heard the partisan charges, when do we see the proof? I have a suggestion……. hold your breath until they materialize.
Jr. provided the proof this morning. You are welcome.
How’s this for “patriotism?”
NYT story: President Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., was promised damaging information about Hillary Clinton before agreeing to meet with a Kremlin-connected Russian lawyer during the 2016 campaign, according to three advisers to the White House briefed on the meeting and two others with knowledge of it.
andi pandi, are we really using the NYT as an objective voice? No wonder your former industry is falling apart with every new day. ( good riddance) The front page of the NYT has become the editorial page. Everybody knows………
No, everybody does not share your zeal for no news or slanted Fox news. Never clear to me how conservatives can claim to be patriots yet want the First Amendment eradicated.
Really? You guys cant talk about anything without talking about the POTUS? It’s hot dogs Andrew. Stay focused.
Ha, that’s the lure of the Trump
We bring them back to Missouri every time we are in Michigan!
As a child I lived near Fort Wayne, IN. The Coney Island hot dog is the best I’ve ever tasted. That restaurant is still on Berry St. in Fort Wayne and has been there for over 100 years. Back in the late forties, the dogs sold for 14 cents. It was the go to place when my mom and my aunt took my cousin and me downtown shopping. Anyone who has grown up there and eaten Coney Island hot dogs, long for them. People still wait outside in lines for hot dogs and Cokes in small glass bottles. Koegels are exceptional, but Coney Island dogs with their secret sauce and steamed buns have my heart.
I love Koegel Viennas dearly, but who can afford them when they cost more than steak?
STEAMED BUNS is the key phrase here. Of course, in my home, Koegels are the standard. But, how about STEAMED BUNS?
Do any of you guys have a practical way to STEAM BUNS at home? Some appliance that works easily to produce yummy soft STEAMED BUNS? Please tell us here how to STEAM BUNS at home.
Bring a generous cup of water to a boil in the microwave. Add Buns on paper towel or microwave safe plate. Cook 45 seconds on high and the re-boiling water will steam the buns moderately well.
Buns in a covered strainer over a pot of boiling water is the way around my house. works pretty good.
Just to be clear, you’re talking about hot dog buns, right, and not mine?
I have been eating coney forever. I have also served them for 40 years as a waitress. Apollo in davison still uses a steamer for the buns. It does make a great coney
Koegel Viennas is all I’ve ever bought! They are indeed the best, & I don’t like hot dogs either. We actually live about 2 miles from the factory, so I smell them every time I pass it to go to work! By the way, I like mine with mustard & relish, and sometimes ketchup!
When I moved to Grand Haven, imagine my disappointment when the local Meijer store didn’t carry Koegels. I asked them why. My sister kept me supplied with Viennas for birthdays, holidays, and for whatever other reason she Invented. And then one day, Koegels came to Grand Haven! Life was good.
Family went to New Haven for sister-in-law’s graduation and we took a train trip to see the Statue of Liberty. By the time we got there the first thing we did was go for food – hot dogs (we were way beyond hungry!) I bit into mine and I had to spit it out because I thought it was spoiled. My husband tried it and did the same. The lines were so long so my husband agreed to share his hot dog with me. Unfortunately.. it was the same for his -and the rest of the family that was with us. We looked around at the others who were in line around the same time as us and they were munching away on their hot dogs – it was like we entered an island where the other prisoners had gotten accustomed to the prison food. I could not wait to escape. Back home, I was telling my Mom about the bad hot dogs and she laughed and said “Honey, they were not spoiled. Michigan has a stricter law on what can go into hot dogs. They just tasted bad to you because the hot dogs were not up to the same quality. “. People get used to bad food while we are lucky to have the a healthier choice.