Danger Dogs

Not long ago I went to my very first soccer game, Galaxy versus Barcelona. It was quite an experience - there were about 93,000 people in attendance at the Rose Bowl, which made it the highest attended game in the US since the World Cup in 1994. That, my friends, is a lot of people. We started the night at Cafe Santorini in Old Town Pasadena, which I'd recommend if you're in the area. The bartender was super friendly and had an amazing white sangria.

It's amazing the physical strength you need to play soccer. But, for now, I think I'll just stick to American-style football.

I swear this is going somewhere.

Danger dogs have been around at every Southern California sporting event that I have ever attended. I've never seen them in Mexico, but basically what happens is someone puts a heating element in the bottom of a shopping cart, and a baking sheet over it. Instant grill! I've seen more legitimate-looking carts before, but the shopping carts are really funny. The hot dogs are wrapped in bacon and grilled with onions and served with hot sauce.

I have desperately wanted to try one for a long time now. I have no idea how much they cost, but I'm guessing it's less than the cost of whatever medical treatment you need after eating one. Alas, my sensible husband isn't too keen on letting his wife eat random, questionably prepared street food. Los Angeles regulates restaurants pretty strictly, and guess what? These guys constantly avoid getting rated. Gasp!

Obviously this means I have to make it myself. Here's the basics on our George Foreman grill, which is the closest I could get to a baking sheet over a shopping cart. Cooking is all about improvisation.

That's pre-cooked Hormel Black Label bacon, and reduced fat Hebrew National hot dogs. Probably not what you get on the street.


I toasted the hot dog buns with a little olive oil spray on a skillet. Served with some rather old hot sauce I got for free from Trimana as they were trying to drum up business. Sorry guys, you're still overpriced for an office park sandwich shop. But you really made my hot dog!

Altogether: YUM. You have never seen two people eat a hot dog so fast. Question: is it still a danger dog if it was made with proper food handling? I still want to try the authentic version, but now I think I can wait until football season starts.