Butter on a hot dog? Now I’ve heard everything!
Blame my grandmother (who died a few years back at age 94) for butter on hot dogs. It’s scrumptious - and obviously didn’t affect her longevity. That said, we don’t eat them often. They make occasional treats.
Here in PA we’ll only buy Berks Beef or Cheese dogs and we grill or broil them. They have a superb flavor even if eaten plain. Since this area was settled by the Germans, there are oodles of options and most folks have their preferences. Name brands available everywhere are rarely it.
There are a few restaurants that are great with hot dogs, but if they’re tasteless dogs that depend upon their toppings to give them flavor, we’ll pass.
Duke’s mayonnaise. How can you have a tomato sandwich - or a BLT - without Duke’s mayonnaise?
I was a little surprised to not see A-1 Sauce appear anywhere. Not my top condiment by any means, but a favorite for beef and pork.
@scout59 What makes Duke’s different?
H loves Dukes and told me they were the best, but I did a blind taste test with it for him and he couldn’t taste the difference… I can’t either. Our taste buds might not be specific enough I suppose. Since then we’ve been wondering what the difference is supposed to be, but I’ll admit we’ve never looked online. Few others here in the northern states know it exists and even further north (like where my mom lives) I can’t even find it.
I still buy Dukes - when it’s the cheapest of the major brands. Store brands tend to be too watery for our preference.
No love for HP brown sauce? My daughter came home from her study abroad program with a love for the stuff.
@Consolation You need the natural casings to get the snap. Have you tried those?
@Creekland - to me it’s the consistency and texture more than the taste (and yes, I’ve done the blind taste test too. I can pick out the Duke’s in an instant.) I think it’s thicker, and to me it tastes more like custard than other mayos. The difference is more noticeable – again, to me – in deviled eggs and potato salad.
I actually pay MORE for Duke’s because I live in the Midwest now and it’s harder to find up here.
Then again, maybe I like it better because it tastes like my childhood.
Mustard. I would rather eat French fries with mustard than a burger with ketchup. Mayonnaise is largely unused, mostly for the few times a year we make macaroni or potato salad and never on a sandwich.
The only thing I do with A-1 sauce is put a tablespoon of it (along with Worcester sauce) in my meatloaf. It’s my Mom’s recipe, I don’t know if she used it for anything else. I occasionally run into Worcester sauce in other recipes, but I never see anything that calls for A-1.
@doschicos Yes, definitely. But even with natural casing most don’t have the right snap.
Spurred on by this thread, I checked the website of The Thirsty Pig, found out that they use hot dogs made by a butcher in Kennebunk–Shields Provisions–called THEM, and found out that they should be found in the main Portland Hannaford, to whom they just made a delivery. Even though Hannaford’s website says they are currently unavailable. A friend who happens to be going to that store today is going to check it out for me.
My quest will not be denied! Worst case scenario, we will stop by their store in Kennebunk when we drive down to Flo’s on Wednesday. 
I’ve never had Duke’s mayo, but I’ve long understood that it is the only one worth having besides Hellman’s original.
Salsa. It’s versatile.
I like ketchup and I’m very surprised to read that others don’t.
My love for A-1 sauce runs deep. That was a childhood fixture at our meat & potatoes dinner table.
But if you make me pick ONE condiment, it has to be salsa.
And of all the different salsas, I’ll take this one:
Plain extra virgin olive oil. I drizzle it on lots of things like plain toast, hummus, and veggies; I love to sauté steamed green beans with garlic then drizzle on olive oil and add a few leaves of fresh basil.
Interesting thread.
For my H it would be hot sauce. His go to is Trader Joe’s Habanero sauce. He also likes Marie Sharps both the red and green. For his birthday the kids like to go to the Mexican market and buy him an assortment. He also loves salsa.
I used to make ranch with the package and buttermilk version. My family can’t stand ranch from a bottle. I don’t usually serve creamy dressings at home.
For versatility I would go with Dijon mustard. It can be used in numerous ways. Though on a hot dog I prefer yellow mustard.
Surprised for all the love for ketchup. I never use ketchup at home. I keep it for the kids but a bottle Gets old and sticky long before it’s empty in my house. I do use ketchup on fries when I eat out.
Yellow mustard needs to be Plochman’s not French’s. It needs to taste like mustard, not turmeric.
Sriracha just sriracha. then Soy Sauce and other hot sauces
Hands down, grainy mustard.
Salsa.
I hate ketchup.
If yellow mustard were to disappear tomorrow, I would have a hard time going forward.