The argument has raged for years. Finally, we tackle the most controversial topic in Huntington’s history — which local hot dog reigns supreme.
By Katherine Pyles
HQ 117 | SPRING 2022
For decades Huntington residents have argued over which local hot dog is the best. There are loyal customers in each of the five camps — Frostop, Hillbilly, Midway, Sam’s and Stewart’s — and their opinions are as divided as Huntington’s streets and avenues. For 33 years, this magazine has avoided the highly controversial topic. After all, how do you settle a dispute over such a subjective matter?
But recent research conducted at Marshall University, a taste test organized on social media and an inquiry by this publication may shed new light on the heated debate.
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Let’s start at Marshall. Each semester, master’s students in Dr. Damien Arthur’s advanced methodology course complete a research paper. They’re given a question, then tasked with operationalizing that question. They consider context, identify variables and narrow criteria. Some conduct surveys. Others organize focus groups. They analyze the data, and at the end of the semester they answer the question. The question is the same every year: “What is the best hot dog in Huntington, West Virginia?”
“There’s typically a lot of anxiety surrounding this course,” explained Arthur, who directs the Master of Public Administration program at Marshall. “It can be overwhelming.”
The “hot dog paper,” as it’s semi-affectionately known among Arthur’s colleagues, helps alleviate that, he said. With a lighthearted subject as the focus, students can really dive into the research.
“They look at things like the ordering process, the presentation and packaging, the way the hot dogs are cooked and the cleanliness of the different restaurants,” Arthur said. “They do background research on the social aspect of eating, the patriotic notion of what a hot dog is and the science of food-making. I’ve had students conduct blind taste tests of just the buns.”
So, which hot dog wins? It’s not that simple, Arthur said. Students’ conclusions vary — which is kind of the point.
“Just anecdotally,” he said, “Midway does seem to come up often as the winner.”
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Next up in the quest to find Huntington’s most loved hot dog was a taste test, conducted by two local attorneys in their spare time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Utilizing social media and Zoom video conferencing, Abe Saad and Hoyt Glazer organized a live taste test that was shared on Facebook with thousands of friends and followers. Saad had developed a hefty social media following thanks to a series of posts about Huntington’s “hot dog wars,” and he said the taste test seemed a natural conclusion to the saga.
It all started as a joke between friends, he said.
“We were poking fun at culture wars in general, and how there’s always some issue stirring up division and outrage,” said the history buff turned hot dog influencer. “We picked what
I perceived to be a small issue: the hot dog wars of Huntington.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Saad’s Facebook posts generated heated debate. In Huntington, hot dogs are serious business. But the day of the taste test, Saad said, turf wars were put aside.
“We ended up having an incredible amount of community involvement in the taste test,” he said. “People went and bought hot dogs for us from places we wouldn’t have thought to include — like Tower Food Fair in Barboursville.”
The official winner: a Sam’s hot dog, with spicy sauce. But it was a tough call, Saad said.
“You have Stewart’s, with the local Cavalier dog. You have Frostop, my favorite growing up. If we retested today, we’d probably get different results,” he admitted. “You can’t go wrong with any of these hot dogs — as long as you add slaw. In my book, the slaw dog rules them all.”
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Finally, here at HQ we asked our nearly 4,000 followers on social media to weigh in on which hot dog reigns supreme. We received hundreds of comments and explanations as to which hot dog was the tastiest in town. Read on to find out what makes each of the five contenders special, and to learn which dog garnered the most praise …
Stewart’s Hot Dogs
When you’ve moved away from Huntington and miss the taste of home, there’s only one dog that’ll fit the bill, said Kelli Krantz, a Marshall grad who lives in Westerville, Ohio: a Stewart’s dog with sauce and slaw, wrapped in the restaurant’s signature napkin.
“When we talk about food back home with others from West Virginia, we all can’t wait to get a Stewart’s hot dog and root beer,” Krantz said. “Ohio doesn’t know a good dog.”
She said her trips to Huntington always include a visit to Stewart’s, where she orders extra hot dogs to take home to friends. Usually, a few of them “go missing” along the way, she laughed.
John Norton said there’s no better hot dog in town than a Stewart’s “E” dog. (The “E” stands for “everything”: sauce, mustard, slaw and onions.) You could call it an expert opinion: Norton worked as a Stewart’s carhop in high school.
“I ate a lot of them working on the Fifth Avenue lot as a runner,” he said. “An ‘E’ dog, a bag of chips and a root beer, and you were set.”
A visit to Stewart’s after Thanksgiving is one of Nancy Bean’s favorite Huntington traditions. Stewart’s has sold Christmas trees on its parking lot since the 1960s.
“We have our hot dogs and enjoy the Christmas lights,” she said.
Midway Drive-In
The unofficial leader in Arthur’s political science class also won our poll on the Huntington Quarterly Facebook page: Midway Drive-In.
Michelle Perdue said Midway’s sauce is in a league of its own. That’s why the drive-in serves a “sauce bun,” which is exactly what it sounds like — a bun, with sauce inside.
“Midway reminds me of growing up with homemade sauce like my grandmother would make,” she said. “It has a touch of sweetness with all the right spices. The sauce bun is similar to having a sloppy Joe. Sometimes it’s all you need.”
Perdue said she orders her dogs with mustard, noting that Midway puts the mustard on the bottom of the hot dog instead of the top. And, she said with a smile, “they have Pepsi with the good ice.”
Mary Ann Nash said it’s the staff that makes Midway No. 1.
“The owners are very community-oriented,” she said. “They have opened on Sundays with wages, tips and food donated for several good causes. The employees always hustle to your car, and the service is great.”
For Pamela Carrico, Midway is a family tradition. Growing up, every time her family would buy a new car, they’d christen it with a meal in the car at Midway.
“After all these years, my love for Midway is still going strong,” Carrico said.
She said she’s grown fond of adding American cheese and coleslaw to her Midway dog.
“And here is a somewhat little-known Midway pro tip: order your French fries well done to get delicious golden crispiness,” she said. “They dunk them back into the fryer a second time to achieve fry perfection, or so the story goes. Just thinking about those salty, crispy crinkle fries makes me want some right now.”
Frostop Drive-In
What sets Frostop’s dogs apart is the “good slaw,” “ample toppings” and that they “always taste fresh, not like the dogs have been cooking for days,” said M. Lynn Squires. There’s no cutting corners at Frostop — it’s just an all-around good-quality dog, she said.
“I’m in Scott Depot, and my husband and I often drive to Huntington just to eat at Frostop,” said Squires, who orders her hot dog with chili, mustard, onions and slaw — a classic West Virginia dog. “The ambience is great, like stepping back in time.”
She added that Frostop’s slaw is always fresh and creamy, “and they apply it the whole length of the hot dog — not just a blob in the center.”
For Kimberly Head, who moved away from Huntington several years ago, there’s only room for one dog at the top of her list.
“Are there other dogs besides Frostop? No, there are not. Frostop is the dog,” she said. “The last time we came to Huntington, it was the first place we went for dinner. I purchased my husband a Frostop T-shirt, and I just love it when he wears it.”
Sam’s Hot Dog Stand
At Sam’s Hot Dog Stand, the signature sauce is the tail that wags the dog.
“Huntington rules for hot dogs,” said Butch Day, “but Sam’s is the best in town. It’s the sauce that makes it — some call it chili, I call it sauce. I like their spicy sauce the best.”
The sauce is made in store, with mild and spicy versions available. It’s a recipe that dates back decades, developed by cofounder Frank Lucente with the help of well-known restaurateur Rocco Muriale, owner of Rocco’s Ristorante in Ceredo.
Zandra Lawrence said that over the years she’s noticed other hot dog stands have watered down their sauce recipes. That’s not the case at Sam’s, she said.
“I have enjoyed Sam’s hot dogs for many years, and the sauce has remained the same,” Lawrence said. “My mom lives over two hours away, and every time she comes to town we get hot dogs there.”
Hillbilly Hot Dogs
For most people, a traditional Huntington hot dog means pulling up to one of the city’s historic drive-ins. But if there’s one thing Hillbilly Hot Dogs ain’t, it’s traditional. Sure, you can get a dog with sauce, onions and coleslaw, but there’s a smorgasbord of other toppings to choose from as well.
Ed Koletka — who completed the restaurant’s Homewrecker Challenge, finishing a 15-inch, 1-pound hot dog topped with peppers and onions, jalapenos, nacho cheese, spicy chili sauce, mustard, slaw, lettuce, tomato and shredded cheese in under 12 minutes — knows a thing or two about what makes Hillbilly Hot Dogs great.
“At Hillbilly it’s all about the perfectly deep-fried hot dog, topped with just about anything you could want,” he said. “Deep-frying the franks seals in the flavor.”
But you don’t have to go wild with toppings. Take away the pizza sauce and pepperoni, the scrambled eggs and nacho cheese, and it’s still a darn good dog, said Aaron Jarvis.
“I order the Out Wayne because it’s a more traditional Huntington hot dog,” Jarvis said. “They have great sauce. Even if that was the only dog they had, it would still set them above the others. It’s just better.”
Tourists come from all over for the one-of-a-kind Hillbilly experience, made famous by the Food Network’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. The restaurant was also featured on the Travel Channel’s Food Paradise: Hot Dog Paradise 2.
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To wrap it up (in a napkin, perhaps, or a piece of wax paper), the great Huntington hot dog debate isn’t always about hot dogs. It’s as much about nostalgia for the streets that raised you as it is about the perfect combination of savory, spicy and sweet. These tried-and-true local joints keep generation after generation coming back for more, and for doggone good reasons. Even the political scientists can’t agree on a winner — and to be frank, neither can we.
