The Sonoran Dog
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, September 21st, 2011
Image: Dusan Po/Shutterstock
It’s recently come to my attention that there is a whole other realm of hot dogs out there—forget your 100 percent beef, half-smokes, and chili cheese dogs…we’re talkin’ Sonoran dogs. What dogs?
Glad you asked. The Sonoran dog is like a normal hot dog, but wrapped in bacon and topped with a huge load of grilled onions, pinto beans, fresh tomato, jalepeno sauce, a bunch of condiments, and, oh yeah, sometimes cheese, as Dave of Top Dog explained to me.
According to an article featured on NPR, “The Sonoran Hotdog Crosses the Border,” it was born about 20 years ago in the Sonora’s capital, Hermosillo, in Mexico. It began its migration from Mexico up over the border to Arizona and spread like wildfire through the Phoenix, Ariz. area.
Internet video cooking instructor Hilah Johnson has kicked off her third season with an episode on how to make Sonoran hot dogs. Along with some anecdotal history, Hilah provides a great video and an awesome close-up shot of her Sonoran hot dog (and it looks hot-diggity goooood) all the way across the World Wide Web from Austin, Texas.
Far from the U.S.-Mexican border, however, you can still find Sonoran dogs—right here on the streets of NoVA. The Top Dog hot dog specialized food truck offers three daily hot dogs, plus a weekly special. Their top-selling top dog is the Sonoran Dog, a crispy bacon-wrapped all beef hot dog served in a brioche bun, topped with pinto beans, caramelized onions, freshly diced tomatoes, lime mayo, mustard, and kickin’ jalapeno sauce. Can I get an MMMMMMMM?!
Top Dog has been up and running since March 2011. Their truck can be found in various NoVA locations daily and followed on Twitter (you can tweet @TopDogTruck for location requests).
-Julia Harbo
Tags: bacon, food, food trucks, Gut Check, Hilah Johnson, hot dogs, julia harbo, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, sonoran dog, Top Dog