Top Dog

"The trailer: a 1963 Airstream, reconfigured as a frankfurter. The car: a vintage Checker cab, which proprietor Andrea Spaulding's husband completely restored, down to a ticking meter inside. The cuisine: hot dogs and nothing but."
Michael Stern






"The menu touts this as "Hot!" It is, but not stingingly so. There is plenty of beef to cushion the punch of pepper in this chili."
Michael Stern



"Andrea was concerned that Hurricane Katrina may have wiped out her New Orleans source for the hot-sweet relish that defines her Orleans dog. When I first saw this, I thought the application of relish was skimpy, and wished I had asked for mustard, too. But a little of this sassy stuff goes a long way, and I would never want to dilute its fine flavor with any other condiment."
Michael Stern



"My first Top Dog meal of 2006: an Orleans dog and a Kraut dog, sitting on the dashboard ready to be gobbled with a cold can of Coke. Ahhh, life is good!"
Michael Stern



"Who could not smile at the sight of the outsized Airstream wenier behind a ship-shape Checker Cab? That head inside the cab, by the way, is a dummy (inanimate)."
Michael Stern