Pittsburgh Hot Plate

When I moved to Pittsburgh, my new friends encouraged me to visit The Original Hot Dog Shop.  “They have the best hot dogs in town,” they kept telling me.  I had yet to explore the city, so I went for a ride.   After zigzagging through Oakland, I finally came upon the “O”.  “So, this is the famous Hot Dog shop that I’ve been hearing about,” I thought to myself.  I was impressed.  The façade of the restaurant was bejeweled with various neon lights and signs. Once inside I was amazed at the baskets upon baskets of French fries being plunged into hot oil, and what seemed to be hundreds of hot dogs on the grill.  Cheese sauce was flying everywhere; on dogs, cheese steaks, and fries- cheese is popular in Pittsburgh.  There was a police officer standing in a corner of the restaurant; I guess I need protection in case someone decides to hijack my hot-dog.  The store wasn’t particularly clean; there were wrappers on the floor, and smudges of “stuff” on the counters.  I didn’t really care, it just added to the allure.  Beer is also available for sale the “Dirty O,”-sweet.    “I’ll take a hot-dog, and a medium order of fries please.”  The woman behind the counter gave me a strange look and asked, “Have you eaten here before?” I replied, “No.”  She then asked if I was sure about ordering a medium order of fries.  “I’m pretty hungry,” I told her.  “Ok”, she said, and shot a co-worker a small smile.  Well, my order came up a few minutes later, and I finally understood what she was smirking at.  A medium order of fries is easily enough for three people.  I knew I would never finish them, and I also had a hot dog that I was responsible for.  I found a table, sat down, and began to eat.  I ended up getting through half the fries, and almost the entire hot dog.  I leaned back in my chair, and half expected some type of food-award, or ribbon for consuming what had to be 3,000 calories in one sitting.   As I left The Original Hot Dog Shop, I seriously considered stopping by UPMC for an angioplasty.

Is the food at The Original Hot Dog Shop great?  Probably not.  Is it good?  Most definitely.  Should you make it a point to stop in a try the food is you haven’t yet?  For sure.  If you do plan on making a trip to Oakland to pick up a dog, burger, or any other fat-loaded food item, make sure you go on a Friday evening, around 11pm. The characters are out in force, and most of them look shady.  And don’t worry if something goes down, there’s a cop standing in the corner for your protection.