Is Dollar Dog Night Really Worth it?
When you think about good ol' American food that is served at every baseball game, you think of hotdogs right of the bat.
Every year, Tribe fans look forward to Dollar Dog Nights, which only happens a few times a season. People will literally eat a dozen hotdogs at the game; they love Dollar Dog Night. My question to all of my readers is this: Is Dollar Dog Night really a deal?
My answer to that question is no.
Yes, it is nice to only spend just $1 for something that normally costs $4. If you are bringing your family to the game, it is a cheap dinner that will fill up the whole team. I do understand the value of Dollar Dog Night for a lot of fans but think about what you are still buying for $1.
Away from the dog's price, $4 or $1, the official hotdog of the Indians are Sugardale Hotdogs. According to my tastebuds, Sugardale hotdogs are no different than microwavable, rolled-up balogna. The quality of a Sugardale is very cheap and I think $1 is too much for it, let alone the regular price.
During my Tribe roadtrips, I have had hotdogs in most of the stadiums, including Fenway Park, Yankee Stadium, and Wrigley Field.
Back in 2009 when I saw the Indians play the Cubs in Chicago, Wrigley Field had half-off price on Hotdogs until an hour or so before the game. I paid $2 for a Kosher-style hotdog, which would be $4 during the game, sameprice as the Tribe's hotdogs.
In 2010, I had a Nathan's Hotdog at Yankee Stadium during the Tribe game. For those of you that have never ate a Nathan's before, you are missing out. Nathan's hotdogs are famous for the official 4th of July Hot Dog eating contest. They are great quality hotdogs and the price was not that bad.
And last week, I paid $5 for a Fenway Frank. Yes, $5 is more than $4 but I hate to say it, Red Sox hot dogs are better than Indians hotdogs. Their hotdogs were good beef hotdogs served on a New England style bun.
As I said before, I understand the importance of Dollar Dog Night for all the fans, but $1 is still too much for a Sugardale. Everything looks better when it is $3 cheaper than normal. I don't know if any other MLB teams have a Dollar Dog Night or something similar to it. What I do know is that we, the fans, deserve better hotdogs than Sugardales.
tom m
2:21 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
do you really think the whole reason for dollar dog nights is to get people down to the stadium ...is to eat hotdogs ...Oh and they have a baseball game to keep the crowd entertained while they are eating
David
7:26 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
I can't believe this is a topic for discussion.
Phil
8:38 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
WOW!!! A hot dog snob!
Michael Mahoney
8:45 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
There is nothing quite like a good hotdog at a ball game. The problem is they do not provide good hotdogs at the Prog. I agree, Sugardale does not cut the mustard. A real shame for Tribe fans.
John Meola
9:17 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
I grew up in Canton, so Sugardale was THE hot dog everyone ate. Then I discovered Vienna Beef and Nathan's. Sugardale cannot compare to those two, I'm afraid. The problem for me is that the casings on Sugardale don't have that nice snap, which is the mark of a good hot dog.
(Now, if you want a really, really amazing hot dog, go to Providence, Rhode Island, and get an Olneyville New York System hot wiener. In fact, get 5 "all the way". They are incredible.)
Charles Riffle
10:35 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
"My anwer (sic) to that question is no."
James Thomas
11:58 am on Friday, May 18, 2012
If you go to Chicago and eat a "Parkey's" hot dog you will become a spoiled "hot dog snob" for the rest of your life; Best Ever. Be careful though, you might wind up a Cub's Fan and we all know the desperation that can entail.
Adam Gockowski
12:40 pm on Friday, May 18, 2012
James, You don't have to worry about me becoming a Cub's fan. Take a look at a blog of mine from last year!
http://twinsburg.patch.com/blog_posts/smooching-the-enemy-is-dating-a-fan-of-another-team-possible
Dainel Howe
5:43 pm on Sunday, May 20, 2012
There's a gourmet hot dog place coming to Acorn Alley where the Dancing Beta was located. Let's hope no Sugardale dogs are involved!
Dino Ferrante
5:25 pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
My wife works at Progressive Ins. We get to go to a game for free and have free hotdogs. I won't even eat one of those Sugardales for free. I think they just dump some of them in hot tap water then serve 'em up. The ballpark used to be a place where a good dog was a slam dunk!
Troy McClure
7:10 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
"I think they just dump some of them in hot tap water then serve 'em up."
For dollar dog night, that's all they should be doing LOL
But, isn't there a place in the ballpark (Market Pavilion) where you can get a decent 'dog with a bunch of toppings?
Mitch Cooper
7:06 pm on Tuesday, May 22, 2012
I'm glad to see such an emphatic discussion over hot dogs. God bless America haha
Troy McClure
7:11 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
By the way, tonight (Wed 5/23) is dollar dog night at the ballpark!
As much as some bash it, they usually sell the amount of hot dogs equivalent to the amount of "paid" attendance. I'm not kidding. It's not usual that if (paid) attendance is 25,000, that they sell close to 25k hot dogs.
Michelle Simakis
11:50 am on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
Wow, I'm not looking forward to those lines!
Elise Kuklinca
4:21 pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2012
We've travelled all over to many different parks and progressive has, hands down, the worst food. Luckily we're there to see the baseball!
Mitch Cooper
10:10 am on Thursday, May 24, 2012
I wish I would have taken your words to heart, Adam. Wednesday was dollar dogs and I spent over an hour in line and missed three innings because they ran out of hot dogs and pretzels. But we saw Joe Thomas there, so it all comes out in the wash...
Chris Mazzolini
12:02 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Yeah, JT!
Seriously, about dollar dogs: It seems like a great idea, until you eat them. Ugh.
Jill
12:08 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
Of course they use cheap hot dogs for Dollar Dog Night. Why wouldn't they?! They have good all-beef ones that you buy at regular games for the regular prices, but they're not gonna give those out for a dollar. Come on now.
nancy manner
11:57 pm on Thursday, May 24, 2012
actually I was at the game on dollar hot dog night and they ran out of hot dogs by the end of the 6th inning, my point is that over 22,000 people thought they were good enough to consume so who cares if they don't meet the standards of a hot dog snob, we took home a win over Detroit and that's all that mattered!