We can smell the charcoal as soon as we step out of the van. Where are the grills? I don’t see them outside. That’s because all the grills are actually inside the building! We get in line and Jeremiah does the ordering. He just holds up three fingers and says, “three.” Three dogs, that is. The grill guy knows. That’s what everyone comes for: the charcoal grilled hot dogs. Jeremiah also asks him to burn them, so the natural casing chars and crisps up. The grill guy also pokes holes in the dogs so parts of the inside also get the charcoal treatment. Looking good.
Jeremiah also orders Will a grilled chicken sandwich and an order of onion rings for us to share. Jeremiah and I get the “works” on our dog. A separate guy (a young kid, really. He must have just started because the grill guy keeps on yelling at him.) takes the grilled dogs and tops them with ketchup, mustard, onions, relish, a pickle and Animal Sauce, Ted’s famous hot sauce.
Since I missed out on the Chicago Red Hot, I’m looking forward to this Buffalo cousin. We sit at a booth and have at it. The dog is delicious. The casing is crisp, the burnt bits lending it a smokiness that goes perfectly with the surprisingly sweet onions and relish, the tanginess of the Animal Sauce and the sour pickle. This dog rides on the same concept as Banh Mi. All the flavor spectrums attack your mouth at the same time. A worthy adversary to both the Chicago Red Hot and the austere New York dog.
The onion rings are a tangled nest of sweet, crisp and yet, also moist wonder. We douse it with vinegar and wolf them down along with our dogs and chicken sandwich. Jeremiah has the loganberry drink, which I do not have the pleasure of sampling. I imagine it tastes like berries. Loganberries.
Definitely check out Ted’s when you’re in Buffalo. Just as Ben’s Chili Bowl has a distinctly DC vibe, Ted’s has a distinctly Buffalo vibe that is hard to explain. The best way to understand would be to go see it for yourself. Cheers!
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