Review: Hot Dog on a Stick Veggie Dog and CHEESE DOG

We were at "the failing Lakeline Mall," to borrow a phrase, today. It was the first time we've visited since the Disney Store closed, and we learned today that the only other toy store there is going to close soon, too. There are so many more empty storefronts than there were before Christmas. A lady at the Round Rock outlets Cinnabon said the mall was really struggling; they *just* opened up a new AMC theater, but maybe it's just not bringing people into the mall itself.

However, there was bright spot in our trip, besides just the hanging out with my kiddo. I haven't gotten Hot Dog on a Stick in decades, probably since I left Arkansas and used to get corn dogs at Central Mall in Fort Smith.

Two items on their menu that I'm sure were not available 20+ years ago caught my eye: a veggie dog, and a cheese dog with the choices of American or Pepper Jack cheese. Also, they have a "2 for $5.55" menu which includes them both, as well as a couple of other offerings. Individually, the dogs would have been a bit over $3.50 each, so it was a no-brainer.

Of course, they batter the dogs and fry them on the spot. This was the cheese dog. I notice that although they don't wear the ridiculously tall hats anymore, they do have them available for the children.

This kid was just coming out of a spin when I took this. The hat apparently makes him do circles.

Chow time! The cheese dog, I opted for American, is on the left. Use the process of elimination to locate the veggie dog.

Both had a satisfyingly crunchy outer shell. There was extra batter on the cheese, which I am sure is so it wouldn't explode in the fryer. I tried making fried cheese a few weeks ago, and it was a disaster. The cheese here stayed fully contained. I'm guessing they use something akin to Velveeta, because the cheese was molten, even when it wasn't super hot.

The veggie burger was good; I don't think there's much sense in using a stellar hot dog for a corny anyway, since it's all about the batter and frying, but this one held up nicely to the expected corn dog flavor.

But the one I'm going to be dreaming about until I can go back and get another was this cheese dog. It was perfect. Kind of how you want mozzarella sticks to be, but they often aren't because people don't cook them long enough and the cheese stays hard so the coating falls off. Not here. The coating is actually the structure, and because the American cheese doesn't have a super strong flavor profile, you can really enjoy the salty sweet crunch of the cornbread batter.

Hopefully I'll get to enjoy at least one or two more before time runs out. Delicious.