Sonic the Hedgehog Loves Chili Dogs!

Growing up I was more of a Mario guy but my love for Sonic grew as I got immersed in some of his other non-video game areas such as the various cartoon spin-offs he starred in and the long-running comic book series.  One particular peculiar quirk about Sonic also always struck a chord with me personally -- he loves chili dogs!

Are you familiar with chili dogs?  They're known locally as coneys and I've heard them sometimes referred to by the more generic catchall name chili cheese dogs.  By locally I mean the Midwest or more specifically here in the Cincinnati area where both chili spaghetti and chili dogs are absolute stapes of our culinary scene.  I won't go into detail on the history of these dishes but will say I've encountered people from other parts of the country who look at me like I'm crazy when I say we Ohioans regularly put chili on our spaghetti or hot dogs.  I can assure you here it's as normal as hamburgers, pizza, or any other American edible staple.

I should also talk about Sonic and his own history with this delicious food item.  He's known most popularly for indulging in his favorite food in several of the animated series' he's in including Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog (know by fans as SatAM), and Sonic Underground.  Earliest canonical reference to Sonic's love of chili dogs appears to be in Sonic the Comic #5 from July of '93 and later in Sonic the Hedgehog #0 they added some backstory seeing Sonic and an uncle operating a chili dog stand.  Sonic's infatuation with chili dogs also bleeds into many of the video games including the ability to purchase various types of hot dogs in Sonic Unleashed as power-ups, in cutscenes in Sonic and the Black Knight, as a birthday present in Sonic Generations, and in smaller shout-outs in titles such as Sonic & Sega All-Star Racing, Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, and in the Japanese manuel for Sonic Advance 3.  Heck, there was even a children's audio book that ended up having Sonic's passion for chili dogs as a major plot point!

One night I was hungry late and knew my buddy Sonic was speeding into town to watch the odd double-header of The Garbage Pail Kids Movie and Red Hook Summer with me.  I ran to Gold Star Chili (usually I'm a Skyline guy and with the threat of being too insider here I know my fellow Ohioans and transplants know what I'm talking about!) and got some chili dogs.  The one on the right is "firehouse" style meaning it's got a spicy seasoning mix sprinkled on it and some signature hot sauce blend inside.

I presented Sonic with his chili dog!  I could literally see his mouth watering.

He proved nice enough to even share a bite with me.  What a swell hedgehog!

And the only proof I have of this visit is a rancid stain on my hard to replace collectible plush doll.

And here's a random assortment of images featuring Sonic getting his chili dog on:

The official recipe for Sonic's chili dogs originally appeared printed in the first issue of Archie Sonic the Hedgehog.  Had I, I don't know, possibly planned this out at all in advance I could have taken a crack at making them myself.  But alas I urge you all to make Sonic's patented recipe and share your results in the comments and/or RtW Facebook page.  Enjoy!

Chili Dog a la Sonic

• Brown 1 lb ground beef
• Add ½ cup each of chopped onions, peppers and mushrooms (brown lightly)
• Add 1 large can of crushed tomatoes
• Add 8 oz barbecue sauce
• Simmer ½ hour
• Add 1 teaspoon each of chili powder, cumin, oregano
• Add 1 large can red kidney beans (drained)
• Simmer 1 hour
• Add hot dogs
• Cook 15 minutes in sauce
• Put on toasted roll
• (melted cheese optional)

Five for $5 Dollar Store Challenge feat. RtW, Dino Drac, & VM

Wow!  So, this is actually happening.  I'm getting to from a team with the creator of my all-time favorite website and also one of my best Internet buddies.  Together we make a sort of super-heroic all-star team of the Internet pop culture set -- as unplanned as your last pregnancy but arguably as fun!

Our mission?  Spend $5 at a dilapidated dollar store.  Share your finds.  We all went into this boldly and bravely.  Let's see what we got!

My video!

At 18 min. mine is the epic but I'm placing it here first so as not to The Godfather III myself.

Matt's (Dinosaur Dracula) video!

This is crazy.  This would be like, say, a young songwriter getting to make a cameo on his favorite musician's new record.  Or an aspiring basketball player being asked to shoot hoops with Lebron.  Just doesn't happen.  Matt's X-Entertainment and now Dinosaur Dracula are as big as part of my life as Alf and Super Mario Bros. and the pop culture stuff he so richly covers on his site.  It's an honor, privilege, and strangely arousing situation I find myself in working alongside one of my idols.  Thanks, Matt!

Will's (VeggieMacabre) video!

Will is one of my best buddies and he brings it in this video.  Also admire his amazing room decor as that wall of horror and pop culture inspired artwork is to kill for.  We've teamed up on some stuff in the past and as always it was my pleasure.

We all had so much fun working together on this oddball project.  Please comment here on this post and on the RtW Facebook and join in on chatter over on Matt's post and Will's too.  Thanks so much for the support!  Now I've got some clam juice to go clean up.

Ice Age Sour Gummies

Brian and Eddie of RtW give musings on the Ice Age film franchise and officially licensed sour gummies!  Should these movie theater castoff candies go extinct or be preserved by edible archeologists for generations to come to admire and ponder?

Tastykake - Claiming Hostess' Snack Cake Throne?

Brian, Eddie, and Nick of RtW check out some of the goodies from Tastykake a potential usurper to Hostess' former snack cake throne out in the frigid cold. Sampled and soliloquized are their Reese's Peanut Butter Kandy Bar Kakes and their answer to the beloved Twinkie their Dreamies Creme Kakes.

Old Lucy Christmas Cookie

I've grown into being a huge Peanuts fan.  Back in high school I randomly picked up the Peanuts holiday specials box-set on DVD.  I didn't have a major connection to them growing up and pretty much bought it as an impulse purchase.  What an excellent decision it was.  Ever since they've become integral parts of my Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.  I watch them yearly and hold them up there alongside some of my most beloved cartoons and films. Less than a year ago someone mentioned The Complete Peanuts anthologies collecting the original Peanuts comic strips from 1950-2000 (they're releasing two volumes per year and are currently up to the late-'80's) and I realized quickly how foolish I had been not to seek them out sooner and immediately set to the library to put them all on hold and ravenously read them.  I'm still working through them but it's been an amazing journey and has led me to the opinion Charles "Sparky" Schulz is one of the greatest of all American writers.  My Peanuts love even leads me to lurking almost daily the live webcams at Redwood Empire Ice Arena (AKA Snoopy's Home Ice) an awesome ice arena Schulz had built in 1969 among the towering redwoods in his adopted home of Santa Rosa.  I saw a bonus feature on the He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown DVD that spotlighted the arena and planted the seed for an eventual visit for me as I fell in love with the place in a way I can't quite articulate nor fully comprehend.

The story behind this cookie itself is also worth telling.  I was in a Hallmark store at a mall and while I usually eye stuff there I'd like to write about it's usually way out of my price range so I just window shop unless it's the holidays and I'm buying an ornament or something.  As I was looking at a birthday card featuring an orangutang in a tutu I noticed behind the racking a lone cookie lying on the floor amid the mothballs and dust.  I retrieved it, promptly paid for it, and left as if I was fleeing the scene of a crime (like when Booker T robbed all of those Wendy's' restaurants).  Research shows this was from the 2011 Christmas season and that fact will not deter me from reviewing this odd edible.  I placed it next to trading cards of Vin Baker and Jon Barry of the '94-'95 Milwaukee Bucks for to give you an ideal of scale and size.

There's the "World's Greatest Fussbudget" herself, Lucy Van Pelt!

I decided I wanted to document in some way the fact I did try to eat this and also log courtroom worthy evidence I'm perhaps not entirely mentally stable.  This picture was like killing two birds with one stone in that case.

Sorry for the unsavory photo everyone.  That's what I spit into the sink after my one and only bite.  Maybe this should have been a video review (I tend to think everything should be a video -- writing takes far longer and do people even still read in this futuristic time we find ourselves living in?) so you could have seen the entering and exiting of Lucy into my mouth (that sounded more risque than intended).  The flavor was like a wax from a melted candle covering an old Nilla wafer.  Also of note was how damn hard it was to actually break with my teeth and then there's the black icing that turned my mouth two shades darker than Don Cheadle's taint at midnight in a pitch black Louisiana bayou where he happened to fall into a mineshaft into a waiting casket that's door slammed shut.  Yes, it was that dark.

Lucy, into the far recesses of my freezer you go, next to the leafy spinach.

Overall Grade: B-

Batman Disc Launcher Game

Brian, Eddie, and Nick of the RtW crew try out a Batman Disc Launcher game. Wanting to imitate the caped crusader high atop the buildings of Gotham we trek to a really tall... playground. Will we take out the Joker?

Potbelly Sandwich Works

There's a lot of sandwich chains competing for your munching money.  I've had most of them and the race for the top spot is not unlike Excitebike and closer than you might think.  But for me the result has been decided as Potbelly Sandwich Works is my personal favorite.  The menu may not be as extensive as some places, but they more than make up for that insufficiency with quality ingredients and craft.  I also really like the interior.  It feels like a deli mixed with an Ivy League library.  At my local location there's a very small stage in the corner where they'll have live solo singer/songwriter acts perform and adorning the walls near it are bookshelves with some choice titles (thought about leaving one of my own there).

My wife will usually get  a salad and I'll always end up chowing down on some of it also.  My son Owen likes to dig in, going after chickpeas, tomatoes, bacon, and other morsels he can nab with his tiny fingers.  This time she tried the Farmhouse Salad with comes with all-natural chicken, hard-boiled egg, bacon, blue cheese, tomatoes, red onion, and cucumbers.  With the buttermilk ranch it was both delicious and flavorful.

Here's my spread!  I order the Turkey BLT on wheat.  Now, at one point this was the advertised special sandwich (which is ever-changing) but since then it doesn't appear on the menu, I still order it by name and that seems to do the trick and I'd certainly recommend it.  I also got some Zapp's Mesquite Bar-B-Que chips (Owen was definitely a fan) and their potato salad which is out of this world.  Seriously, whether you love it or loathe it most of the time, you simply need to try theirs, it's creamy and smooth and a very nice accompaniment to a sandwich.

Sandwich perfection.  Besides the turkey, bacon, lettuce, and tomato, I also got mayo, pickles (theirs are long and thin), onions, and Italian seasoning sprinkled on for the hell of it.  Their sandwiches come in two sizes and its always a good idea to go "Bigs" which is 30% more food for just a little more.  I've tried the Tuna Salad, Meatball, and Pizza Sandwich, but right now my easy choice is this Turkey BLT.

Brandon "Big Boss" Babel: Driver, get me to Potbelly!

Driver: Sure thing, sir! Uh.. what about the bound and gagged man in the trunk?

"Big Boss": Let him wait! AHAHAHA!

Overall, I really like this place.  It's not a fancy night out or a guilty pleasure burger joint or diner, it's a sandwich shop no pretensions; but rather on your lunch break, grabbing food to go, or dining in with friends or family, it's a solid option.  Part of the reason I personally connect to it is often when my wife, our kids, and I go out to the nearby mall and shopping area, it's usually a staple in our day out as we'll grab lunch there so it holds a special place for me.  You must try some of their baked goods, grab one for dessert or to take home for a late-night snack, my wife and I are both crazy for their Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookie, it's moist and rich and we never visit without getting at least two!

Overall Grade: A-