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Onos and Woodys Hotdog Stands, a closer look
Aloha!
10/15/08 - Remember the old days, when trips to the beach or bbq's in the backyard often brought out the Oscar Meyer in all of us? Yeah, sure, hotdogs were once mostly fillers meant to take up more space in our stomachs, so that our insatiable appetites as kids wouldn't get too carried away with the real stuff - musubi, teri-beef, bbq chicken, kal-bi, etc. For mom and dad, it was a coup de'tat. While us kids were busy stuffing our faces and singing that famous theme song, mom and dad appreciated the fact that only a few bucks worth of buns and dogs could go so far in placating us.
Later, on perhaps more special occasions, we forgot about wishing to be an Oscar Meyer weiner and shifted our attentions to the red-colored, firmer, locally-made, and definitely classier Redondo's sausages and dogs, which was generally considered a step above. These two supermarket varieties are still around today, but we now have so many other options between our buns that they seem to have become all but a forgotten memory.
The fancy, modern dogs now found around the island are much larger, much more ornately dressed, and much more expensive these days. No longer can we take the lowly and humble hotdog as lightly as we once could by quickly polishing off one or two as a simple snack, and then going right into a full lunch or dinner! Things have surely changed - evolved, even, over time. I guess that's how it goes with everything in life, though, ey? When you consider how we went from Pong to Street Fighter, Nadya Comaneci to a flurry of 12-year old Olympic Gold medalists, banana-seat Schwinn bicycles to hulking Canondales, or Royce Gracie and Tank Abbott to Chuck Lidell and Fedor Emelianenko, I guess hotdogs aren't the only things that have evolved over time.
And I'm not even talking today about Hank Adaniya, with his haute rabbit, foie gras, and kobe beef dogs, nor of the very original puka dogs, with their inside-out toasting process and myriads of house-made tropical mustards and relishes. For a look at both of these outrageously kicked-up versions, go to the hotdog section of our site. For today, we'll stick with dogs that still look and taste like the normal dogs of yesterday, only bigger and better. While the fancier versions mentioned above have fixed locations, the two we are checking out in this particular closer look are basically semi-mobile and glorified versions of the single man, umbrella-roofed pushcarts found all over the Mainland US.
Woody's uses the all-beef Vienna hotdog from Chicago, which comes in both regular and jumbo sizes. Both are relatively skinny dogs, but are a bit longer than normal, with the ends sticking out of the buns on both sides. Here's my jumbo, with wifey loading on a pile of jalapenos and onions from the self-serve condiment station.
The other hotdog stand, for today, is Ono Dog, found at Home Depot Stores throughout the island. These guys are not quite mobile anymore, but not quite fixed, either - semi-mobile, I guess.
Besides that, there are corn dogs, chips, sauerkraut, candies, pretzels, and ice cream. There's even fountain drinks instead of the cans or bottles, which is a big plus for me.
One thing I've failed to mention is the grilled cheese melt sandwiches. The meats inside are of the same choices as for their subs, but it's the rest of this dish that makes it special. I love the fact that they use large slices of whole wheat bread, and not just the brown by name kind, but brown by substance, as I could tell by just looking at it that this was no cheapo, just as healthy as white imposter. I honestly expected this sandwich to arrive as thin slices of normal, white bread that shrank even thinner under the heat and ingredients, but the coarser, more fibrous nature of whole wheat allowed it to stand up to the melted butter and cheese admirably better than white bread could ever manage doing. It was also surprisingly un-oily, as far as grilled cheese goes, and didn't leave me with that uneasy feeling I get after eating a greasy meal.
Normally, I'd go with turkey or tuna before ham, but seeing that ham is a natural match with cheese, at least much more so than the other two, I had to go with the pork choice. It could have used a tad more meat, but this sandwich still managed to impress me as very well put-together.
Both stands are worth your while. Woody's is a hair cheaper and simpler while Ono Dog is the most kicked-up stand I think you'll ever see, not to mention the fact that you can never go wrong with an Eisenberg. Another great hotdog stand, one that once fronted now-closed CompUSA, is the Great Hawaiian Hotdog Company. As far as I know, they are found only at Moose McGillicuddy's at 310 Lewers St. in Waikiki, but only after 10pm, when the place becomes a night club. They also use Eisenburg's, but have a signature creamy garlic sauce that has become quite popular. If anyone sees them re-opening anywhere, please do let me know!
Yes, we have come a long way since Oscar Meyer and Redondo's, and I think we can be all the more happy for it. I couldn't think of eating three or four of these dogs like I could the smaller ones of the past, and would consider the larger ones, along with a bag of chips, as a full meal, indeed. Remember that there are several other hotdog-featuring spots, but I've focused today on the mobile or semi-mobile stands, and not fixed outlets. Those are for another day...
And may you, yourself have a wonderful day in the beautiful Paradise you live in, wherever you happen to be from!
Take care and aloha till next time!
