Twenty-four Inches of Heaven

Doogies
2525 Berlin Turnpike

Newington, CT
Visited July 14, 2010

Beer Selection: None

Food: Someday you’ll tell your grandkids about it.

I’ve known about Doogies for awhile now. After all, my sister, nieces and nephew live in Newington.

But my marathon-running sister has some sort of aversion to junk food (yeah, I know what you are thinking, but we did actually come from the same set of parents, as far as I know).

In my mind, there is only one thing better than a foot-long chili dog.

A TWO-foot-long chili dog!

And that’s why Doogies is such an internationally known culinary destination. Twenty-four inches of perfectly grilled frankfurter smothered in cheese and chili. The stuff dreams are made of.

But it was just a fact. If I was ever going to indulge in the pleasure of Doogies it was going to have to be a day I was driving through Connecticut when my sister was out of town – a day just like today.

Doogies lived up to my high expectations. All these years of waiting, dreaming, anticipating was worth it for two feet of pig, chili, cheese, bun, repeat. Over and over. Until I consumed every last bite. Plus curly fries.

Sometimes gimmicky mammoth food novelties like this fall far short on quality. But Doogies’ famous two foot dog isn’t just big. It’s darn good too.

Perfectly grilled to a crisp snap, smothered in a quarter gallon of chili and cheese on a bun that holds up surprisingly well, considering it contains enough meat to make John Holmes feel inadequate.

That sturdy bun was a godsend for my suit and tie. Nothing runs up your dry cleaning bill quicker than 24 inches of disintegrating chili dog.
In fact, I was so impressed with the structural integrity of this gigantic tube of meat, I actually left Doogies with regret.

Regret that I just consumed a week’s worth of processed meat in one sitting?

Heck, no!

Regret that I didn’t pile on more from the condiments bar which featured chopped onions, ketchup, mustard and two – two! – kinds of relish.

Oh well. Consider it another lesson learned traveling the back roads of America. Eating your way across the country as a Suit in Strange places isn’t for the timid!

Rating: Bought the Shirt