Two Hands Corn Dogs with Jamie Loftus

"Two Hands Corn Dogs with Jamie Loftus" is Episode 393 of *Doughboys*, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Two Hands Corn Dogs with Jamie Loftus" was released on April 13, 2023.

## Synopsis

Jamie Loftus (*Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs*) joins the 'boys to talk about her new book, *Family Guy*, and all things hot dogs before diving into a review of Two Hands. Plus, another edition of Let Me Be Frank.

## Nick's intro

In 2010, Stanford grads Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom combined their budding apps, Burbn and Meebo, into a photo-sharing service they called Instagram. While the focus on filtered pics over text was its initial hook, it’s arguably the omission of a feature that was its true vision: Instagram had no desktop version by design, launching exclusively on Apple’s iOS. Krieger and Systrom correctly anticipated that the social network, as cannily explored in David Fincher’s 2010 film of the same name, would soon migrate from computers to smartphones. In 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram in a billion-dollar bid, and by 2013, Facebook’s mobile users outnumbered its desktop users for the first time.

The mindshare takeover by camera-equipped smartphones loaded with endlessly scrolling social media apps was in full swing, drastically altering everything from pop culture to geopolitics to the depression rates of teenagers — and of course, food. Vendors with Instagram-worthy foodstuffs found themselves as destinations for diners eager to ‘gram their grub for likes, and this quickly became a calculated ploy from new pop-ups and aspiring home cook influencers, leading to viral trends like unicorn lattes and activated charcoal-infused ice cream — much of it looking better than it actually tasted.

But one Instagram-boosted dish predated the app by decades — a South Korean battered sausage on a stick Seoulites simply call a “hot dog,” and commonly labeled a Korean corn dog in the States.

A popular street food originating in the 1980s, the girthy, turgid wieners dwarf any American county-fair offering, often riveted with potatoes and panko bread crumbs to enhance their majesty. The gram-ready dogs became fast-food fashionable around 2016, initially attributed to the wares of Busan-based Myungrang Hot Dog, and #Koreanhotdog soon regularly trended on Instagram and an emerging platform, TikTok.

Sensing opportunity, in 2019 a Korean corn-dog outlet opened in LA’s Koreatown district, and drew long lines in one of the most competitive food neighborhoods in the city. Just four years later, it’s become a rapidly growing franchise — its website boasts quote “more than 40 locations and hundreds more coming next year.”

But is this expansion sustainable as the South Korean hot dog’s virality wanes?

This week on *Doughboys*… Two Hands.

## Fork rating

* Injeolmi Dog (Whole Mozzarella)
* Spicy Dog (Spicy Beef Sausage)
 Mike Mitchell
Two Hands Signature Set
* Two Hands Dog (Half Sausage & Half Mozzarella)
* Spicy Dog (Spicy Beef Sausage)
* Potato Dog (Half Sausage & Half Mozzarella)

American Classic Dog (100% Beef Sausage)
 Jamie Loftus
* Two Hands Dog (Half Sausage & Half Mozzarella)
* Potato Dog (Half Sausage & Half Mozzarella)
* Spicy Dog (Half Sausage & Half Mozzarella)
* Classic Dog (100% Beef Sausage)
* Crispy Rice Dog (100% Beef Sausage)

Injeolmi Dog (100% Beef Sausage)
 shared
* Kimchi Seasoning Fries
* Elote

Nick and Mitch seemed to have shared some of their orders.

Evan Susser was there for the meal and tried some of the dogs too. He gave it 3 forks. (He also gave Mitch 2 forks.)

**Spoonman's Bite of the Night** went to the Classic Dog. Nick agreed. Jamie liked the Two Hands Dog best.

## The Wiger Challenge

In the Wiger Challenge, Nick presents Mitch and the guest a mystery beverage and they try to guess what it is.

Jamie describes it as an 'unhealthy shade of piss.'

 Jamie Loftus

## Let Me Be Frank

Grit on my grill gettin' greasy and gritty
Toast bun, don't it look pretty
Suckin' on a dog like you're suckin' on a titty
Pork and beef sausages and long bread
Rollin' on a roller grill, must've been relish

One bite, it's a different world
Swap dog bites with a girl
Munch on, munch on, and chomp all night
Despite the farts, it'll be alright
That taste when the casing has snapped
Later that day, you'll for sure have to nap
As it simmers in the city
Like you're suckin' on a titty

Frying all the time
You ain't nothin' but a hot dog
Frying all the time
You ain't never been a burger
And you ain't no lunch of mine

They said you a sandwich
Well, that was just a lie
Yea, they said you a sandwich
Well, that was just a lie
You're just a bun around a wiener
So you sure don't qualify*

Couldn't be hot dogs that are jarred
Forever munching on wieners
And corn dogs are battered

Never open my mouth this way
Bite is ours, we eat it our way
All these links I don't just taste
And corn dogs are battered

Trust I beef and I bite in spew
Every frank for us something new
Open mouth for a hot-dog chew
And corn dogs are battered

Never cared for what they chew
Never cared for what they dough
But I dough!*

In this segment, Mitch searches Google for 'hot dog' (and Nick uses Bing AI Chat) and discovers the latest news about hot dogs. They then discuss!

First up, Mitch finds an article about Sonic offering 99-cent corn dogs that day only. He also quickly mentions some articles about hot-dog places closing: Rosie's in South Carolina and Pete's in Pennsylvania. Similarly, Mitch was saddened and angered about the news of New York's hot-dog king.

Nick asks the Bing AI to 'get creative' and for the 'latest hot-dog news.' It for some reason gives him last year's news! So he asks again for more current news, and it told him about the hot-dog market is expected to grow 3% over the next decade (such as in this piece). It also gives him a dark story about a dog that is hot.

Mitch then finds a story about the Let Me Be Frank hot-dog cart in South Dakota! Also more fun, an article about David Byrne performing with hot-dog fingers at the Oscars.

Lastly, Mitch is impressed with the news about the Philly Phanatic's hot-dog cannon, and thinks it may be the best possible article they could find and they should end the segment forever.

## Quotes

**Mitch**: Kind of weird to put *The Sopranos* vs. *60 Minutes*.
**Nick**: They're both on TV.

**Mitch**: I just naturally have them.

## #hashtags

* #FattyFootChestnut or #FattyFootCumSauce

## The Feedbag

 Mike Mitchell
 Jamie Loftus
* McDouble / Diet Coke / McDouble
* Dunkin' Donuts Sausage Wake-Up Wrap

## Photos

Two Hands DogsTwo Hands DogsTwo Hands DogsFull OrderElote, Kimchi Seasoning Fries, Dirty FriesFruit Punch Slush