Golf and Hot Dogs (Ft. Meyers)

My dad and I spent this weekend doing a father/daughter golf outing. The idea was to spend a few days in sunny weather (southern Florida) during what we assumed would be typical February winter weather, but we got lucky, choosing to go the weekend that followed one of the coldest weeks all winter (making it a wonderful treat).

There are really only two times that I think hot dogs are even remotely a good idea (two times in fact when I go from not being a fan (I might even say to being somewhat negative about them) to considering them a necessity): baseball games and golf. What follows is a comparison of the offerings at three of the four courses we played (we had to run for a flight the fourth day and didn't get the fourth dog).

Hot Dog #1: Deep Creek
This course had an actual charcoal grill at their Grill and so the hot dog was well charred (which I liked) and the relish seemed home-made (I don't know if that's something people do, but it didn't have that tang that the next two days had). They also had the choice between Guilden's and French's (I took Guilden's). The only issue with this one was that the dog itself was a little bit big, throwing off the bun/dog balance. (And yes, the fact that I got to eat it outside in 79 degree weather made it taste better too (for those of you in the north, that's real, warm sunshine in the photo)).

Hot Dog #2: Copperhead
This dog was steamed, not grilled, which is okay, but didn't quite hold up after the first one. The bun was nicely toasted though, which helped. The woman at the grill actually added the toppings - but she did a great job (even made it look pretty), so I had no complaints. The dog/bun balance was much better on this version than the first. But the dog itself wasn't as good as the first one. Overall, this came in behind the first days (though the bun/dog balance kept it close).

Hot Dog #3: Majestic
This was, without a doubt, the messiest hot dog I've ever eaten. The bun was a bit stale and just fell apart. The bun/dog balance was okay. The hot dog was okay, though not great. All-in-all it was a very mediocre (always interesting when something is extermely in the middle) hot dog. (Disclaimer: This is a photo of my dad's hot dog as mine always has ketchup, but my bun was really pretty ugly even before I started eating).