Washington Nationals: DMV Dog

I grabbed a dog in our nation’s capital on Thursday while watching the Nationals trounce the Braves. I like Nationals Park not for its baseball vibe, but that it was the first green baseball venue in the MLB. All sorts of environmentally conscious facets were built into the stadium. And a great park for gluttony as well. If you don’t like hot dogs, first of all please turn in your American passport, but secondly, you can still eat well at Nats Park.

I zeroed in on the DMV dog. Being a rube I figured DMV meant Department of Motor Vehicles. I fully expected to wait in line for 45 minutes for this dog only to be told I was in the wrong line and directed another line twice as long. As it turns out, it stands for DC, Maryland and Virginia. The DMV dog pays homage to all of its neighbors by combining a Ben’s half-smoke sausage, topped with Maryland crab cheese sauce and Virginia baked ham. Pretty clever no? But, I really was confused about the DMV thing at first. Then I realized I was in DC, the seat of our government. Confused and misleading is the norm.

Appeal-makes you want to get one just to see what the hell it is. Once you find out, it sounds pretty tasty. 5

Ingredients-love the Ben’s half-smoke. Ben is a DC staple in the world of encased meat. The ham was good, although I am not a fan of ham on a dog. The crab cheese sauce was...interesting. 4

Uniqueness-really cool play on three local culinary influences. 5

Monstrosity Factor-big dog, but not scary. I downed it without batting an eye. 3.5

Value-at 13 smackers it needs to be the only food you will eat that day. By the fifth inning I was looking for the peanut guy. 3.5

Overall Taste-it was good. The half-smoke really made the dog. The buns were fresh, but instead of using one large bun it uses two, overlapping regular size bun. Unique but slightly inefficient. 4.5

APPEAL	5
INGREDIENTS	4
UNIQUENESS	5
MONSTROSITY FACTOR	3.5
VALUE	3.5
OVERALL TASTE	4.5
TOTAL	25.5

The overall score of 25.5 puts the Nats in the middle of the pack. Don’t be disappointed, it is still a unique and delicious, really large dog. But the competition for top spot is stiff.

A special thanks to the Washington Nationals for selling tickets for $5 a few hours before game time. They did the same last year. They get it. Put fans in the ballpark. A few other teams do something similar. Why not all. And for five bucks you have no excuse to not get your butt in a seat at Nationals Park. Watch the game and renew your license as the DMV.