Albuquerque Isotopes: Orbit Dog

Science lesson: Isotopes are variations of a particular chemical element that differ in the number of neutrons. I know, I should have paid attention in science class too. But that is stuff to remember if you ever appear on Jeopardy! All you really need to know is that these particles go in some sort of orbital motion, which is why the class AAA Albuquerque Isotopes’ mascot is called Orbit. And they have named their most outrageous specialty dog after him called the Orbit Dog.

Last year the Isotopes had something similar called the Lasorda Dog, named after legendary Dodgers skipper Tommy Lasorda. Now that the team is a Colorado Rockies affiliate, a tweaking of the recipe and new moniker were in order. Enter the Orbit Dog.

It consists of two all-beef franks, mac & cheese, green chile and bacon bits all wrapped up in a tortilla. At nine bucks it should be a meal in its own right, and it is. It is also a costume wrecker. A brillo pad would not hold that contraption together, and it doesn’t take long for its half-life to expire and start to disintegrate.

Appeal-love the name and concept, and the challenge of downing a two-frank dog. 5

Ingredients-the green chile is a New Mexico thing and I like that. The mac & cheese on hot dogs is starting to become passe. 4

Uniqueness-two franks in one dog, and the tortilla wrap give it a leg up on the competition. 5

Monstrosity Factor-nearly huge enough to warrant top score. But I didn’t feel the need to purge after so it falls slightly short. 4.5

Value-this is the only dog you will eat the night of the game. Still, at $9 it should feed two people. 4.5

Overall Taste-this could have been a great tasting dog. The Isotopes use Farmland franks which fall flat on taste. They have the texture of meat but the rest of the ingredients overpower the franks instead of complementing them. In a two-frank dog, the meat should be the star of the show. I’d recommend switching to Hebrew National franks for a much better and beefier taste. I’d feel better about shelling out nine bucks for it too with HN kosher franks nestled in that tortilla. 3

APPEAL	5
INGREDIENTS	4
UNIQUENESS	5
MONSTROSITY FACTOR	4.5
VALUE	4.5
OVERALL TASTE	3
TOTAL	26

A score of 26 is nothing to balk at. Kudos to Albuquerque for putting up a fight with a very unique and large hot dog. I rate Isotopes Park as one of my favorite MiLB venues and it has lots of fine and tasty food to offer. With some tweaking the Orbit Dog could become a legend. Until then, it continues to drift in the Van Allen Belt.