I am always impressed when I go to a Kansas City Royals game. The organization has done a stellar job in keeping Kauffman Stadium a gem of a park despite it being one of the oldest in baseball. It remains a modern, clean, cozy and pleasant venue to take in a game. And not a bad place to down a specialty dog.
KC got some pretty nasty publicity with a dollar-dog night early in the season in which the dogs had some issues that lead to some loud complaints from fans. To their credit the team took ownership of the problem and worked to resolve it. Last year I had a regular dog and it scored nearly perfect. Chasing down the specialty dog at the “K” was a chore this year. Not due to lack of selection, but a surplus of specialty dogs to choose from. Here are their offerings:
Kansas City Dog-swiss cheese, grilled sauerkraut, pale ale mustard.
All Star Barbeque Dog-pulled pork, coleslaw, pickles, bbq sauce.
Texas Dog-Chili,cheddar cheese, diced onions, frito bits.
Chicago Dog-mustard, neon relish, sport peppers, tomatoes, pickles, celery salt on a poppy seed bun.
New York City Dog-grilled sauerkraut, spicy mustard on a poppy seed bun.
Steak n’ Cheese Dog-chopped sirloin and cheese sauce.
All are served with a Farmland frank with a six inch or footlong option. I chose the dog that would give the Royals the best chance of scoring big and that was:
Royal Bacon Blue Dog-blue cheese crumbles, blue cheese dressing, chopped bacon and red onions.
Appeal-I have been wanting to try a dog with blue cheese on it since another team had offered it in the past but had stricken it from their menu. I was pumped and primed to test this cheesy treat. 5
Ingredients-while excited, I was not sure how blue cheese would taste on a dog. The chopped bacon was real bacon and not bacon bits. I also thought they would skimp on the toppings. Not so. This dog was LOADED down with toppings. There was enough cheese on it to keep the cows in Wisconsin in hay for a year. 4
Uniqueness-the only blue cheese flavored dog I have run across that is still offered. 5
Monstrosity Factor-I of course chose the footlong option. I thought at first I would rank this dog low in this category; until they finished topping it. In the end I could not finish it and it is a meal in itself. 4.5
Value-The dog cost $11.25. Most would hesitate, but if you eat it all this is the only food required for the evening. 4
Overall Taste-one thing about blue cheese: it is pungent and powerful. Less is more in the case of this topping. While I always appreciate generous toppings, the cheese hijacked the taste of the dog and made the last half of it less than enjoyable. By mid bun I was ready for some cheddar. 3
| APPEAL | 5 |
| INGREDIENTS | 4 |
| UNIQUENESS | 5 |
| MONSTROSITY FACTOR | 4.5 |
| VALUE | 4 |
| OVERALL TASTE | 3 |
| TOTAL | 25.5 |
With a score of 25.5 the Royals don’t contend for top spot but have a dog worth keeping. I love the play on the Royals colors (blue) and it does have a very unique appeal. Most teams have variants of the other specialty dogs offered, which is why I chose the Royal Bacon Blue Dog. Although a word of warning: for the lactose intolerant this dog is the antiChrist. You have been warned. My recommendation? Take a pal to the park and get one, and then get another specialty dog and share. Because as you well know, the only thing better than a hot dog at the park is two hot dogs at the park
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