I hope you and your family had a blessed Fourth of July holiday weekend. I am sure there were a lot of barbecues – or, as we say in this region, “cookouts.”

No doubt there was a lot of hot dog consumption across the United States. While lying in bed recuperating from my recent knee surgery, I started thinking about all the great restaurants in this area that served great-tasting hot dogs.

One of the most famous in downtown Williamson was the Brunswick. It was a local establishment with a billiards room in the back. But their hot dog chili is famous. I supposedly have the recipe and use it to make my own chili from time to time. It has circulated for years in hard copy and is now on social media.

Right beside it was the Smokehouse, which also served great hot dogs, hamburgers and other good food. It rivaled the Brunswick in the opinion of many.

Growing up in the little town of Nolan, we also had a great family-owned-and-operated restaurant called Fannin’s. Pastor Elmo Fannin and his wife, Mrs. Fannin, owned it. I never knew her first name, but we all just called her Mrs. Fannin. She also made great hot dog chili, which is what makes a great dog by most views.

Fannin’s was close to Nolan Grade School, so if you were lucky enough to have a quarter, you could go there for lunch and buy a hot dog and a cup of pop. If you were even luckier and had 30 cents, you could buy the entire bottle of soda pop. I know that sounds very cheap by today’s standards, but when I was in the early grade school years those were the prices. You could also get a bag of chips or a candy bar for a nickel.

Inflation came along, and hot dogs went to 25 cents, while everything else rose by 5 cents. But you considered yourself fortunate to have that much lunch money in the early to mid-1960s.

Nolan also had Curry’s restaurant, which also sold pretty good hot dogs. It was more of a teen hangout with a jukebox, pinball machines, a pool table and booths to sit and eat your hot dog.

Most of these old restaurants have a lunch counter, complete with stools, where you can sit and place your order.

I know every community has at least one hangout that sold hot dogs. In East Williamson, there was a Sam’s operated by the Corea family. It was later sold to the Ramella family, who were from that neighborhood.

Hurley Drug Store in Williamson still makes a tasty hot dog and they still have the old-fashioned lunch counter that you do not see much in this day and age.

The Tunnel Inn in West End had good hot dogs. I recall when it was called Stewart’s, and they served root beer in an ice-cold glass mug. Many of us called it “The Root Beer Stand” because of its great-tasting root beer. It was curbside service at its best.

Over in Pikeville, they have Dorsie‘s; in Logan, they have Morrison‘s and the Parkway Drive-In. Down in Stepptown, along U.S. 52, you had Dorothy’s Drive-In.

In Inez, there is the Inez Dairy Drive-In, while Warfield had the Dairy Bar, which has been closed for a while.

Many fast-food establishments sell hot dogs, but I am sure the chili is from a can or frozen.

Which reminds me of my first date with my wife Vicki. I was prepared to take her to a nice restaurant for a steak. But she suggested we go to the Dairy Queen for a hot dog and chocolate milkshake, which was fine by me. She asked if I minded if she ordered onion rings too. I knew from that point she was a keeper. So we enjoyed our shake, hot dog (with onions) and onion rings. It was love at first bite.

I try to make homemade chili from time to time. I make enough to freeze a couple of plastic containers for later if we have a hankering for hot dogs at home. Rarely do I buy chili at the grocery store. Most canned chili is “sauce” and not made from ground beef like real homemade chili. (If you want to be healthy, you can use ground turkey or chicken to make your chili, but it is definitely not the same.)

Many of the concession stands at the local high schools or basketball gyms sell hot dogs. Again, it is the chili that makes the dog. The Williamson Fieldhouse and the Belfry football concession stands are both known for having tasty hot dogs.

Some like a little yellow mustard and chopped-up onions on their hot dogs. Some even like slaw on their dogs.

If you are in other parts of the country, you have to ask for a chili dog. Unlike Appalachia, where we just assume the spicy chili is a part of the hot dog. If you order one in some states, you have to tell them what you want on it. It could be relish, ketchup, fried onions and peppers or some other topping native to those cities and states.

Hot dogs are an American tradition and I am sure many of you have your favorite local mom and pop restaurant that made or still makes a good hot dog.

I am sure you have fond memories of biting into your favorite hot dog from the past. I hope this brought back some great memories for many of you.

Until next time.

Kyle Lovern is a longtime journalist in the Tug Valley. He is now a retired freelance writer and columnist for the Mountain Citizen.