Perro Caliente (Hotdogs) Colombia

On Nomz Hero Note to Self: What doesn’t taste good with crushed up potato sticks on top

Perro Caliente with an absurd amount of mayo

At barbeques, if asked if I want a hotdog or a hamburger, I will always answer hamburger, at least as what I am going to eat first. I like hotdogs but going head to head with a hamburger or a sandwich, I will choose the later just simply because after eating a hotdog, I never feel completely satisfied. Even in New York, eating at Crifdogs or Japadog, one or two hotdogs is really just a snack for me, which is probably why I was a fat kid. One hotdog never satisfied me until I came face to face with the Colombian version of a hotdog. 

I encountered it first when I was in the Bogota airport, I heard rumors of the ridiculous amount of condiments and when I found a place selling it, I of course had to eat it. Here is the basic rundown of the Colombian hotdog. It starts off simple enough, a footlong hotdog and a bun to match. The one at the airport toasted their bun too. Then goes the ketchup…not weird, still on level ground, then the mayonnaise…pushing the comfort zone, then the pineapple sauce…wait what? Then grated cheese…uhh what is going on? Then the crushed potato sticks and my mind being utterly confused. 

This huge monstrosity was the size of my forearm and I thought it was funny that the server gave me extra ketchup and mayonnaise packets. I notice that napkins are used and given sparingly in Colombia so that one measly napkin they gave you will not be enough. This is a condiment party and with everything that is in there…this somehow works and taste awesome. The pineapple sauce is great here and though initial reactions usually would have everyone horrified, I guess it is kind of like the 50s baked ham and pineapple rings kind of combination. The pineapple sauce is not overly sweet which I think helps in working with everything. 

I later revisited the hotdog when I was in Santa Marta and found another hotdog vendor that was doing great business. I again got it and this time, it got a double helping of cheese in the condiment layering as well as the addition of mayonnaise based coleslaw. I also noticed that the hotdogs were kept in a hotpot that had a poaching liquid that had pineapples in it. This one just as messy as the other one and after eating this, left me covered with bits of cheese and potato sticks. Both times, you could taste the hotdog and it was not as salty as you would think. It was a good hotdog though the condiments are what make a Colombian hotdog. It is a fun thing to eat and one of the few hotdogs I can eat and feel actually satisfied after eating.