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Uptown Grunge Dog?

So, I was wandering along University around eleven at night, looking for a bus, any bus that’d take me downtown.

But, wait...yonder luminous red umbrella., lil white cart, the smell of grilled onions. People stopping, ordering…are we in TJ?

No, we’re in Uptown, next to Rich’s nightspot at 1051 University.

Whatever, hot diggity! It’s a hotdog stand.

Mateo’s Hotspot

Need to decide. See another customer heading this way. Couple of lovers behind him.

I slip in ahead.

The guy serving things up is Aaron, a stage manager in his day job, moonlighting here — and it is a full moon tonight — serving up dogs every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10.30 to 2.30. “We have three more carts in PB,” he says.

Aaron Browning

So, I’ve triaged my choice down to Grizzle My Hizzle (jumbo dog, sauerkraut, grilled onions, $4.25), Son of a Spicy Bitch (Cajun hot link, chili, nacho cheese, $4.75), or El Grunge (jumbo dog with cream cheese and bacon, $4.50).

Heh-heh. I’m thinking I can ship half of it back to the lovely Carla, who’ll be wondering where the heck I am. Like, before she lifts ye olde rolling pin, I'll offer her a new kind of hotdog and she’ll melt like an ice cream in the sun.

Hmm... El Grunge. Cream cheese and bacon. That’s new. So I order one and then step aside for the guy I just beat in line.

My Grunge dog

“Gimme a dog with bacon, cream cheese, grilled onions, and nacho cheese,” he says.

It's not on the menu board, but Aaron's cool with it. He charges the guy $5.25.

Hector with his dog

Dang. Grilled onions. Nacho cheese. For his dog, not mine.

Aaron hands me mine, mainly bacon and cream cheese.

I add fixins, take a bite, and, truly, that combo is great. Never even thought about it before.

Trouble is, the other guy’s looks better.

“I just pick what I want,” he says. Hector. “Different each time.”

Hector squirts on fixins

Now that's a dog

Oh, man. The aroma. The lushness. His dog. If only I’da let him go first. Dog-darn it! Can’t do nuttin’ about it, ’cause that’s it, dinero-wise, for me.

I guess I stand there, tongue out like a starving dog. But Hector just carries on, spreading, like, everything over it. Looks, smells so-oo good. If I’d just waited…

I mean mine, as I tramp toward Fourth and University, is beautiful and tasty. it’s a great taste contrast. Except Hector went me one better.

The killer is, I get home with Carla's half of the dog intact (that has to be a first), and she takes one look. “Cream cheese? In a hotdog? They’d string you up for this in Chicago! We’re not in Seattle now, Bedford.”

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So, I was wandering along University around eleven at night, looking for a bus, any bus that’d take me downtown.

But, wait...yonder luminous red umbrella., lil white cart, the smell of grilled onions. People stopping, ordering…are we in TJ?

No, we’re in Uptown, next to Rich’s nightspot at 1051 University.

Whatever, hot diggity! It’s a hotdog stand.

Mateo’s Hotspot

Need to decide. See another customer heading this way. Couple of lovers behind him.

I slip in ahead.

The guy serving things up is Aaron, a stage manager in his day job, moonlighting here — and it is a full moon tonight — serving up dogs every Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, from 10.30 to 2.30. “We have three more carts in PB,” he says.

Aaron Browning

So, I’ve triaged my choice down to Grizzle My Hizzle (jumbo dog, sauerkraut, grilled onions, $4.25), Son of a Spicy Bitch (Cajun hot link, chili, nacho cheese, $4.75), or El Grunge (jumbo dog with cream cheese and bacon, $4.50).

Heh-heh. I’m thinking I can ship half of it back to the lovely Carla, who’ll be wondering where the heck I am. Like, before she lifts ye olde rolling pin, I'll offer her a new kind of hotdog and she’ll melt like an ice cream in the sun.

Hmm... El Grunge. Cream cheese and bacon. That’s new. So I order one and then step aside for the guy I just beat in line.

My Grunge dog

“Gimme a dog with bacon, cream cheese, grilled onions, and nacho cheese,” he says.

It's not on the menu board, but Aaron's cool with it. He charges the guy $5.25.

Hector with his dog

Dang. Grilled onions. Nacho cheese. For his dog, not mine.

Aaron hands me mine, mainly bacon and cream cheese.

I add fixins, take a bite, and, truly, that combo is great. Never even thought about it before.

Trouble is, the other guy’s looks better.

“I just pick what I want,” he says. Hector. “Different each time.”

Hector squirts on fixins

Now that's a dog

Oh, man. The aroma. The lushness. His dog. If only I’da let him go first. Dog-darn it! Can’t do nuttin’ about it, ’cause that’s it, dinero-wise, for me.

I guess I stand there, tongue out like a starving dog. But Hector just carries on, spreading, like, everything over it. Looks, smells so-oo good. If I’d just waited…

I mean mine, as I tramp toward Fourth and University, is beautiful and tasty. it’s a great taste contrast. Except Hector went me one better.

The killer is, I get home with Carla's half of the dog intact (that has to be a first), and she takes one look. “Cream cheese? In a hotdog? They’d string you up for this in Chicago! We’re not in Seattle now, Bedford.”

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4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
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