There are a ton of faux-meat products out there. As someone who was an omnivore up to the age of 20, I can't help but miss meat sometimes, and have thus sought animal-friendly alternatives that approximate the real thing as closely as possible. One of these real things (and I suppose I use that term loosely) is the hot dog.
You know, for a product that people say is made of any number of odds and ends (boots, sawdust, rat tails), it is pretty damn hard to find a satisfying veggie equivalent. I have found a brand or two that I don't mind (more on those some other time), but generally you end up with a rubbery pink cylinder. Ack, that doesn't sound so good - not in a food context anyway! I digress.
In my meat-eating days, I may have had a corn dog once or twice. My mother (bless her frugal heart) would have bought Pogos only if they were on a serious sale, which apparently happened once in a blue moon. So I had always built them up in my head as an impossibly delicious, fanciful combination of sweet and salty, meal and dessert, weiner and bun. When I heard that a few vegetarian companies were coming out with their own versions, I was admittedly skeptical but hopeful.
Let me tell you, Morningstar Farms' Veggie Corn Dogs will not disappoint. They looked and smelled great, and after my tentative first bite, I ended up mowing (mawing? maowing?) down and eating a whole box of four. They are that freaking good. The dog itself has no hint of that rubbery-ness or that artificial smoke flavour crap that is infused in so many of its other-branded brethren. The batter is light and fluffy. It comes on a stick. Close your eyes and you will find yourself lost in a carnival fantasy, complete with lights and sounds and rollercoasters, only this time you can line up at the refreshment stand with your omnivorous friends and say, "Me too."
A few cons: They are available only in the US. I had to make a long-ass trip from Ottawa, Ontario to a Target somewhere in upstate New York to find these bad boys. I don't even know if you're allowed to bring food back into Canada from the US, actually. Well, I did it anyway. Also, they aren't exactly cheap. Not like $20 a box or anything (which, pathetically, I might have paid), but I think they were $5-something US for a box of four dogs. Finally, although they are much lower in fat than a meat version, and aren't completely terrible for you, I wouldn't say they're really healthy either, as they don't contain a hell of a lot of nutrients/vitamins/etc. I guess I expected them to be like Yves Veggie Cuisine's products, which are all fortified with B12 and stuff. Meh.
Final verdict! I love these and am already planning another trip across the border for the sole purpose of buying a caseload. Shh, don't tell the government.
Product and nutrition info: http://www.morningstarfarms.com/product_detail.aspx?family=367&id=322
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