Mountain Views News          Saturday, April 5, 2014

FOOD & DRINKMountain Views-News Saturday, April 5, 2014 
10 FOOD & DRINKMountain Views-News Saturday, April 5, 2014 
10 
DILLS DOES DOGS 

Sierra Madre has its first hot dog joint! Vicious Dogs has taken over the location of the Mountain View 

Sushi Restaurant. I’ve been there twice in the past two weeks, and I give it two thumbs up, (actually, 

that should be three visits since I first discovered the original Vicious Dogs in North Hollywood).

Vicious Dogs is operated by partners Alex Fedial and Ruben Sauyun - Alex is the nephew of the 

founder Bill Fedial, and is scoping out other locations for Vicious #3. When I asked Alex why a hot 
dog restaurant in Sierra Madre, Alex replied, “we 
are filling a need that there are no hot dog places 
within five miles”. Great answer Alex!! By the look 
of the line of people waiting to get in, he might 
be on to something. Alex and Ruben have even 

TABLE FOR TWO by Peter Dills 
thechefknows@yahoo.com 
gotten to know the regulars orders, though on my second visit I threw him a change-up by ordering 

the Spicy Pastrami Dog ($7), a polish dog that comes with mustard and pickle served with cut up 

pastrami on a french roll (on my first visit I had the Sweet and Spicy 1/3-lb Kielbasa Link ($6) on a 

poppy seed bun, which Alex tells me is the #1 seller). 


Vicious 2 has done their homework as Alex and 
Ruben plan to expand their menu, but for now they 
offer the top 15 sellers from the original location 
for their menu. You can mix and match and make 
your own from a selection of beef, kosher, pork, 
veggie, or turkey links with an amazing number of 
toppings. Sides are plentiful as well - how about 
garlic feta fries or chili cheese fries? The fries are 
good, but if you have been following my column 
you know I only approve of freshly cut fries. And, 
since my first visit, you can now get a beer with 
your hot dog!! Of course all entrees are under $10, 
dine in or take out. 

Here are a few fun Hot Dog Facts: 

Every year, the typical American will eat an 
average of 60 hot dogs. The cylinder wrapped in 
a blanket is consistently one of the country’s most 
beloved and most misunderstood comfort foods. 
Like most great events in history, there are varying 
accounts of how it all began and who started it. The 
history of the hot dog is no different. You will find 
many references throughout history to the origins 
of a hot dog-like thing called a sausage. Here are a 
handful of the most entertaining accounts of how 
the hot dog was born. 

The invention of the hot dog is often attributed to the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition. However, 
similar sausages were made and consumed in Europe, particularly in Germany, as early as 1864, 
and the earliest example of a hot dog bun dates to New York City in the 1860s. German immigrants 
appear to have sold hot dogs, along with milk rolls and sauerkraut, from pushcarts in New York City’s 
Bowery during the 1860s. The hot dog’s association with baseball also predates the 1904 World’s Fair. 
Chris von der Ahe, owner of the St. Louis Browns, sold hot dogs at his ballpark in the 1880s.
But, who served the first hot dog? Wieners and frankfurters don’t become hot dogs until someone puts 
them in a roll or a bun, and there are several stories as to how this first happened. Several people have 
been credited for supposedly inventing the hot dog, most notably Charles Feltman and Antonoine 
Feuchtwanger. 


In 1867, Charles 
Feltman, a German 
butcher, opened 
up the first Coney 
Island hot dog stand 
in Brooklyn, New 
York and sold 3,684 
dachshund sausages 
in a roll during his 
first year in business. 
He is also credited 
with the idea of the 
warm bun. 



In 1880, Antonoine Feuchtwanger, a German peddler, sold hot sausages in the streets of St. Louis, 
Missouri. He would supply white gloves with each purchase so that his customers would not burn 
their hands while eating the sausage. However, he saw his profits shrinking because the customers 
kept taking the gloves and walking off with them. His wife suggested that he put the sausages in a split 
bun instead. He reportedly asked his brother-in-law, a baker, for help. The baker improvised long softrolls that fit the meat, thus inventing the hot dog bun. When he did that, the hot dog was born; he 
called them red hots. 

Although the exact origins of the Chicago Dog are not documented, Vienna Beef of Chicago claims 
two European immigrants at the Chicago World’s Fair invented the “Chicago-style” hot dog . 

Check out Vicious Dogs at 24 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. (626) 921-0058Email me at the chefknows@yahoo.com 


SZECHUAN NOODLES 
WITH PORK 
INGREDIENTS 

12 ounce(s) linguine 

1 tablespoon(s) canola oil

12 ounce(s) ground pork

1/4 teaspoon(s) red pepper flakes

6 scallions, cut in 1 1/2-in. pieces 

1 large carrot, shredded 

3 clove(s) garlic, finely chopped 

1 piece(s) (2-in.) fresh ginger 

1 cup(s) low-sodium chicken broth or water 

2 tablespoon(s) low-sodium soy sauce 

3 tablespoon(s) creamy peanut butter

 Chopped fresh cilantro, for serving 

DIRECTIONS 

Cook the linguine according to package directions. Reserve 1 cup of the cooking liquid. 

Drain the pasta and return it to the pot. 

Meanwhile heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground pork and red 
pepper flakes and cook, breaking it up with a spoon, until browned, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the 
scallions, carrot, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for 3 minutes. 

Stir the chicken broth, soy sauce and peanut butter into the pork mixture. Cook, stirring, 
until the peanut butter is melted and fully incorporated. Toss with the pasta, adding some 
of the reserved cooking liquid if the pasta seems dry. Sprinkle with the cilantro, if desired. 

SAVOR THE FLAVOR! 

Savor the Flavor Teaches You How To Taste Chocolate 


Tasting chocolate can be as simple as ripping open a bag and digging in. But to fully appreciate 
chocolate, you should experience as many of its moods and flavors as possible. Here’s how to do a 
more formal tasting. 

Sample Several: Buy several different kinds. Try white, milk and dark. Experiment with chocolates 
you’ve never had before. Choose various brands, cacao percentages and countries of origin. Select 
different varieties of beans—rare Criollo, and Forastero and Trinitario. Experiment with unusual 
add-ins, such as chilies, sea salt or bacon. 

Arrange Them: Lay them out, from light to dark, and from lower cacao percentages to higher. 

Sense Your Chocolate: Notice the gloss and color of each chocolate. Color may be a clue to its taste; 
darker colors generally have a richer flavor. However, lighter colors may actually be an indication of 
the bean’s characteristics, rather than the chocolate’s cacao content or the presence of milk. Starting 
with the chocolate with the lightest color and lowest cacao percentage, break off a piece. Listen for a 
sharp snap, which indicates freshness and quality. Dark chocolate, with its higher concentration of 
cocoa liquor, will have the cleanest break. 

Breathe It In: Next, bring your chocolate to your nose and inhale its aroma. A chocolate’s aroma will 
vary depending on its variety, where it’s from and how it was made. A chocolate may be reminiscent 
of fruits, nuts, spices, flowers, herbs, dairy products, sugar, alcohol, bread or wood. Its scent may 
even be like a color—green for grass or purple for tartness. 

Taste It: Bite off a small amount, and let it melt on your tongue. Then bite another small piece and 
chew it slowly. Notice how creamy it feels in your mouth and whether it melts all the way. Higher-
quality chocolates often have a smoother texture. 

Feel the flavors swirl. Dark chocolate is the most complex. Pay attention to the different flavors of 
the ingredients—the cocoa, the sugar, the vanilla. You may taste the same characteristics that you 
could smell when breathing in that particular chocolate, or you may find that the flavors differ from 
the aromas. Blackberry, butter, brown sugar, mint, coffee, pepper, even wine or ash—the list goes on 
and on. These are all flavors that may appear in the chocolate itself, even if those ingredients weren’t 
added at the factory. 

Repeat: Cleanse your palate with a bland, unsalted cracker or a slice of green apple and a sip of water 
or seltzer. Then try the next in line; sample them all! (Excerpt from www.thestoryofchocolate.com)