Raleigh’s Roast Grill on the Travel Channel

Another quick — and entirely unliterary — post here.

roast-grillAs a few close friends know, one of my favorite foods is the chili dog. For many years, I made a regular Saturday trek to my favorite hot dog spot, The Roast Grill in Raleigh, for a couple (or three, or four, or once even five) dogs with mustard and chili. I even have a Roast Grill t-shirt  and a hat and (no lie) an original watercolor drawing of the restaurant on our kitchen wall. (My brother commissioned it for a Christmas present one year; you can see it at left.) And I have to stress that I’m far from the only ardent fan; one day at lunch, we ended up chatting to former N.C. governor Jim Hunt, who took the stool just beside us. Simply put, no one can make a hot dog like the Roast Grill’s owner, George Poniros.

On Wednesday, March 18, at 10 p.m., The Travel Channel show Man V. Food visits Raleigh and takes on the hot dog challenge at the Roast Grill, attempting to eat 17 hot dogs to top the record. (I don’t think host Adam Richman will have much trouble meeting this challenge; in fact, I always secretly thought I could do it, if I really tried.)

Set your DVRs — and grill up a couple of dogs yourself to get into the spirit.

Postscript

For anyone who missed it, Richman did indeed meet the challenge: 17 dogs! (And they looked really, really good.) Poniros was a great host and a winning screen personality. They should give him his own show!

And Another Postscript

Apparently, Richman’s victory was short-lived, with the previous record-holder coming back down to take back the title.

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