"Two Hands Corn Dogs with Jamie Loftus" is Episode 393 of Doughboys, hosted by Nick Wiger and Mike Mitchell. "Two Hands Corn Dogs with Jamie Loftus" was released on April 13, 2023.
"Tomorrow… with Jamie Loftus" - @doughboyspod
Synopsis[]
Jamie Loftus (Raw Dog: The Naked Truth About Hot Dogs) joins the 'boys to talk about her new book, Family Guy, and all things hot dogs before diving into a review of Two Hands. Plus, another edition of Let Me Be Frank.
Nick's intro[]
In 2010, Stanford grads Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom combined their budding apps, Burbn and Meebo, into a photo-sharing service they called Instagram. While the focus on filtered pics over text was its initial hook, it’s arguably the omission of a feature that was its true vision: Instagram had no desktop version by design, launching exclusively on Apple’s iOS. Krieger and Systrom correctly anticipated that the social network, as cannily explored in David Fincher’s 2010 film of the same name, would soon migrate from computers to smartphones. In 2012, Facebook acquired Instagram in a billion-dollar bid, and by 2013, Facebook’s mobile users outnumbered its desktop users for the first time.
The mindshare takeover by camera-equipped smartphones loaded with endlessly scrolling social media apps was in full swing, drastically altering everything from pop culture to geopolitics to the depression rates of teenagers — and of course, food. Vendors with Instagram-worthy foodstuffs found themselves as destinations for diners eager to ‘gram their grub for likes, and this quickly became a calculated ploy from new pop-ups and aspiring home cook influencers, leading to viral trends like unicorn lattes and activated charcoal-infused ice cream — much of it looking better than it actually tasted.
But one Instagram-boosted dish predated the app by decades — a South Korean battered sausage on a stick Seoulites simply call a “hot dog,” and commonly labeled a Korean corn dog in the States.
A popular street food originating in the 1980s, the girthy, turgid wieners dwarf any American county-fair offering, often riveted with potatoes and panko bread crumbs to enhance their majesty. The gram-ready dogs became fast-food fashionable around 2016, initially attributed to the wares of Busan-based Myungrang Hot Dog, and #Koreanhotdog soon regularly trended on Instagram and an emerging platform, TikTok.
Sensing opportunity, in 2019 a Korean corn-dog outlet opened in LA’s Koreatown district, and drew long lines in one of the most competitive food neighborhoods in the city. Just four years later, it’s become a rapidly growing franchise — its website boasts quote “more than 40 locations and hundreds more coming next year.”
But is this expansion sustainable as the South Korean hot dog’s virality wanes?
This week on Doughboys… Two Hands.
Fork rating[]
| guest / host | ordered | rating |
|---|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
3 forks |
| Mike Mitchell | Fruit Punch Slush
Two Hands Signature Set
American Classic Dog (100% Beef Sausage) |
3 forks |
| Jamie Loftus | Mega-Star Set
Injeolmi Dog (100% Beef Sausage) |
3 forks |
| shared |
|
Nick and Mitch seemed to have shared some of their orders.
Evan Susser was there for the meal and tried some of the dogs too. He gave it 3 forks. (He also gave Mitch 2 forks.)
Spoonman's Bite of the Night went to the Classic Dog. Nick agreed. Jamie liked the Two Hands Dog best.
The Wiger Challenge[]
Spindrift Half Tea & Half Lemon
In the Wiger Challenge, Nick presents Mitch and the guest a mystery beverage and they try to guess what it is.
Jamie describes it as an 'unhealthy shade of piss.'
| guest / host | guess | result |
|---|---|---|
| Mike Mitchell | Spindrift Lemon Tea | winner! |
| Jamie Loftus | AriZona Unsweetened |
Let Me Be Frank[]
The Lovin' Spoonful "Summer in the City"
| “ |
Hot dog simmer in the city |
” |
Elvis Presley "Hound Dog"
| “ |
You ain't nothin' but a hot dog |
” |
Metallica "Nothing Else Matters"
| “ |
So close, no matter how far |
” |
Boogie Nights
| “ |
I've been around this block twice. Looking for something. A frank. I've been looking for franks and something led me back here. Yeah. So here I am. It could have been me who was at Nathan's Famous when the deep fryer went down. Hey. I know how it goes 'cause I've been there. We've all eaten bad meals. We all have those fatty deposits in our hearts. I wanna take your guts out of your stomach and wash 'em and scrub 'em and make 'em clean. Well, no. But I'm gonna help you settle this. First, we're gonna check for grills and see what we can find. Then we're gonna get nice and hot, so you're gonna spread your mustard. That's good. So you know me. You know my reputation. Thirteen inches is a tough sausage. I don't treat you gently. That's right. I'm Hot Dog Diggler. I'm Hot Doggler. So I'm going to be nice. I'm going to ask you one more time. Where the fuck is Nathan's Famous? I'm a frank. I'm a frank. I'm a frank. I'm a frank. I'm a big, hot juicy frank. |
” |
In this segment, Mitch searches Google for 'hot dog' (and Nick uses Bing AI Chat) and discovers the latest news about hot dogs. They then discuss!
First up, Mitch finds an article about Sonic offering 99-cent corn dogs that day only. He also quickly mentions some articles about hot-dog places closing: Rosie's in South Carolina and Pete's in Pennsylvania. Similarly, Mitch was saddened and angered about the news of New York's hot-dog king.
Nick asks the Bing AI to 'get creative' and for the 'latest hot-dog news.' It for some reason gives him last year's news! So he asks again for more current news, and it told him about the hot-dog market is expected to grow 3% over the next decade (such as in this piece). It also gives him a dark story about a dog that is hot.
Mitch then finds a story about the Let Me Be Frank hot-dog cart in South Dakota! Also more fun, an article about David Byrne performing with hot-dog fingers at the Oscars.
Lastly, Mitch is impressed with the news about the Philly Phanatic's hot-dog cannon, and thinks it may be the best possible article they could find and they should end the segment forever.
Roast Spoonman[]
Oedipus Rex
| “ | Oedipus Steps | ” |
–Grip G | ||
Quotes[]
| “ | Nick: You know what's a good-ass show? 60 Minutes. Mitch: Kind of weird to put The Sopranos vs. 60 Minutes. |
” |
–The Doughboys re: TV | ||
| “ | Jamie: I kind of hate when they give [mascots] Mickey Mouse hands. Mitch: I just naturally have them. |
” |
–Jamie and Mitch | ||
| “ | It was an amazing tribute to an amazing man. | ” |
–Jamie Loftus re: Mitch's Mark Wahlberg monologue | ||
#hashtags[]
- #FattyFootChestnut or #FattyFootCumSauce
The Feedbag[]
| “ | If you weren't able to eat a big, fatty meal for years, what would your first meal be? | ” |
–Christina C. | ||
| guest / host | fatty meal |
|---|---|
| Nick Wiger |
|
| Mike Mitchell |
|
| Jamie Loftus |
|
Photos[]
