Match of the week

Hot dogs and champagne

Posted by Fiona Beckett (Google+) on September 17 2012 at 14:52

One of the under-appreciated qualities of champagne is how well it goes with fast food. Like fish and chips, fried chicken, popcorn and . . . er . . . hot dogs. Or so the clever founders of Bubbledogs discovered and found themselves with a smash hit on their hands.

I must admit I was sceptical. Beer goes, sure, and there is a logic to combining bread with bubbles but some of the fillings sounded pretty challenging for £50+ bottles of champagne.

I chose a ‘breakie dog’, a sausage wrapped in bacon, topped with a fried egg and a scattering of black pudding which paired very well with a glass of rich, golden, almost honeyed Christophe Mignon brut nature (that’s without any added sugar or ‘dosage’ as they call it). It also went well with my daughter’s BLT dog with truffle mayo (champagne and truffles being a classic combo).

Curious to see how stronger flavours would impact I tried a kimchee dog but this time chose a glass of (I think, but didn’t note it down) the R H Coutier grand cru rosé which was sweeter and fruitier. (I’m sure the kimchee would have obliterated the Mignon). Other ‘dogs’ like the Sloppy Joe might have clobbered even that but hey, it’s not about perfect pairings, more about having a bit of fun. (Though not the cheapest fun in town.)

If you fancy the notion but can’t get to Bubbledogs check out my my ideas for a hot dog party.

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