Cozy Dog Drive In, Springfield, IL - 25 MAY 2011

Springfield is home to original hot dog on a stick* (corn dog). Located at 2935 S. Sixth Street, it was part of Route 66. It's not a very large place:Besides Cozy dogs they have a full drive-in style menu with hamburgers, fries, onion rings, hot & cold sandwiches and breakfast.Part souvenir store:Part museum:The story on the wall reads: “The original Dog-on-a-Stick idea was conceived in 1945, when Ed stopped at a roadside cafe in Muskogee, Oklahoma for a bite. What he ordered - & carefully observed the preparation of – was a row of 3 wieners laid down in a hot iron, covered with a batter, & closed up to cook. The only problem was the lengthy span of time it took. So Ed started brainstorming. He knew if a batter-coated wiener was submersed in hot oil, it would cook rapidly.
So when Ed arrived for duty at the Army Air Field in Amarillo, Texas, He began experimenting. He served the prototypes on cocktail forks, in the base mess hall, & they were an instant hit. Arriving back in Springfield after his discharge, Ed set about solving the problems with his new idea, engineering a rack that would clamp a flat stick. The impaled wiener could then be dipped & coated in batter, then the rack (ultimately designed to clamp 3 “Dogs”) set into a fryer – with the dogs submersed just up to the base of the stick. Ed’s original racks featured the ingenious use of clothespins. He successively refined the design, until arriving at the present design.”
The corn coating is excellent but I found the meat had a strange after taste. On my third visit, I asked them what brand hot dogs they use and the answer was: Oscar Meyer. Guess my California taste buds are accustomed to only eating All Beef Kosher dogs.
*Ed may call his creation "original" but there is a 1929 US patent granted to a German Texan sausage-maker which describes a corn battered wiener, impaled on a stick that is deep fried in vegetable oil.
Tinky Winky introduced me to melted cheese dip for the dog...which covers any strange meat flavor.Jason said it was the best meal he has had since teaching in Springfield.
When I was there on the week-end, they actually had a live entertainment.