Review: Disney World’s New “Hot Dog” Salad
Who among us hasn’t gone out to eat, and while perusing a restaurant’s menu, been overcome by analysis paralysis. Should I order the salad…or the hot dog?!? Like you, this happens to me on a near-daily basis. I can’t even think about eating without creeping salad v. hot dog dread.
Thankfully, Walt Disney World has the answer to our anxiety: the Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad. (Nothing makes me salivate quite like air quotes around the name of an already questionable culinary amalgamation.) This new dish is the biggest star on Sunset Boulevard since Norma Desmond, now ready for its close-up.
Recently debuting in Disney’s Hollywood Studios, this “interesting” dish consists of Romaine Blend, Plant-based Bratwurst, Sliced Sport Peppers, Tomatoes, Onions, House-made Dill Pickle, Sweet Relish, Mustard, and Poppy and Celery Seed Brioche Croutons tossed in Neon Green Relish Vinaigrette. Sounds “yummy!” Sometimes it’s interesting to see just how bad bad writing can be. This review promises to go the limit.
The Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad is one option on yet another new menu at Fairfax Fare, which is located in the Sunset Ranch Market open air food court between the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror and Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith.
In addition to Fairfax Fare, Sunset Ranch Market is home to Anaheim Produce, Rosie’s All-American Cafe, Catalina Eddie’s, and Hollywood Scoops Ice Cream. The sprawling market is loosely modeled after the Original Farmers Market on the corner of 3rd & Fairfax in Los Angeles. (If you’re in the area, the real thing is worth checking out for Du-par’s pancakes and pies.)
Fairfax Fare seemingly swaps out its menu lineup a few times per year. Pre-closure, the location was serving a southwest menu, with empanadas, fajitas, and rice bowls. That was a pre-Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge change that flew under the radar despite being shockingly good and ambitious.
Once upon a time in Hollywood Studios, Fairfax Fare was actually our go-to counter service restaurant. The location was highlighted by a half rotisserie chicken and rib combo meal, which tasted just fine, but was the best use of counter service credits on the Disney Dining Plan. That was pulled almost a decade ago, though. Here’s hoping it makes a comeback–err, a return. A return to the millions of people who have never forgiven it for deserting Disney’s food scene.
You’re not here to hear me wax poetic about the halcyon days of the Disney Dining Plan. Let’s be real, you’re not even here to learn about the Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad to determine whether you should add it to your list of things to eat at Walt Disney World. You’re here out of total schadenfreude, eager to see me get my just deserts for ridiculing Restaurantosaurus. However, it was Sarah who ordered the Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad.
When it comes to weird Walt Disney World food like this, it’s either an unmitigated disaster or against-all-odds good. This was neither. That was mildly disappointing, as a culinary abomination or an underdog success makes for a much more interesting story. Instead, we have something that was just fine; mediocrity is boring.
The salad’s components work better individually than as a cohesive dish, which is a challenge when you’re eating something like a salad that’s mixed together. However, the fake bratwurst was actually tasty and convincing, the veggies were quality, and the relish vinaigrette was fantastic.
Nevertheless, this would’ve been better as a plant-based bratwurst on a pretzel bun or a Chicago-style salad minus the fake hot dog. You probably surmised as much without even tasting it, but this should not exist as a single entree. That’s the trouble with you readers, you know all the plots.
For my entree, I ordered the California BLTA Dog: All-Beef Quarter-pound Hot Dog topped with Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Applewood Bacon, Crushed Ranch Tortilla Chips, and House-made Black Pepper Mayonnaise on a Brioche Butter Bun served with Pickled Vegetables.
The California BLTA Dog is solid. The hot dog is high quality and the toppings are a refreshing contrast to that. Arguably, this is the best iteration of a Hot Dog “Salad.” The only problem was that the toppings are insufficient and I wasn’t even remotely full after finishing this. Prices are big! It’s the portions that got small.
While I didn’t order it this time, the Truffle Bacon Macaroni & Cheese Hot Dog is actually a returning favorite at Fairfax Fare. The bun and sides are different this go-round, but otherwise it’s fundamentally the same dish.
This is rich and savory, and was fairly novel when it debuted. Since then, Casey’s Corner has added a substantially similar hot dog to its menu. There are subtle differences to that dog, with the most notable being that you can order it as a foot long for a couple dollars more. I’d definitely go that route if Casey’s Corner has reopened by your next Walt Disney World trip.
Ultimately, the Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad is fine. The other menu items at Fairfax Fare are fine. Pretty much everything about the whole Sunset Ranch Market is fine. There are better high-profile and unsung options around Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and we prefer pretty much any other counter service restaurant in the park to this outdoor food court.
However, Fairfax Fare and the adjacent options are totally passable, with both standard theme park standbys and fun twists on those concepts. It’s nothing special, but it’s far from the worst dining options at Walt Disney World. There’s nothing tragic about being a crowd-pleasing food court, unless it’s trying to be the biggest star of them all.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Does the Chicago-style “Hot Dog” Salad look appetizing to you? Do you hope Disney will offer more innovative culinary combinations? Perhaps hot chocolate and baked beans, or apple sauce and A1 steak sauce? Thoughts on the other hot dogs? Have you dined at Fairfax Fare in the past? What did you think? Worthwhile for the characters, for the food, or for both? Is this meal something you’d like to try? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Okay, I know EXACTLY what happened here. Allow me to unpack my theory, if you wouldn’t mind.
At times, it seems like Disneyland and Walt Disney World have a bit of a “food rivalry.” Example- For the Haunted Mansion anniversary, each coast came up with different wedding cake. I didn’t have the WDW one but I didn’t hear good things. The DL HM wedding cake is fantastic, and I’m so glad it’s back at French Market.
One of Jolly Holiday’s most well loved treats is the Matterhorn Macaroon. Then the chocolate version showed up at WDW…and I think it’s gone already but not sure.
The Monte Cristos at DL are a big deal…oh look, Bar Riva at Riviera got a Monte Cristo too, but with strawberry instead of blackberry. (Not sure it survived the Covid menu reductions but it was there.)
Following so far? Good.
Now, what’s been one of the most talked about foods at DL lately? The pickle corn dog with peanut butter sauce. Huge hype. (Nope, not touching that one myself.)
WDW – “oh hey, lookit all the publicity a weird hot dog got. We can do something weird with hot dogs too! Hold our beer…”
And thus the hot dog salad was born.
Now – do I think this is actually what happened? No. Menus take time to develop. But it’s a fun theory.
I’m here for all the Sunset BLVD references.
Is a Hot Dog Salad a sandwich?
You know you are hooked on this blog when a) you aren’t planning on going to Disney anytime soon and b) you are reading and laughing whilst reading about a hot dog salad you would never order even if you were going to Disney. Kudos.
You had me at Hot Dog Salad.
You lost me at Plant-based Bratwurst.
@Laura, sorry but I’m a Sabrett man here. Goooooooooooood stuff.
@Tom_Bricker with this I would say you are a wise man: “Sounds to me like THE MAN doesn’t want us debating the controversial topic of “hot dog” salads. Don’t worry, I’ve manually approved them all. This is too important to censor! .”
We must take a stand on tasty foods! SPAM, yes! Hot dogs, yes! By the way, we make our own burger by grinding high quality briskets and adjusting the fat content. Cheaper than ground sirloin! Except last time, we didn’t trim any fat first and it was too fatty, way too fatty. Thawed out some elk and oryx roast from the freezer, ground and mixed it in to adulterate the fat. It came out really well in the end, with 28# of nice ground meat vacuum sealed in 2#packages. Never tried to make sausage yet. Seems like a lot of work.
@DebC that’s a great point, these fake ‘meat’ products are so highly processed that I must question their healthiness in comparison to actual hot dogs or sausages. We keep seeing stories of embodied energy to mine this or that and process to make solar panels or wind turbines, etc, and the alleged environmental impact of a cow or hog, but what about the factories making these meat[sic]strosities?
And further, I must ask those who do not want to eat meat why then they would even want something which mimics meat in any way. If they don’t eat meat, how do they even know if it’s realistic anyway? I’m not going to do the taste test for them. Not interested in any Soylent products!
Well, spam is a product that is not quite meat, so maybe that’s why.
Amusing side note: WordPress content moderation has flagged 9 out of 10 comments thus far as potentially offensive or SPAM.
Sounds to me like THE MAN doesn’t want us debating the controversial topic of “hot dog” salads. Don’t worry, I’ve manually approved them all. This is too important to censor! 😉
Even the idea of a hot dog on a salad is rather strange. Then, again, this isn’t even a hot dog; it’s plant based fake sausage. So, if it’s a rather weird vegetable, it might belong on a salad. It won’t be on my plate for dinner or lunch. When you need to add so many chemicals and process the vegetables to get them to look like “meat”, I just don’t understand the need.
Oh, and on the other dog, that’s a huge NO to any avocado of any kind, anywhere. Why would anyone contaminate a glorious hot dog with infant poo? Seriously…
as a staunch advocate of all things chicago as my hometown, run. run away as fast as possible from that “salad” and get thee to Portillo’s. STAT!
Okay, Fairfax used to have some great stuff. I mean, hot dog with pulled pork and/or Mac n Cheese on top, hell yeah! No need for any truffle oil though, on anything, ever. For this salad though, for me it’s a pass. No to the fake “meat”, no to mustard, no to chemically laden peppers, no to the abomination of sweet relish! Why does sweet relish even exist at all? Yuck. Dill pickles are over 80% of the market vs the nasty sweet pickles. I guess it’s like folks who like iphones even though they are less than 20% of the world market too. Some just like inferior stuff. The world needs ditch diggers…
For something I thought might be disgusting but wasn’t, try either fancy version of the tater tots at Friar Tuck’s Nook in MK. Those were both very good.
“Plant-based Bratwurst” … “However, the fake bratwurst was actually tasty and convincing…”
You say we readers know the plot, but this was an unexpected plot twist.
Sorry, but one other thought on the hot dog salad… it reminds me of an old SNL skit with Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, and Gildna Radner about Shimmer Floor Wax… “it’s a floor wax and a dessert topping!”
Whenever I see a protein in quotation marks, I tend to run as fast as possible in the other direction!
I’m going for the Truffle Bacon Macaroni & Cheese Hot Dog. That looks amazing! As a general rule, I don’t do salads on vacation, even with a hot dog or any other mystery meat.
This kind of reminds me when my coworker Steve made a New Year’s resolution to eat healthier, so he went across the street to El Pollo Loco for the Tostada Salad for his lunch every day for I think about a solid eight months or so. Steve is no longer with us to tell us how that went (RIP Steve), but I think this solution to the conundrum you joke about, i.e. deciding between a hot dog or a salad, would have pleased Steve immensely.
I would also like to point out that no one in California eats a hot dog topped like the California BLTA, or anything even approaching that. Disney getting other cultures wrong AGAIN smh
I feel like “Chicago-style” should also be in quotes in this menu name, as I don’t think plant-based fake meat on a salad is what most people think of with a “Chicago-style” hot dog!
We have rarely eaten at Fairfax. Since SWGE opened, the CS options over there are far better, and even before that I tended to prefer places with air conditioning. We’ve even done lunch at a TS before over the DHS CS places. Prices have risen, but you used to be able to get a flatbread pizza at Mama Melrose for only a couple bucks more than at Toy Story Pizza Planet and that was definitely worthwhile. (Now, it’s more like $7 more than Pizzarizzo after tax/tip… but still probably worthwhile.)