HOT DOG REVIEW: Carrot Dog at BY CHLOE

When I saw an advertisement for the carrot dog at trendy fast food chain By Chloe, I did not have high expectations. I’ve not been a fan of By Chloe’s other food (except for their sweet potato fries) and was hesitant about trying something I saw advertised on a city scaffolding.

I also made the assumption that the faux dog would be ground up carrot (and possibly other fillers) stuffed in some sort of fake casing. I was totally wrong.

When I saw that the carrot dog was created by the chefs at Harry & Ida’s, I realized this could potentially be a game changer. Will Horowitz is the man behind Harry & Ida’s and he is also the chef/owner at Ducks Eatery. In my mind, he has been responsible for creating the most exciting fake meat in the city. You may have seen his watermelon ham on Instagram or his cantaloupe burger on this site.

The guy is actually a meat chef (makes a great pastrami) who is experimenting with more sustainable ways of creating tasty smoked food. So instead of using meat or laboratory-created meat alternatives, he’s using melons and root vegetables. I can totally get behind that.

And because it works is why I am including this as an official hot dog review. Up until now all of my reviews have been the processed meat in a tube variety. This is something a little (or a lot) different, but I think it’s worth talking about.

I really didn’t know what to make of the carrot dog upon first observation. It looked pretty wrinkly and a bit too orange to be an actual hot dog.

But when I bit into it, my mind was at a loss. This thing had that salty, garlicky, smoky flavor that I expect from a real hot dog.

And when I examined it closer,  I realized this was made up of a single carrot. I could see the dark ribs of the inside of a carrot. Totally bizarre.

While it didn’t have as much snap as I like in a natural casing dog, it tasted like the real thing. In fact, it tasted so much like a hot dog that I wondered if they added nitrates which would have defeated the purpose of any notion of healthiness. Upon doing my research, I discovered they did not use any nitrates (aside from the usual salt). They just cured and smoked this nugget for days over maple and oak.

While I’m not saying everyone should change their hot dog diet and eat this at every summer holiday, I do think it is worth trying. It’s healthier and more sustainable. And you’ll be amazed at the wizardry used to make this thing taste like the real thing.

Does By Chloe have the best hot dog in NY? I can’t fairly rate it in the same league as all the others but I have to give it an 8 out of 10 for creativity and focus on sustainable ideas. And because this carrot amazingly tastes like a real hot dog.