nourish
Gold
Swiss Dog. The Blü Cow
By Russel Reuben + William Montecristo With each issue of Covered Bridge, we, your brave culinary explorers Russel Reuben and William Montecristo, search the Valley for inspiring burgers, sandwiches, tacos, snacks on a stick, second breakfasts and finger foods. For issue five of Covered Bridge, we humbly tackled our most ambitious and dangerous challenge yet. In today’s ultra-competitive, quickbite world, no culinary treat seems to be having a bigger “68 comeback special” moment more than the humble hot dog. From street corner carts to eclectic gastropub menus — fancy frankfurters, dressed-up dogs and wild wienies are getting their day in the spotlight. We scoured the Valley, eating more digglers than Kobayashi. We tried the $1.50 big box store combo. We forked out $30 for a buffalo brät beer dinner. Kielbasa sweats, mustard stains, raw dogged by day old bread … it was the best of times, it was the würst of times.
Hot Dogs Internationally Inspired Encased Meats
Reuben: After a few cold ones and my first ever Swiss Dog, I tucked in for a cold winter's eve slumber on William's comfy leather couch. I dreamt I was backpacking across Europe and met a Swiss miss on a bullet train through the mountains. We fell instantly in love and ran away to start our lives together in a cozy cabin on a snowy peak. She made stone ground mustard to sell at the market, and I gave yodeling lessons. We raised our seven children on hot cocoa and Swiss dogs. I’ve been chasing that vibe ever since. Montecristo: During one especially wild aprés afternoon, I was lucky enough to score a coveted front-row seat at the bar and order my favorite late lunch delicacy. My Swiss Dog arrived quickly, but before I could even sneak a bite, a girl dancing on the bar smashed my Swiss Dog under her ski boot. My fresh new jacket was covered in beer, mustard, arugula and curry dust. Five stars!
Disclaimer: These rankings are absolutely anecdotal samplings of some of the food we ate with our hands and is by no stretch of the imagination an all-inclusive or accurate encapsulation of the Valley’s cornucopia of offerings. If you have a suggestion of where we should eat next please email us at eatwithyourhandsvail@gmail.com.
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ILLUSTRATIONS BY BECCA SAULSBERRY
Eat With Your Hands
Vail Village
