Ted’s Hot Dogs – Tempe, Arizona
Reading Becky Mercuri’s magnificent Great American Hot Dog Book had the same effect on me that Fifty Shades of Grey had on soccer moms throughout the country. How can someone so food obsessed not delight in such beautiful prose as “Western New York is definitely hot dog country and the preferred method of cooking is charcoal grilled.” Charcoal grilled! There goes another foodgasm. New Mexicans don’t have to travel all the way to Buffalo, New York to experience these magnificent charcoal grilled libido activators. We only have to go to Tempe, Arizona to sate our hunger…or lust, in some cases. Ted’s Hot Dogs was a precursor to the modern food truck. In 1927, Theodore “Ted” Spiro Liaros began operating a horse-drawn cart in a park on Buffalo’s west side in close proximity to a large construction site. Originally known as “Ted’s Red Hots,” Ted’s is still going strong nearly a century after launching. It’s a beloved Buffalo area institution with eight locations in Western New York and one outlier in Tempe. The secrets to Ted’s success is strict adherence to the methods and traditions that have won over generations of hot dog lovers. One tradition not likely to ever…
