Summerville's Fourth fest includes hotdog contest

EDWARD C. FENNELL
The Post and Courier

The house special at P-Dogs in Summerville is heavily loaded with chili, cheese, bleu cheese slaw, bacon and crispy onions. What should go on Summerville's official Red, White and Blue on the Green Festival hotdog?

Hmmm ... ketchup (red) ... mayo (white)... and bleu cheese?

Well, what would you put on a Fourth of July hotdog, and what would you call it?

That's what Summerville Dream and P-Dogs hotdog restaurant want to know.

DREAM, which stands for Downtown Restoration, Enhancement and Management, and P-Dogs at 119 West Doty Ave., are seeking entries in a contest to create and name the official hotdog of the Red, White and Blue on the Green Festival.

The festival is Summerville's Fourth of July celebration, complete with games, activities, contests and good old fashioned fun. July 4th falls on a Friday this year, and the festival will be from 4 to 7 p.m. downtown. Activities will include jump castles, dunking booths with your favorite local celebrities, a watermelon-eating contest and a seed-spittin' contest.

"Yes, your mother might let you spit just this once," DREAM Executive Director Jami Sheppard said.

There will also be a hotdog-eating contest, and of course, the naming of the winner of the create and name the Official Summerville Fourth of July Hotdog contest, she said.

Sheppard said contest entries are due by midnight on July 1. The winning hotdog will be featured on the P-Dogs menu and credit will be given to the winner.

P-Dogs, which is owned by Summerville's Perry Cuda, boasts the tag "the hotdog reinvented," with more than 27 ways to have your hotdog "done" up from simple to adventurous. P-Dogs also serves hand-pattied burgers, fish tacos, cheese fries and desserts.

Cuda said he serves hotdogs with just about anything on them. His favorite is the "P-Dog," which he said is an old nickname of his, and the dog that gave the store its name. The P-Dog comes smothered with chili, cheese, bleu cheese slaw, bacon and crispy onions.

Cuda has some thoughts on what makes the ideal Fourth of July hotdog. "Maybe it's kind of spicy" like the fireworks, "with marinated fried peppers," or maybe because of the summer heat, "it's cool and refreshing with coleslaw," he suggested.

He's anxious to see what ideas readers send in.

Send your best hotdog ideas, along with recommended ingredients and your contact information, to info@summervilledream.org or to Summerville DREAM; Re: The P-Dogs Hotdog Naming Contest; P.O. Box 370; Summerville, SC 29483.

Reach Edward C. Fennell at 745-5865 or efennell@postandcourier.com.