Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: disturbing concession products

This is topic disturbing concession products in forum Film-Yak at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 06-07-2003, 07:57 PM:

Burger Pipe

What bright spark came up with this brilliant idea? Do any theatres actually sell these hamburgers-that-look-like-hot-dogs? Do people buy them? Has anyone tasted the things?

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 06-07-2003, 08:06 PM:

A hot dog by any other name.....

Posted by Mark Lensenmayer (Member # 134) on 06-07-2003, 09:15 PM:

Actually, upon looking at the ingredients, I would probably try one, but it would have to TASTE GOOD.

The picture of it on the webpage is not very appetizing, though.

Posted by Robert E. Allen (Member # 1351) on 06-07-2003, 09:22 PM:

There's only one way to find out Scott. Why not try what McDonalds does and offer them for a limited time at a reduced price, maybe in a combo.

Posted by Manny Knowles (Member # 1171) on 06-08-2003, 01:08 AM:

I about near had kittens when I saw those things rolling around with the hot dogs -- they look like [bs]

I don't know if it was something I said but the [bs]

burgers are no more!

Posted by Mike Pennell (Member # 1692) on 06-08-2003, 01:42 AM:

The Circle-K's in my area sell a similar "dog" but its a bacon cheese burger dog. Unlike the ones posted above these actually look like a log of [bs]

. They're "kinda" tasty if you can get past the visual. Especially when a lil' drunk. [beer]

Posted by Dennis Benjamin (Member # 1137) on 06-08-2003, 02:17 AM:

The original name of that item was 'Meat Pipe'. They had to change the name for obvious reasons.

Posted by Mathew Molloy (Member # 666) on 06-08-2003, 02:55 AM:

HAHaHAHahaHAhaHaHAhahaHaHaHaha! [Big Grin]

Posted by Randy Stankey (Member # 64) on 06-08-2003, 10:16 AM:

Let them "stew" on a roller grill for about 18 hours, put them in the freezer overnight and stew them again for another day and they'll be just as bad (if not worse) as any other hot dog, sausage or entrail-encapsulated meat by-product "they" are pushing on the public!

I don't think it's so much about the product as it starts out. It's more about how the product is prepared and served to the customer. My wife and I only eat Hebrew National hot dogs. Being a Kosher product, they don't have all the fillers like corn syrup in them. Yes, most hot dogs have corn syrup in them... Diabetics and hypoglycemics beware!

Still, I don't care if God himself sent the "perfect" hot dog down to us from On-High. Stew it in its own grease for 36 hours straight and it'll be just as gross. I don't see the Burger Pipe as being any different.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 06-08-2003, 12:04 PM:

There's a vegetarian version of the frank that might sell well,
especially in urban cinemas patronized by girls and young women, who increasingly seem to be vegetarian or on diets.
It called Corn Dogs, and my daughter brings them home frozen, in cartons of six or eight. Each vege "hot dog" is mounted on a stick and covered with a thick coating of corn dough. Popped in a micro-wave oven for two minutes, each makes a delicious snack, easy to hold and eat, with no chance of spilling or dripping on clothes. Simple to store, heat and eat.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-08-2003, 01:35 PM:

Dennis, "Meat Pipe"... I love it! [Big Grin]

I cook and attempt to sell these things at the "Snack Attack" stands at the Thomas & Mack arena and Sam Boyd Stadium here. My opinion in a word--they're hideous. On a typical night we'll cook and sell upwards of 60 hotdogs (Hebrew Nationals) in each stand, whereas we usually only need to cook 5-10 each of the burger and chicken pipes--then spoil lots of those out since they usually don't sell. Promotion (other than the rather unappetizing name) doesn't seem to be the issue--the pipes are the only product we sell that has a picture poster mounted on the menu board in each stand. So far the only crowds that seem to really like the pipes have been the National Finals Rodeo and the Monster Truck Finals--meat lovers to the end I suppose.

BTW the Brenden Palms 14 sells them too. Don't know what kind of luck they've had with them.

They may look better if they are cooked on a grill or roller (that's the way they were demonstrated to us) but except for the Backcourt Grill at the TAM we only have steam ovens at these venues, so that's how we cook these pipes. When they're raw it's easy to tell the difference between chicken and burger, but after the steamer it's hard to tell which is which, either by color or smell or taste. Not generally a good sign. [Big Grin]

One other good/bad thing about these pipes is they contain no preservatives. Fine as far as that goes, but once they're put in the fridge they cannot be put back into the freezer--thawing is a one-way trip. So extra care must be taken when moving stock to prevent even more spoilage losses. In trying to cut down on some of the spoilage we experimented with returning cooked pipes to the fridge then reheating them (as we sometimes do with the hotdogs). Not a pretty result--the pipes fell apart during reheating.

All in all not a very impressive product IMNSHO, from either the customer side or the kitchen's. Don't know how long we'll keep pushing them at TAM and SBS--someone obviously paid a lot of money for product placement. But if it were my call, I'd dump them. My Film-Tech review: "D" This Blows! [thumbsdown]

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 06-08-2003, 01:35 PM:

Gerard,

Don't know if you are referring to a special version or not, but here in Wisconsin we have grown up with "Corn Dogs". What we refer to as a corn dog here, and everywhere else I have ever eaten one, is a standard skinless wiener shoved on a stick and then dipped in a corn-meal batter. These are generally served deep fried, or come frozen after being deep fried and you merely reheat them by the method of your choice. I am curious to know if what you refer to as a "corn dog" does in fact have some kind of special hot dog inside. If so, it will behoove me to be cautious when ordering them in other states in the future.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 06-08-2003, 02:38 PM:

Don,

These are Morningstar Farms CORN DOGS, (Veggie Dogs), 67% Less Fat, Four Corn Dogs in a 10 oz box, "4g fat and 0 mg cholesterol versus 12g fat and 15mg cholesterol for Meat Corn Dogs."

These are 8" long (including wooden stick,) light brown, and have a delicious taste that I thought was meat until my daughter had me read the box. They are distributed by Kellog Co. USA.
The caveat for Allergic Consumers reads "This product contains wheat, soy, dairy and egg ingredients", and a complete Nutrition Facts and Ingredients chart appears on the carton.

My daughter probably buys them at The Natural, a very successful Korean-American family-owned and operated market in Forest Hills, NY, which specializes in natural, organic, health
and upscale delicacy foods. From a single storefront they have expanded into a row of four or five, with fresh flowers and produce on sidewalk stands. I never heard of corn dogs before,
let alone these vegetarian ones on-a-stick, but now I have a new snack.

Gerard

Posted by Don Bruechert (Member # 1538) on 06-08-2003, 08:12 PM:

Cool! You seem to learn something every day!! I'll have to look around and see if I find them in any of the stores around here...

Thanks for the info - definately a new twist on an old name!
Don