Tesla has gotten into the restaurant industry for some reason, and while its first diner looks pretty cool, apparently the food falls flat. Yet, somehow, we missed the best, or worst, part, and it’s that Tesla doesn’t seem to know how hot dogs work.
The Tesla Diner seems pretty neat in concept. It’s a place where you can get some grub and watch a drive-in-style movie while your car charges. Unfortunately, as Griffin and Jason have written, the execution hasn’t been great. I mean, you have to take a look at that hot dog because it’s something else. Abe Froman, who says that their joke username is serious and that they’ve been in the industry for two decades, chimes in:
My handle isn’t just a joke- I really am the Sausage King of Chicago. I have spent 20 years in the restaurant industry and currently own and operate a food truck that only serves hot dogs and sausages. That makes me uniquely qualified to comment on some of the points made:
– $13 is far too much for that hot dog. While it appears to be a Natural Casing dog, we don’t know if it is all beef or beef/pork. Wholesale pricing on all beef natural casing dogs in my area (and I buy a custom blend 500# at a time, all beef with a sheep casing) would be $7-$8/pound. That appears to be a 6:1 dog, which would be around $1.35 per link.
– Taking photos of food is hard. As a small business owner with no budget for professional food photography, I forgive fairly easily. That being said, Elon is the richest man in the world and can hire the best food photographer in the world and still have cash to spare… the photo sucks.
– While natural casing dogs can be cooked on a char grill, it frequently causes the delicate sheep casing to snap, and the hot dog loses a lot of it’s juiciness. That’s why this one looks so shriveled up. It’s better to steam NC dogs.
– Costco hot dogs are pretty damn good.
– No judgement on what people put (or don’t put) on their dog. You’re the one eating it, so put what you want on it. But if you’re going to take a photo for a menu… put some flattering condiments on there that not only look good, but showcase to the customer what you have available.Food prep fail. Photo fail. Pricing fail. Adding: The Snap-O-Razzo website recommends cooking at low heat on a flat top grill, steaming or microwaving. Char grilling not listed as a recommended cooking method.
Hey there, Froman, as it happens, I love a really good hot dog, and I live outside of Chicago! I’d be delighted to get a taste of your dogs one day. I need to know where this food truck is! Anyway, yes, Froman’s username is a Ferris Bueller reference:
Jason wrote about a test where Irish drivers zipped around a course sober and then seriously drunk. Ash78:
Don’t worry about the dog, it’s called a Shetfaced Sheepdog and it’s bred specifically to get men home between the hours of 4pm and 8pm so they’re not late for dinner.
Thomas wrote about how mixing coolant and transmission fluid could ruin a car. Jatco Xtronic CVT:
This is what you get when you decide not to use the Jatco Xtronic CVT. No “cooling” needed, and you’ll never even need to worry about the sealed-for-life transmission design!
Have a great day, everyone!
Top graphic images: Paramount Pictures; Tesla Diner
Froman relinquished the title to Doug Sohn a decade or two back. That said I’d love to track down this guy’s truck and give it a try.
Track away, my friend. It’s no secret that I based the business model on Doug’s. His place remains my favorite place to eat, 11 years after it’s closure. To have customer’s compare my offerings to his is a huge compliment.
Here in the south it’s tough to find natural casing dogs in the store, so I end up paying a little more for them, but wouldn’t pay $13 for one! Agreed that they taste better steamed too.
Speaking of the South, just last week I went to both Mammoth Cave and GSMNP on a little road trip. I was thinking that a $13 hot dog wouldn’t be completely out of line for what they charge around most national parks. But it’d probably at least be the combo meal.
Conecuh Sausage (available at most grocery chains in the SE) still uses natural casing on their sausage and I sometimes cut them to size for eating on a hot dog bun. They do sell hot dogs, but they’re more mainstream-style. I generally avoid hot dogs, but I’m a sucker for good sausage.
Yesterday Musk dropped the “Dojo” supercomputer program and apparently a lot of the staff went to a competitor. He’s realized selling 13 dollar hot dogs is way more profitable.
“To Drop” is now officially the worst verb in the English language, taking over from the previous king, “To Run.” 🙂
Until about a year ago, I would have read your comment exactly as intended. But now I saw it as “Musk revealed the Dojo supercomputer”
Reminds me of the first time this really messed with me — I was looking for a particular shoe for my son about a year ago and the clerk said “Nike just dropped this style” and I was like “Awww, that sucks”
Clerk looked at me like I was insane for reacting negatively to a new product that just came out.
If you think about it though, to drop something implies releasing it. Not as egregious as my generation and older using “bad” for good.
The problem is that we had already been using “drop” to mean “discontinue” for decades.
Not disagreeing, just pointing out the tradition of young ‘uns corrupting language. “Bad” meant “not good” for centuries before the 70s/80s.
“Cold” is mean spirited, but “cool” is awesome. And cool things may become hot items. And then those hot items get stolen and if you have one you could be arrested for possessing hot property. Unless it’s real estate, in which case everyone wants that hot property!
COTCOTD thread.
I feel like at least “Bad meaning good” had old people complaining loudly for years. “Drop” just slid right into our collective DMs.
FWIW- I try to avoid self promotion of my business outside of areas where it’s accepted (food groups, restaurant groups, etc) and I didn’t/don’t self promote on here because it’s a car website. And I like my cars as cars, and my dogs as dogs… but since you’re asking…
Drew’s Dogs
I think the insider knowledge was well worth a little self-promotion.
I’ll have to keep an eye on your Dog trailer I live NWI and might need a food truck for catering for some parties at some point. Also I love Chicago style dogs and sausage.
Hey, just looked you up on google and it seems like they have your home address listed on there.
Just a heads up, better to be safe than sorry.
https://tinyurl.com/4a3cfdpj
Avoiding self promotion on a website not associated with your product is an excellent rule to live by. However, this instance is a valid exception to the rule.
What is your opinion of the Ordinary Sausage YouTube channel?
Gotta say, I love how the person behind Jatco is dedicated to playing the bit! Keep it up!
The transmission may be constantly variable, but they’re direct drive.
The commitment is the only thing more dependable than the smooth power delivery of the Jatco Xtronic CVT.
Nothing on this earth or any other is more dependable than the smooth power delivery of a Jatco Xtronic CVT.
Absolutely, I love a good gimmick account.
I made a Cerberus reference yesterday, only to get a reply from the user called Cerberus. I mean, it’s not that unusual of a name, but just obscure enough to make me chuckle.
Absolutely, RIP Mergio Sarchionne
Alas, I do miss poor Mergio!
Now we just need a Kim Tuniskis to explain the Durango Hellcat Beelzebub or whatever.
They should make a Hellcat Jezebel and a Hellcat Lucifer… his-and-her’s Hellcats!
Duly noted!
And while we’re at it, make a 4 door pickup truck version of the Durango… and call it the Rampage.
I follow an account elsewhere called “the Taco Bell bell” that only replies BONG to people. Usually when somebody mentions farts or bathrooms.