Sam's Hot Dog Stand is a local hot dog shop that has locations all through the Metro Valley and beyond.


These hot dogs are well-known in the area - especially if they're West Virginia style: chili, slaw, mustard and onions.


And while driving through Huntington, I saw a Sam's location with a drive thru! So I whipped around and stopped at the window.




One hot dog with everything was just what I needed!

Pete's Hotdogs is located in Ripley and has recently reopened after a fire.


While passing through the area, I stopped through the drive-thru.


Pulling up on the right side, I could read the menu, which featured hot dogs, pepperoni rolls, Mexican dishes, salads and sandwiches. I ordered a Zul's frozen lemonade and received it before driving around the building to the other side.


There, I received my hot dog with "everything," or chili, slaw, mustard and onions.


The interesting thing about these dogs is that the toppings are put on the bottom. So I thought my dog was naked before I bit into it.


While not standard, it as convenient that all the toppings were conveniently snuggled in the bottom, so I didn't create a mess while driving. Not too shabby.

T&L is a hot dog chain in northern West Virginia established in 1984.

There are a half dozen restaurants in the area - and I need to make my way to all of them.

The T&L in Weston has a diner theme, which also serves burgers, wraps, sandwiches, salads and fries.

Established in 1984 by the Henderson family, Dave’s Famous T & L Hot Dogs grew from very humble beginnings. The Proprietors, Dave and Barbara Henderson along with their children Scott, Mike, Lori, and daughter-in-laws Joyce and Bev, began an adventure that is still going strong after a quarter of a century. Now, Third generation managers/owners and grandchildren Kristin, Corey and Troy are continuing that adventure in their parent’s footsteps. 

In the early 1990’s the Henderson’s added a new “twist” to their already popular restaurants. The Oldies Diners were created in an effort to re-create the happy and carefree lifestyle of days long gone by. The walls are covered with antique pictures, toys and memorabilia for customers viewing pleasure. You can listen to the sounds of the oldies as they play on the restored 1950’s juke box only 5 cents a play, and enjoy the great hot dogs, famous “fresh cut” fries, and fabulous specialty sandwiches. Don’t leave without looking at the restored antique gas pump with its unique glass dial. 

Welcome back to the 50s! “Being West Virginia’s #1 selling hot dog, we are grateful for our faithful customers and to the hundreds of employees, who over the years have been the secret to our success. Hot dogs are still our specialty and the original homemade chili sauce (prepared daily in our stores) continues to attract customers from all over the country. We invite you to visit any of our seven locations throughout Harrison, Taylor, Marion and Monongalia Counties. Bring the kids, but don’t be surprised if you’re asked to explain who “Howdy Doody” was!

Of course, I went with a West Virginia-style hot dog! Have you been here?

Dave's Hot Dogs in the Barboursville Mall serves up, of course, hot dogs but also ice cream!

So I got one with chili, slaw, mustard and onions.

And a milk & cookies milkshake.

Have you been?

Sam's Hot Dog Stand has locations all over, and the most recent one I checked out was in Marmet.

This location is interestingly at the top of this little perch and you have to ring a little buzzer to get inside.

I ordered two hot dogs with chili, slaw, mustard and onions on grilled buns. I know the traditional West Virginia-style hot dog poo-poos English-style buns, but it's hard to deny they're tasty.


Yum! Have you been here?

I recently met a self-proclaimed hot dog connoisseur who told me Bammy's has the best hot dogs in the Kanawha Valley.

That's a bold statement, considering I follow all the recommendations of my friends over at The West Virginia Hot Dog Blog very carefully.

Nonetheless I made my way over to St. Albans to check on this claim.

I pulled up, thinking it was initially a bar. But it's actually quite spacious inside.

I ordered two hot dogs on grilled buns with chili, slaw, mustard and onions.

The hot dogs were tasty. But I'll leave it to the folks at the WV Hot Dog Blog to go into the finer details. What do you think?

Tom's is well-known in the Oak Hill area for having tasty hot dogs.

I had to go try my hand. I went for a Tom's Hot Dog on an English bun topped with slaw, mustard and onions - with the shugar chili.

Now that I've had this kind of chili, I don't think I could ever go back.

There is a Sam's Hot Dog Stand on the West Side attached to a gas station.

It was a quick drive from work, so it made for a great lunch.

The hot dog stand was pretty busy, but I put in my order. Then paid for it at the counter. Then returned to the stand to pick up my hot dogs.

I went with two hot dogs on English-style buns with chili, slaw, mustard and onions.

AND a pepperoni roll, because they had them!



Which location is your favorite?

So, I've started a new adventure: Try all the Sam's Hot Dog Stands in the area.

Frank Lucente grew up in a small town in West Virginia. As a young boy, Frank often enjoyed spicy chili dogs at the town hot dog stand. Even as he grew older and moved away, Frank would always stop in for a hot dog on his visits home. Years later, the town stand closed and Frank was forced to look elsewhere to satisfy his craving. He went to see the owner of the old stand to convince him to pass on the recipe. But the owner refused saying he would "take it to the grave".

Denied, Frank soon discovered that the original recipe for the chili sauce belonged to an elderly woman still living in his hometown. For years she had been cooking up the sauce and selling it at her church bazaar. According to her, the stand owner had changed the recipe over the years but the woman gladly provided the original recipe.

Frank recruited his business partner and good friend Rocco Muriale to help invent an even better chili sauce recipe. The chef at the popular Rocco's Ristorante, Rocco spent several months cooking up batches of chili sauce. After six months, he had the perfect recipe! In 1983 wanting to share the delicious invention with the public, Frank and Rocco opened the first Sam's Hotdog Stand in Huntington, West Virginia....ending the search for the perfect hot dog.

With this history in mind, I thought it would be neat to see all the small differences amongst the different Sam's locations in the area.

So on my lunch break, I headed up Greenbrier Street to check out the closest Sam's to me. This location has a gaming room located in the back, but there's also a large dining area for folks to dine in.

This is an "everything" with mild slaw. Yum!