It's difficult to choose your favorite downtown restaurant however, if I had a list
Skippy's Hot Dogs would grace the top of that list. Hot Dogs, you say, have I lost my mind with all of the marvelous choices downtown. All that says is that you haven't been to
Skippy's. If you had, you would clearly understand. A
Skippy's Hot Dog begins where no other Dog has begun before as Mike freshly bakes soft pretzel rolls. I am not talking about any old pretzel roll, but a secrete family recipe from Pennsylvania. Then the roll is steamed for softness, graciously buttered and placed on the grill for toasting. Did I say it is buttered? Yum. Now comes the thick succulent Nathan's all-beef frank. No, it does not come out of boiling water onto the bun. No way, Mike carefully slices, butterflying the frank and places it on the grill. From there its your desire including as available toppings: yellow mustard, spicy mustard, ketchup, house-made chili, house-made slaw, sauerkraut, shredded cheddar, sweet relish, banana peppers, chopped onions, grilled onions, tomato, pickle. Let your imagination run wild!
Don't have an imagination? Pick from the stock choices:
All the Way Dog - Mustard, chili, slaw, chopped onions
Reuben Dog - Spicy mustard, kraut, Swiss Cheese
Chicago Dog - Mustard, onion, sweet relish, dill pickle, tomato, banana peppers, celery salt
Chili Cheese Dog - Doesn't need explaining.
Not cool? Fine, have a veggie Dog - NOT THE SAME!
I will be honest, I would never visit
Skippy's and have anything other than one of Mike's fabulous Hot Dogs. However, I can understand that your desires of fine cuisine might not be as refined as mine. Mike does have other items on his menu, which I choose to ignore and place a link here only for the gastronomically disadvantaged.
Skippy's owner Mike Rothman became inspired to make soft pretzels after he moved to North Carolina in 1994. While widely available and very popular in his home state of Pennsylvania, authentic pretzels could not be found in the Winston-Salem area. Mike experimented with several recipes and took lots of tasting trips around Pennsylvania before finding just the right recipe.
The recipe that was finally chosen was from a Pennsylvania family that has been making soft pretzels for several generations and Mike was very lucky that they chose to share their secrets with him. Mike's pretzel guru was Glenn Smith, and he came to North Carolina in June of 1997 to train Mike in the art of pretzel making. The Carolina Dutch Pretzel Company was born, and Mike left his computer career to follow a dream.
Mike sold the pretzels through vending at local events and festivals, as well as wholesaling them to several schools and businesses in the Mocksville and Winston-Salem area. After a few years, Mike starting thinking about centralizing his operation into a retail outlet. He had sold hot dogs in pretzel buns as part of his vending and they were a huge hit. He decided to open a sandwich shop featuring his soft pretzel rolls.
Mike bought New York Bagels and Deli on Hanes Mall Boulevard in Winston-Salem in June 2001. He operated the restaurant as a bagel shop for several months while learning the ropes and refining his concept. The restaurant officially became Skippy's in April 2002, serving hot dogs and sandwiches on pretzel rolls. The hot dogs and hand cut french fries were even more popular than Mike expected, and are what Skippy's is known for today.
Check out this article in the July 14, 2010 Winston-Salem Journal:
Learn all about Bib’s Downtown at their website by clicking here, or better yet get in your automobile (what my grandfather called it in his bib overalls) and check it out for yourself. Eat your heart out, I only need to take a few steps down the street to feast on my now favorite ribs and chicken. If you aren’t pleased (fat chance of that) bring your plate up to me, don’t you dare send it to the trash. No trash rats are deserving of anything this grand.
My personal pizza evolution: As a child and young person didn't care for it at all, learned to tolerate it, began to like it, son went to NC State, we shared a Mellow Mushroom House Pizza and I was hooked. It had to have been the best pizza on God's Earth. Mellow Mushroom came to our Salem, I moved nearby - Heaven on Earth! You haven't experienced a pizza if you have failed to experience a Mellow Mushroom pizza. No other pizza even comes close. I try my best to not have more that one a week. It is a difficult task. Even better with one of their awesome salads. The freshest ingredinats and the best crust you will ever put in your mouth.
