Kimchi on Hot Dogs: WHAT?! 09.25.2013

Look, before you get all judgy, why don't you look it up on Google?  It's a thing.  A real foodie thing.  And I am here to tell you that it is DAMN delicious.  

Our neighbors had a cookout back in the spring when one of their guests piled several tablespoons of kimchi on a hot dog.  He had tried it at a restaurant in Hawaii and assured everyone it was delicious.  Obviously I tried it and...wow.  

The same neighbors had a cookout this past Sunday and in addition to the massive feast they put out, there were hot dogs and kimchi.  

I savored it like a long, deep breath:  the smoky-meaty hotdog against the spicy, intense kimchi, the flavors mashing together in the most symbiotic way possible.  I ate that hot dog, knowing full well that I was living my life to the fullest.  I had no idea how incredibly full until my wine guy, Phil Bernstein of MacArthur Beverages, brought to the table a 1994 Domaine du Vieux Telegraph.

Now, before you get all judgy again and wonder why one would pair this gorgeous wine with a hotdog topped with kimchi, I'd like to remind you of that scene from Sideways, in which Miles says he is waiting for a special occasion to open a 1961 Cheval blanc.  Maya (played by the beautiful Virginia Madsen) wisely notes that opening the Cheval blanc is a special occasion.  

SPOILER ALERT!  Miles eventually opens it while sitting in a booth at a fast food restaurant eating a hamburger, swigging the Cheval blanc out of a paper bag.

The occasion, the food -- it doesn't matter:  when the wine opens up this spectacularly, life is good.