I’m not above following food trends. Just last week, I was gushing over quesabirria. This week? I’m biting into Korean corn dogs. Yes, they’re having a moment and yes, they’re as delightfully quirky as you might imagine.
I got mine this weekend at Two Hands Seoul Fresh Corn Dogs inside of Sirook & Juk Story in Centreville. It was hard to skip the appealing porridges, bento boxes and street foods like tteokbokki and fish cakes, but I was on a serious mission. And with the size of these corn dogs, there would be no room for anything else.
The Korean corn dog is more substantial than an American one, but also infinitely more creative. Even the basic one, called the Seoul Classic Dog at Two Hands, is more than just batter and sausage. Instead, it’s a meaty beef frank surrounded in a comparatively fluffy corn coating that’s rolled in sugar. Essentially, it’s a cruller with a juicy hot dog in the middle.
But Two Hands doesn’t limit itself to mere sausage. The six different dogs can all be made with either a hot dog, stretchy mozzarella cheese, a combination thereof, split mozzarella and cheddar, or a rice cake at its center. The result? Near-infinite options. I personally favor the half-mozzarella-half-hot dog combo and chose that filling for my two additional corn dogs.
Those were the Spicy Dog and the Potato Dog. The Spicy Dog is legitimately hot with a coating of what the menu calls “Nashville style spicy seasoning,” but which I found suspiciously similar to the Flamin’ Hot Cheetos powder on my Dirty Fries. The Dirty Fries are actually tots covered in the mashed up Cheetos and Two Hands’ prolific Dirty Sauce, a spicy mayo concoction. The Dirty Sauce is also squiggled on the Potato Dog, my favorite of the three for its crispy, airy cubes of potato sunken into the jacket of batter.
A single dog is enough for a meal for most people and the most expensive is the $4.49 Spicy Dog. For a glutton like me, that still means a steal that I can repeat again and again without worrying about my wallet, even if I order three at a time. // 13830 Lee Hwy., Centreville
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