(10 for 10; 2nd Entry): Our Most Popular Blog Entries: Silly Dog Photo to Fill Space

Greetings to our blog readers in Guatemala, Slovakia, and Saudi Arabia.........whoops, sorry about the hot dog image!

In our ten years of blogging, we have often been surprised and some times stunned by which entries prove to be more popular than others. When I posted an entry about hot dogs, as in two dogs dressed like hot dogs (center image), on August 18, 2009, from a small town library in North Carolina, I never could have imagined that it would yield more hits than any entry we posted before or since.

Because our blog is, for some reason, popular in Russia and Ukraine, I suppose it's not shocking that our blog entry with a quote from the legendary gymnast Svetlana Boginskaya, (top image) who competed for the Soviet Union on her native Belarus, became popular, but it's still surprising that it got over 5,000 hits.

Another popular entry with a quote from a celebrity was one from Feb. 9, 2009, featuring reality tv show Heidi Montag ("The Hills") who endorsed John McCain for president, and that apparently wasn't enough for the Republican Arizona senator to get enough votes to win over Barack Obama.

Our second most popular entry featured Mr. Potato Head (pict. bottom), which still seems popular almost five years after its posting as it inches towards the 20,000-hit mark.

Here are our most six most popular blog entries, with links to those entries (alas some photos from the entries have been removed from the net):

1. Silly Photo to Fill Space-Hot Dogs. Aug. 18,2009. 21,464 hits.

2. Bonus Silly Photo to Fill Space-Mr. Potato Head. Dec. 10, 2010. 19,985 hits
http://nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com/2010/12/bonus-silly-photo-to-fill-space-mr.html

3. PSA-Don't Drink and Drive. May 27, 2010. 13,240 hits.

4. Quote of the Day: Heidi Montag. Feb. 9, 2009. 7,928 hits.

5. Quote of the Day: Svetlana Boginskaya. April 19, 2012. 5,250 hits
http://nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com/2012/04/quote-of-dayweek-svetlana-boginskaya.html

6. Political Confusion Test (21 of 21)_ The Oak Ridge Boys vs. The Village People. Aug. 14, 2009. 5,142 hits

http://nocturnalguy38.blogspot.com/2009/08/political-confusion-test-21-of-21.html

Roanoke vs. Greensboro_ Ode to Gluttony (Entry 2 of 6)

You know American patriotism has gone to extremes lately when one ESPN commentator bragged about how nationally significant it was for Joey chestnut to beat out his Japanese rival Takeru Kobayashi at the 4th of July hot dog eating contest, which is apparently going on as we speak. Both guys can reportedly eat six hot dogs per hour. Hmmmmm....yeah, I don't think that victory was exactly like Team USA beating the Soviet Union in ice hockey at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics.

But, today our focus is actually on another great American favorite, the hamburger. Amazingly enough, as places like Boulder, Colorado, and Chapel Hill, NC, are emphasizing fitness and healthy eating, there has also been an influx of over-indulgence across the country.

This brings us to our entry today on which burger joint is better: the famed Texas Tavern on Church Avenue in my hometown of Roanoke, Va., which was established in 1930 and is open 24/7 or the much newer Fincastle's located on Elm Street in downtown Greensboro, NC, my current adopted city. Interestingly enough, Fincastle's is named for Fincastle, Va., a small town that is some 20 miles north of Roanoke.

Let's start with the Texas Tavern where travelers have reportedly come from as far away as Pittsburgh to sample the Roanoke Millionaires Club's offerings. Texas Tavern is arguably most known for its cheesy western (pictured here) which rampantcuisine.com describes as a plain burger with a fried egg mixed with onions, pickles, and chesse. It sells for a very economical $2.20.

As for Fincastle's, they are open less often (see hours on the diner's web site (fincastles.com) and they are considerably more expensive than the astonishingly underpriced Texas Tavern. But, they do offer french fries, which the Church Avenue establishment curiously does not. Fincastle's also has onion rings, milkshakes, and hot dogs (something that the Texas Tavern also offers).

Food blogger Charlie Brinsin really liked the Delta Burger at Fincastle's. Brinsin raved that the burger which consists of a burger patty with apple smoked bacon, pimento cheese, a fried green tomato and remoulade sauce was one of the best burgers he ever had in Greensboro.

Fincastle's also offers the Magnolia Burger, which includes Muenster cheese, onion straws and apple smoked bacon, as well as fried pickled that one can have with or without a burger.

If I had to choose between the two, I would go with Fincastle's even though I love the athmospher at the Texas Tavern. I personally would avoid the high calorie items at both places as I need to lose weight as it is, so the deciding factor is an intangible. Fincastle's has a jukebox, which at one point included music from my friend, folk singer Bruce Piephoff. Alas, the Texas Tavern which can only seat ten people at a time would not have room for a jukebox so it's hard to hold it against them.

SIDE BURGERS ONE: If one heads 45 miles east down I-40, they can eat The Garbage Burger at Wimpy's Diner on 617 Hicks Street in Durham, NC. According to "Our State" magazine, the menu item which might jump off the menu consists of two quarter-pound beef patties, chilli, bacon, cole slaw, pickles, onions and cheese. The article by Josh Shaffer also said that Travel Channel host Adam Richman, a nationally known extreme-food connosieur, had five Garbage Burgers when he stopped in at Wimpy's?!

SIDE BURGERS TWO: Since today is the Fourth of July, we will squeeze in a mention of Washington, DC, and what "The Washingtonian" describes as 'the best hagover cure' in the DC-metro area. This would be a bison meat burger at Cashion's Eat Place on Columbia Road NW which includes a fried egg and the comeback sauce, which is reportedly similar to Thousand Island dressing. The menu item is very popular circa 2:00 a.m.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Summer Jobs (Baseball Mascots)

So, you want to go down to Myrtle Beach, SC, for the summer and check out babes, take in a few rays and drink cheap beer at Mother Fletcher's (presuming the landmark night club is still around), well you got get a summer job right?

And, someone is going to dressing up in this attire here as they become Splash (pictured here) the mascot of the minor league baseball team The Myrtle Beach Pelicans who are getting ready to face the visiting Winston-Salem Dash from Winston-Salem, NC, in a little over an hour at 7:05 p.m.

According to the team's web site, Splash got an official 'makeover' in 2007 by supposedly 'pumping iron at the gym.'

The new version of Splash made his first appearance on April 5, 2007, in front of a crowd of 6,074 baseball fans which included former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani (aka Hizoner) who was hoping the visit to the dugout would help him win the Palmetto State Republican Primary, which ultimatley went to his political rival John McCain.

Splash has reportedly been ejected from two Pelicans games and the team web site advised fans to 'keep an eye on their hot dogs, so Splash doesn't try to eat them."

My own hometown team the Salem RedSox from Salem, Va., (I actually worked for them in the concession stand one summer when they were the Salem Avalanche) visit the Pelicans over the Fourth of July weekend.

Silly Photo to Fill Space- Hot Dogs

Hmmmmmmmm.........this makes me NOT want to eat a hot dog the next time I go to a Greensboro Grasshoppers game.