Sportsmeat

And more about meat.

The top story from today's Allentown (Pa.) Morning Call tells you everything you need to know about my old neck of the woods. Apparently, Yocco's, the self-anointed Hot Dog King, will be taking a year off from vending chili-slathered treats at the Allentown Fair. No tragic reason -- just a little water damage, dry rot, and loose seams on the Yocco tent, which was in storage since last year's fair. But apparently, this is a rare, irreplacable tent. No chance they could, say, rent a plain white tent and slap a Yocco's sign on the front.

Now I know what you're thinking -- all that fuss over hot dogs? I mean, they look, eh, less than appetizing. But if you've ever tasted a Yocco's hot dog, or four or five, you understand why this is competing for space on the front page. I had four on Satudray, with an order of pierogies, and they were as distinctively delicious as they were when I first tasted them on Liberty Street as a 10-year-old. As the ad says, "The secret sauce is one of a kind." Then again, it's not like they're going out of business. They have five or six shops around the Lehigh Valley, ready to feed your fix as soon as you leave the fair. And if you're lucky enough to live in Bethlehem, you can just go to Potts, which wins the prize for best Lehigh Valley doggie shop slogan: "Bite the one you love."