Get your hot dog here! World’s largest hot dog stand can be found in Washington, Missouri

Is a hot dog worth a two-hour detour from the drive home? You bet it is when it’s a hot dog from the world’s largest hot dog stand. Located in Washington, Missouri, we added about two hours to our drive home from a trip to Jefferson City.

What should have been a 5-hour drive home from Jeff City turned into a 7 ½-hour road trip. We drove 90 minutes from Jefferson City to the hot dog stand; then, another six hours home from Washington. But, the road trip was sooooo worth it.

As many people know, we are fans for the “World’s Largest” attractions and will drive out of our way to see them. In North Dakota, we added about three hours to a drive just to see the “Dinosaurs on the Prairie,” old threshers that a farmer lined up to look like a parade of dinosaurs. I digress.

Was the drive worth it? Yes. We saw some beautiful landscape on the drive from Jefferson City. More importantly, we found the world’s largest hot dog stand.

How large is it? It stands a little more than 12 feet tall (there’s a ladder to help people get to the roof), more than 23 feet long and about 9 feet wide. It’s been confirmed as the world’s largest hot dog stand by Guinness Book of World Records. The hot dog stand is a larger version of the “Hotdog Man’s” push cart.

The hot dog stand has a drive-thru. A large Heinz mustard can houses supplies. The can includes the mustard’s nutritional information.

So, are the hot dogs as large? Not quite. But, they look larger than most when the hot dog server brings you your order. A staff of three people was working during our visit. They were a fun bunch to talk with. Great attitudes. We took their pictures and they took ours. Fair trade, I think.

Our hot dogs were delicious. I went with the Chicago Style dog – with mustard (minus the red onions), lots of sweet relish, celery salt, jalapenos and topped with tomatoes. OMG! So good. I am a fan of relish and the fact that there were tons of it on my dog made me feel happy.

Lisa went with the Wonder Wienie – torched cream cheese, onions and jalapenos. We both enjoyed our hot dogs.

Marcus Daily became the “Hotdog Man” about seven years ago. He sells hot dogs from his portable cart several days a week around Washington. He announces his location via Facebook. A former plumber, Daily longed to be a chef. So, he attended the L’ecole Culinaire in St. Louis.

Following time in St. Louis as a hot dog vendor. A friend suggested he set up his hot dog stand outside a bar in Washington. Business boomed on the weekends, and Daily spent every weekend selling hot dogs there. Permit issues with the city threatened to shut him down until fans rallied in his support. A Facebook page had about 1,000 followers in support of Washington’s “Hotdog Man.” The restaurant location opened about three years ago.

Armed with a push cart and the world’s largest hot dog stand, it appears Washington’s “Hotdog Man” is here to stay. The food is great, as well as the service. Two major ingredients for success.

We enjoyed our visit to the World’s Largest Hotdog Stand, and the food. We recommend visiting the cart, which is about an hour west of St. Louis, off of Interstate 44.

For more information on the hot dog stand and its mouthwatering menu, please visit www.wonderwienie.com.