Hot Dog and California Cheeseburger c/o Ernie's Texas Lunch

After our battlefield times, we met back up with my father and we all went to Ernie's Texas Lunch. This is another tradition that hearkens back to the mists of time; a trip to Ernie's without a hot dog would be like a trip to New York City without either a bagel or a late night deli sandwich. Only that analogy doesn't quite capture the family ties to Ernie's. Not literal ties as much as - well figurative would kind of work but that's not what I'm trying to say. I've gone to Ernie's off and on for my whole life. Probably never more than two or three times in a year. But almost every year. I've seen the place change. I've gone from eating hot dogs to not eating hot dogs to eating hot dogs again. I've seen the staff grow old and disappear. It's just one of those places. They wouldn't recognize me, but the establishment has long been a part of my life.

Whatever. All to say that I decided that I'd have a dog with everything. A. was willing to split a 'California' cheeseburger, which seems to mean simply that it comes with lettuce, tomato and mayonnaise.
Every time I come here I feel like I should order the dog with everything because that's how it's done; that's what makes it a "Texas" dog. But the onions are always so plentiful that it becomes hard to locate the dog...and the fact of the matter is that I'm not actually a giant fan of chili. So. Mark my words. Next time I'm at Ernie's I'm going to order a dog with mustard. Full stop. Even with the challenges of the toppings, it was a good dog. The skin is nice and crispy and the dog juicy and delicious.
I did a little negotiating with my hot dog so it better fit into my mouth and that its onion to chili to dog ratio was more to my liking and all was successful and right.
The burger was ok. Nothing really to write home about, but cheap and not bad in any way. When I was a kid I really liked their beef vegetable soup. I may have to try it the next time I'm in town.