The World Famous Scramble Dog

The best way to eat a hotdog

Lieutenant's Scrambled Dog

Lieutenant Stevens serves hundreds of tasty, messy Scrambled Dogs six days a week at Dinglewood Pharmacy in Columbus. A hot dog and bun are split and splayed in a banana split dish and piled with dill pickles, mustard and cheese. Then the tour de force — a meaty, beany, rich, red flood of Lieutenant's special chili — fills the dish and drips over the sides. On top of that goes a shower of oyster crackers. With plenty of napkins and a spoon (to scoop up the tangy chili), you're ready to dig in.

Lieutenant — that's the first name on his birth certificate — was born on Nov. 12, 1931, the day after Armistice Day (now Veterans Day). "They decided to name me in honor of the military," Stevens says of his parents. When he was 14, he went to work for Henry "Sport" Brown, the Scrambled Dog's creator. When Brown died in the 1950s, Stevens took over, tweaked the recipe and has been satisfying Columbus' craving ever since.

Patrons who were children when they tasted their first Scrambled Dogs come back to introduce them to their children and grandchildren. Mondays through Saturdays, patrons fill and refill the dozen counter stools, five tables and five booths.

"Lots of folks ask for my chili recipe," Stevens says with a smile, "but it's a home recipe and I don't give it. They have to come here to enjoy it."

-Kat-

Leiutenent Stevens