Goodbye Polish hot dog

If you are like me, the $1.50 Polish dog/soda combo at Costco is hard to pass up–especially when you are hungry. The best thing about it was that it was Kosher, meaning its production included rigorous safety and health standards not found in other similar foods.

So it is with some tongue-in-cheek sadness that I must report the menu item has been removed from the big box retailer’s menu.

The retailer still offers its famous $1.50 deal for a hot dog and a fountain soda, but the Polish dog combo ― also with a soda, and for the same price ― has been banished.

The change is part of a food court makeover that includes the addition of a burger, an acai bowl and a meatless salad that even the company’s chief executive doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about.

“This new plant-based protein salad, I know that excites you,” Craig Jelinek told shareholders earlier this year, according to the Seattle Times. “But it is healthy. And, uh, actually, it tastes pretty good, if you like those kind of things. I tried it once.”

But it’s the exile of the Polish sausage that has put the company in the doghouse with some customers. While it’s still available to buy in bulk and make at home, the faithful are decrying the decision to ditch the dog from the food court. Some have posted complaints on the company’s Facebook page ― even on posts about cars and bottled water ― while others have taken to Twitter, in some cases using the #SaveThePolishDog hashtag.

So sad. So much room for 55 gallon drums of cooking oil, but no room for the  noble Polish dog with kraut.

–Dwight Widaman and news services.