Today, we are reviewing The Big Glizzy from Sheetz, a limited-edition hot dog offering. Sheetz is a chain of convenience stores found in the Eastern Mid-Atlantic States. These stores focus on made-to-order (MTO) food, including hot dogs. However, for Pittsburgh Pirates all-star pitcher Paul Skenes, the six-inch hot dogs Sheetz was offering were not big enough. He challenged Sheetz to come up with a larger hot dog offering, and that’s where The Big Glizzy comes in. Not only is this a larger hot dog (at ten inches), but it also features a Nathan’s Famous All-Beef Hot Dog. Like all Sheetz hot dogs, The Big Glizzy is fully customizable with toppings of your choice.
As for the name “The Big Glizzy,” I first encountered it at Sheetz. It appears to be a viral internet slang term for “hot dog,” particularly on TikTok, which might explain why I wasn’t familiar with it before. Given its popularity, Sheetz is capitalizing on the trend.
Sheetz, Inc. was founded by G. Robert “Bob” Sheetz in 1952 when he purchased one of his father’s five dairy stores located in Altoona, Pennsylvania. By 1969, Bob’s brother Steve convinced him to expand into other locations. In 1972, Sheetz had grown to 14 stores and had added gasoline service. Today, Sheetz has over 800 locations. Sheetz has franchises in Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. There are plans to expand to Indiana.
The Construction
The Sheetz MTO order concept is built on customization options. There are too many options available for The Big Glizzy to list. Most options are free, but some premium options are available for an additional charge. I decided to select three toppings I typically enjoy. It turns out that two of these toppings were premium.
- Hot Dog: Beef (default)
- Hot Dog Bun (Default)
- Yellow Mustard (Option)
- Caramelized Onion (Premium Option – Additional $0.50)
- Bacon (Premium Option – Additional $1.20)
- Length: n/a (x)
- Weight: n/a (x)
- Location Purchased: Troutman, NC
- Base Price: $3.99
- Total Price with Options: $5.69
- Items Purchased: 3 (2 Trips)
(x) Weight and length measurements were not performed as this assessment was conducted remotely.
The rationale for my options was:
- Unless it’s something like a Chicago Dog, I typically limit a hot dog to mustard and no more than two toppings
- I could have gone with raw onion, but I wanted to give the caramelized onion a spin
- Bacon was selected because bacon is better on everything. I am not a fan of cheese dogs, so I passed on cheese with the bacon.
The Appearance (*)
This is a new section we have recently introduced. This will be included (where we can) in Coalition Eats reviews. It is not part of the scoring, but this section compares the actual product with how it was advertised. In this case, we could not get an exact picture of the toppings on The Big Glizzy.
One thing that was quite different was the way mustard was applied to this hot dog. The promotional pictures show the mustard (swirled with ketchup). As we will see in the assessment, the hot dog we ordered had the mustard put inside the bun
In the end, this appearance comparison could not be done apples-to-apples; thus, the Big Glizzy gets an Incomplete rating for Appearance Comparison.
One final note: there was a bit of “squishing” of this hot dog because it is sold wrapped, not in a box. This certainly would not have helped with the appearance comparison, but we can give a rating based on “gut feel” or guesswork.
Comparison Rating: Incomplete
The Experience
For the Big Glizzy, we use the same scoring algorithm we use to assess other hot dogs with toppings.
- Meat (Hot Dog): 4 points
- Bun: 2 points
- Condiments: 2 points
- Intangibles: 2 points
Meat (Hot Dog)
While Sheetz uses a made-to-order concept, it does not use a cooked-to-order concept. The hot dogs supplied by Nathan’s to Sheetz are pre-cooked and put on the heat roller to heat them. What’s tricky about this is that sometimes the hot dog isn’t cooked enough, and other times it’s overcooked. I made two different trips to Sheetz, and each time the Hot Dog was heated to an ideal temperature for me.
The Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog is all beef. When prepared right, a Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog can shine. These hot dogs were all at a good temperature without tasting overcooked. There is a nice balance of savoriness and smokiness. I also find Nathan’s Hot Dogs to have the right amount of saltiness. The snap (the case) could be better, but it’s not terrible either. Overall, a good hot dog.
Score: 2.50 out of 4.00 points
Bun
The bun for The Big Glizzy is pretty average. It’s a steamed bun rather than a toasted one, so it isn’t firm enough to hold the hot dog. The bun was served warm. The bun itself had a few baking splits. Overall, I would rate this very average.
Score: 1.00 out of 2.00 points
Condiments
As I typically do, let’s break down the condiments I opted for on The Big Glizzy one by one:
- Yellow Mustard: While it wasn’t the boldest mustard, Sheetz’s yellow mustard seemed to have a little more bite than other yellow mustards I’ve had. Most yellow mustards have a stronger vinegar component, but the Sheetz one has a good bite from the use of mustard seed. As mentioned above, Sheetz puts the mustard behind the hot dog on the bun. This mustard was a nice surprise for a convenience store yellow mustard.
- Caramelized Onions: The caramelized onions are cooked, soft onions. These bring out some of the onion’s sweetness and mitigate the sharp bite often found in a raw onion. These were also quite tasty.
- Bacon: While bacon is said to make everything better, this might be the weak link of the condiments here. While the bacon is fully cooked, I still prefer it more well done. It definitely has a “microwave” quality. In the end, this took away a bit of the savoriness, smokiness, and saltiness I want from my bacon.
Score: 1.25 out of 2.00 points
Intangibles
As always, I evaluate whether the overall experience is greater than the sum of its parts. In the case of The Big Glizzy, I would say it’s a slight yes. This hot dog definitely benefited from the addition of the three toppings compared to having none at all. I’m not convinced these were the best combination of toppings available, but with Sheetz’s made-to-order approach, the experience largely hinges on the condiments chosen. I can confidently say I enjoyed the three toppings; however, as previously mentioned, the bacon didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
The hot dog with three toppings was quite filling. Just one of these can be enough to satisfy your hunger. During one of my trips to Sheetz, I had two of them, and they definitely filled me up.
I chose caramelized onions because raw onions tend to fall out and create a mess. Unfortunately, the caramelized onions ended up doing the same thing. Some of the bacon also fell out. While it wasn’t a complete mess, it was still a bit of a nuisance.
Score: 1.25 out of 2.00 points
OVERALL EXPERIENCE
As mentioned, The Big Glizzy was a tricky item to score because of the number of customizations available, depending on the topping selected, as I said above. What I can say, foundationally, is that there is a good hot dog, and that’s always a good start. While I haven’t officially scored one of Sheetz’s regular hot dog coverings yet, the Nathan’s Famous Hot Dog is an upgrade. I also think the longer (ten-inch) option is the way to go. Starting at $3.99, this is a pretty good offering – even if you just decided to go simple and do mustard. All indications are that this is a limited offering, but I hope this is something Sheetz brings back or makes a regular offering.
Summary
| Meat (Hot Dog) (4) | 2.50 |
| Bun (2) | 1.00 |
| Condiments (2) | 1.25 |
| Intangibles | 1.25 |
| Total | 6.00 |
Score: 6.00 (out of 10 points)
Value: Slightly Above Average
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop, except where noted
* Not scored in the overall numeric assessment rating.
