Below is an article on the history of the burger dog. This is an outside vendor that invented and runs these shops, not the Olympic Club.
In 1950, Bill Parrish opened Hot Dog Bills, named after himself and his wife Billie. They set up a small trailer outside of the world famous Olympic Club golf course and started selling burgers and dogs to golfers. Bill decided to use hot dog buns for his burgers as a cost saving measure by only having one bun for everything on his menu. The golfers fell in love with the burger dogs and would often send their caddies out to pick up burger dogs for them while they played golf. Bill was eventually invited by the prestigious members only club to set up a stand on the golf course. Fifty years later, Bill’s daughter Candy continues to run the popular snack stands on the course and the burger dogs still sell like hotcakes.
There are three Hot Dog Bills snack shacks on the grounds of the Olympic Club. The small unmarked structure overlooks the driving range near a big Rolex clock. A group of well dressed men sat at a round picnic table eating their burger dogs and talking about the round of golf that they had just played. I put in my order for a burger dog with cheese ($6.00) and then watched as one person after another came up and placed orders for burger dogs. You could even specify how you wanted it cooked.
Candy has worked in the stand for close to thirty years and took over operations from her father in the eighties. She really knows her way around the grill and has an amazing memory – greeting almost everyone that walked up to the stand by their name. I looked on as she placed the long rectangular molded beef dogs onto a hot griddle as her helper Patricia took care of drinks and dressing up the dogs as they came off the grill. The pair worked seamlessly together, like a well oiled machine.
The cooked to order patties would come off the grill covered in thin strips of melted American cheese, placed in a toasted hot dog bun and passed on to Patricia for the final touches. The burger dog comes standard with mustard, ketchup, a special sweet red relish and pickles. You can also have onions, grilled or regular, lettuce and tomato.
The one big difference that I noticed was the juices that seeped from this one. The meat was glistening and juices were starting to soak into the toasted bun. My first bite was heavenly. The fresh ground meat, that is delivered daily, was extremely juicy and was so tender that it practically melted in your mouth. It was cooked perfectly between medium and medium rare and seasoned only with salt and pepper. The condiments worked well, especially the contrast between the sweet relish and the sour pickles. I can now see why people line up in droves for one of these.
The fresh meat that was expertly cooked to your desired doneness made the Hot Dog Bills burger dog really stand out. Each bite produced tons of juice and full beef flavor that was so good, I almost considered getting another. Candy told me that the reason people like the burger dog for its simplicity and the freshness of the meat. I fully agree with that.
If you aren’t a member of the Olympic Club but want to try one of these tasty dogs, you have two options. The 2012 U.S. Open will be played at the Olympic Club, buy a ticket, watch some golf and get a dog. The second option would be to go to the Silverado Country Club in Napa where Bill Parrish’s son runs the concession stands there and serves the same dogs as the Oly Club.