You can get special C5 hot dogs at JJ’s Red Hots — this week only!

I love hot dogs. I’ve professed my love for them in the C5 newsletter and on the C5 podcast and in many other ways. I used to skip class in college to get lunch at a place that had a hot dog special on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

So when JJ’s Red Hots asked Katie Toussaint and I if we wanted to make C5 hot dogs, I couldn’t respond all-caps “YES” fast enough.

Starting this week (Oct. 24) you can taste the results. As a part of its #VoteJJs campaign, JJ’s Red Hots will be offering the C5 Herbivore and C5 Carnivore hot dogs Monday through Sunday.

On Thursday, Oct. 27, meet Katie and me at the Dilworth JJ’s for lunch, from 11:45 a.m.-1 p.m. The first 25 people get a free Vote JJs bumper sticker, a CharlotteFive sticker and a button pack. You can also enter to win a $50 JJ’s gift card. You can find us on the rooftop.

The dogs:

C5 Herbivore

If it wasn’t obvious enough already, this is Katie’s creation: A roasted carrot dog topped with Thai chile sauce, onions and peppers, cilantro, sriracha mayo and crushed peanuts.

Katie tried hers for the first time last week. Her response: “I’m obsessed with the Thai Chile sauce and sriracha mayo — it creates a delightful hit of heat tempered by cilantro and crushed peanuts. The roasted carrot is just the right level of soft and firm. I could eat 10 of these.”

C5 Carnivore

This one’s mine, and it couldn’t be more different than Katie’s: JJ’s Signature Hot Dog topped with chili, pimiento cheese, cole slaw, mustard and a fried pickle spear.

Yeah, that’s a lot. Look, I got pretty freakin’ excited about getting to make my own hot dog and I may have gotten a little crazy. I basically threw five of my favorite things on top of one hot dog. The result? A hot dog that’s basically the love child of a Carolina Dog, a Coney and a Chicago Dog. And I loved. Every. Bite.

#VoteJJs is a friendly competition between us, Yelp Charlotte, Charlotte Food Adventures and Queen City Chic to see whose hot dog is the most popular — and we want to win.

How can you help? Head to JJ’s Red Hots this week and ask for one — or both! — of the C5 dogs. (Pro tip: The dogs are $2 on Thursday!)

Let us know what you think of the dogs! Take a picture and tag us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Happy eating, y’all.

JJ’s Red Hots: 1514 East Blvd. (Dilworth); 15105 N. John Delaney Dr. (Ballantyne)

Photos: Corey Inscoe; Courtesy of JJ’s Red Hots

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 12:00 AM.