Jay Silverman and Joel Bennett Search for West Virginia’s Best Hot Dog

Kanawha Valley Hustlers · Apr 30, 2026 · 1m

In this episode of the Kanawha Valley Hustlers podcast I sit down with Jay Silverman and Joel Bennett to talk about their feature dogumentary on the search for the best West Virginia hot dog.

What started as a short project during COVID turned into a years-long trip across the state. Jay and Joel visited 284 mom-and-pop restaurants and judged each West Virginia-style hot dog by the bun, dog, chili, slaw, onions, mustard, and the way it all came together. Along the way, they learned more about hot dogs than they ever expected.

But the story became bigger than food. Their goal was to support…