Arkansas Naturals’ Funnel dog pitches solid sweet/salty flavor

The $3.50 Funnel Dog is an unexpected treat. Be sure you get it "dusted" with powdered sugar.

Watching the Arkansas Naturals lose 12-7 to the Tulsa Drillers last night at Arvest Ballpark was no treat.

However, that bitter defeat was soothed by the salty-sweet indulgence known at the stadium as the Funnel Dog ($3.50).

It’s like an entire county fair on a stick, akin to Willy Wonka’s Three-Course Dinner gum, minus the blueberry side effects.

All the flavors you savor are there – the plump salty dog, the crispy light crunch of funnel cake batter, a generous dusting of powdered sugar and the convenience of a stick to hold the entire thing.

“It’s much better than I thought it would be,” my wife said after I convinced her to try it.

Her comment pretty well sums up most people’s perception. It’s a case of something that works better in person than on paper.

The sweet and the salty blend perfectly and create something more than the sum of the parts.

The Funnel Dog has had steady sales since it was launched three years ago, Naturals’ general manager Eric Edelstein said Friday. He didn’t go into specifics about the hot dog/funnel cake food item, but said sales are steady enough to keep it on the menu.

That’s not the case for the Belly Buster, a $6.50 concoction that blended a hot dog and a fried tortilla with such toppings as mashed potatoes or meatballs and spaghetti.

That one lasted about half the 2009 season before it got cut, Edelstein said.

“That one was maybe a little too far out there for folks.”

There’s an experimental spirit when it comes food at the stadium, Edelstein said. The Naturals are owned by the Rich family who also own Rich Products, leaders in frozen food.

“So we have quite a bit of expertise when it comes to food. We have more of a focus on food than other teams, I’d say.”

The Funnel Dog was actually created at the stadium in Springdale, or so the story goes.

It was the birthday of one of the maintenance men and a cook offered to make him whatever he wanted.

The man wanted a corn dog, but there was no corn meal available. So, the cook improvised and used funnel cake batter.

It immediately caught on among the staff and a soft launch at the stadium led to more sales.

Edelstein seemed surprised to hear that the Funnel Dog had crept into other sporting arenas, including the hockey team, the Philadelphia Flyers just this season.

FooBooz, a Philadelphia food blog, first thought the new $6 Funnel Dog was a joke when they heard about it on Twitter, but quickly discovered the culinary delight/horror is all too real.

And some even echo the fact that it is a quite delectable indulgence.

Like Erica Reisenwitz of the Philadelphia American Food Examiner who writes:

A disgusting display of culinary creativity, the satisfying Funnel Dog represents the make-up of this year’s Flyers team. Players from all over the world, of all ages, playing styles, and personalities have combined to form a winning team who is as gluttonous in its pursuit of a championship as are Philadelphians in their eating habits. A creation that has often looked bad has come out to be very, very good.

How much further do you think this Springdale concoction will spread?