Trader Joe's New Pickle Dogs May Be Inspired By A Disneyland Snack

You're walking down the aisle of your local Trader Joe's, getting a small grocery order for the coming week. All around you are signs advertising the arrival of something called "perfectly pickled pups." As far as you know, you've never had a pickle dog, but you just can't shake the feeling that maybe you've seen something like it before.

Trader Joe's prides itself on fantastical, quirky foods. Through a combination of zany products and customer-employee interactions, Trader Joe's is billed as a grocery store that invites all walks of life, no matter how mundane or outrageous the taste. The idea of a new product called "pickled pups" is probably as mundane as a jug of milk or a loaf of bread in Trader Joe's.

But just what are pickle dogs? And what connection could they possibly have — official or by sheer coincidence — to a food peddled at Disney snack stands?

If you've been to Disneyland in the last two years, you may have seen park-goers walking around eating "pickle dogs." These gherkin treats are sold at Blue Ribbon Corn Dogs in Downtown Disney. A pickle is hollowed out and a hot dog is inserted, before the pickle itself is battered and deep-fried. While Disney isn't the first to invent the pickle dog, this particular Disney treat is reportedly controversial not just because to the sheer size of the snack, but also because of the odd combination of pickle, pork, batter, and in some cases, Cheetos. 

Trader Joe's new "Perfectly Pickled Pups," meanwhile, are described as miniature hot dogs, dipped in a combination of "pickle-flavored batter and breading." While they're not totally the same as the dogs you'd find at Downtown Disney, both Trader Joe's and Disney's dogs both combine the concept of frankfurters and pickles into one carnival-style treat. 

Reviews of the snacks testified that, for the most part, they were surprisingly good. "They're good, I just don't taste any pickle seasoning,"  wrote one Redditor. "The hot dog is delicious, though. Enjoyed them with a tangy and slightly sweet mustard." Another declared that the new TJ's treat is "so good, and paired with the dill mustard, it's perfection."