I once got to use my company’s box at Fenway Park. You couldn’t get a hot dog in the box. The cheapest item on the menu was a large platter of 8 hot dogs for $32, and this was like 20 years ago so imagine what inflation does to that.

I realize this was a special circumstance and I should expect more expensive but that was particularly obscene

I've heard of that before but I've never seen anyone make or sell that around here. The pictures I get searching for that mainly look to be thin slices stacked up or on a roll with other stuff and it looks like a breakfast sandwich. Around here, we'd do that with Taylor Ham, or pork roll.

This is the closest pic I could find to what I'm talking about. They refer to it as a Nashville smoked bologna sandwich, and it seems more BBQ style than hot dog style.

We may be getting into semantics, but such is the case when we get into regional specialties. Having the meat slice about the same thickness as a hot dog keeps it having that same hot dog mouth feel you wouldn't get with a stack of thin slices or if it was smoked, and it would have more traditional hot dog toppings than the sandwich toppings of a bologna sandwich or the BBQ fixings of the smoked bologna sandwich.

I've never heard anyone make reference to it specifically as a "flat hot dog" other than by one older guy I worked with 20+ years ago that suggested it to me. But I've shared them with other people over the years, and they've all found it fun and intriguing as well. At this point, it's kind of my own personal food of mythical origin, so it's a fun concept I can mention whenever the subject of unusual hot dogs comes up.

It's a fun spin on a classic and everyone I showed it to has found it fascinating. I haven't had one in a bit, but your post reminded me of them instantly.

This was my starting recipe...

https://www.planted365.com/...

I like the TVP / rice / oat combination. Using that base I've been successful in substituting spicy flavorings for the "brat" spices specified. Apparently vegan/vegetarian casing aren't available but I've found rice wrappers work very well. Contrary to the recipe, try the round shaped ones first. You can tuck the ends in as you roll so it works out a lot neater than the twisted off wrapper ends.

My husband and I like Morningstar for taste, and I also enjoy the jumbo Smart Dogs (smart dogs need pierced before fire roasting or direct grilling). Husbo doesn't like smart dogs as much.

My husband really enjoys the impossible and beyond brats.

Fwiw, my husbo is a meat eater and I've been veg for 26 years. He's eating more plant-based meat alternatives due to some wicked stomach issues he was diagnosed with two years ago.

Simple Truth (Ralph's, Kroger, etc) used to have some good vegan brats, but as time went on they got harder to find. Now I'm not seeing them on the Kroger website. Maybe they've been discontinued. There were a few others that were decent, but some had not-so-nice ingredients. Finally I started to experiment with making my own and haven't been tempted to go back to purchasing.