'Dog days' at BLT Steak; actual dogs at JJ's

BLT Steak offers a "Dog Days of Summer" blackboard menu from chef Ben Miles through July. Among the items: heirloom tomato salad with olive oil croutons and burrata (that's mozzarella cheese, encasing more mozzarella and cream) drizzled with Vincotto vinaigrette; tempura squash blossoms topped with ricotta and tomato-tarragon jam; and New Town Farms baby squash sprinkled with basil and Parmesan. Entree options include diver scallops with chanterelles, corn and smoked bacon, and a double-cut pork chop with Mission figs and pancetta; dessert's Georgia peach tart with almond filling and a scoop of vanilla gelato. The lineup can be ordered individually, or as a $60 fixed-price menu (for wine pairings, add $35). 110 N. College St. in the Ritz-Carlton; 704-972-4380.

Meanwhile, JJ’s Red Hots (with locations in Dilworth and Ballantyne) looked at sales and feedback and social media for the past year and declared its "Top Ten Most Outrageous (and Best Selling) Hot Dog Toppings," all from its "dog of the week" program, in which it lets businesses and others dictate the dog of their dreams. (Some of these people need to adjust whatever they're doing before bedtime.) They are:

• Mac & cheese (on the "Mac Daddy")
• Sweet potato hash (on the "Yam I Am")
• Peanut butter (on the "Weiner the Pooh")
• Scrambled eggs (on the Breakfast Dog)
• Smoked jalapeno ketchup (on the "Put That In Your Pipe")
• Pineapple salsa (on the "Maui Gold")
• Sage and andouille stuffing (on the "Franksgiving")
• Smoked amber barbecue sauce (on the "Beer B Q," a collaboration with Triple C Brewing)
• Jalapeno corn salsa (on the "Maized and Confused")
• Housemade pimento cheese (on the "Big Cheesy")