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10 Gourmet Hot Dogs To Try This Summer
The weather is hot, the grills are hotter, and coast-to-coast, haute dogs are popping up.
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We aren’t talking about the run-of-the-mill frankfurters from your childhood barbecues, nor the piles of limp sausages competitive eaters stuff into their mouths this time of year.
No, this is about the new hot dog, a model that takes inspiration from all over the world, from Asian-style dogs with seaweed and spicy Indian options to cheese-stuffed sausages wrapped in bacon and gently placed on a fluffy roll.
While some of these creations might sound a bit outrageous, they work, though now we beg the question, what makes a hot dog truly special? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
10600 Westminster Blvd Westminster, CO
One thing Colorado is known for is being part of the Four Corners, an area where the state meets Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. At Kachina Southwestern Grill, chef Jeff Bolton pays homage to this famous spot with the 100% Kobe beef Sonoran Dog.
“We wanted to create our version of a traditional Sonora hot dog using all housemade ingredients,” said Bolton. “We took the traditional ingredients that originated in Hermosillo, the capital of Sonora, and made our own fresh twist on it.”
This means each order comes with sweet applewood bacon, pico de gallo, cowboy beans, smoked tomato aïoli and cotija cheese. All of that gets nestled into homemade bolillo bread, which is basically a Mexican-style French bread.
Skip the curry ketchup synonymous with German sausages, and instead get down Indian-style with this restaurant’s intensely spicy Phaal Dog, touted as the hottest hot dog in town.
How does it get such a superb heat? Well, it starts with Brick Lane’s famous phaal curry, which incorporates eight of the world’s hottest chiles including the Bhut Naga Jolokia, which the Indian military uses to make tear gas. In fact, this curry proves so spicy, the chef has to wear a gas mask while cooking it. From there, the chef pumps this sauce into a snappy chicken frank, plops it into a whole-wheat hot dog bun and serves it up with a sprinkling of onions and crisp peppers.
If you like salad and you like hot dogs, The Sizzler at this sleek butcher shop is the perfect option for you.
This beauty consists of a snappy pork sausage coddled by a fluffy, buttery brioche bun, topped with olive-oil-and-parsley-marinated cherry tomatoes, crisp strips of iceberg lettuce and a savory bacon ranch dressing. In other words, it’s chef Nate Anda’s version of a BLT in hot dog form, and we are totally fine with that.
The folks at Doggy-Style have built a collection of haute, Asian-style dogs to make any Japanese B-movie producer proud. Take the Doggyzilla: this dish features a mess of seaweed, Asian slaw, wasabi mayo and teriyaki sauce piled on a pork and onion sausage.
You can also try its fraternal twin, the Umai hot dog, a creation featuring a 100% kosher beef frankfurter topped with Japanese mayo, pickled radish, more seaweed and teriyaki sauce.
At Cantina Bar, launched recently by mini-chain Rosa Mexicano in Minneapolis, Atlanta and New Jersey, they not only have some of the same great dishes as their sister restaurants, but here they serve the Perro Caliente, aka the Mexico City Hot Dog.
This dish consists of an all-beef hot dog that bursts with melted, gooey Chihuahua cheese. But wait, that’s not all. While the sausage is stuffed with queso, the outside gets wrapped in bacon. Then they serve it on a roll with pico de gallo, onions, jalapeños and fresh avocado.
No, the name of this scrumptious hot dog doesn’t have anything to do with yoga or contorting your body into a strange position, unless that pose involves your hand bending toward your mouth. Instead, this construction by chef Rich Byers is less yoga and more Japanese street food with an international spin.
Each order consists of two Sabrett dogs, Japanese mustard, kewpie mayonnaise, sweet soy sauce, eggplant, nori and homemade cucumber tsukemono, aka Japanese pickles. All of this comes on a golden split-top bun and with a side of buttery fries tossed in ghee and salt.
Surprisingly, Coney Island hot dogs have nothing to do with the famous franks from Brooklyn; instead, they get their name from the meat-filled sauce that tops the sausage. This style originated in Michigan, and it’s in Detroit where you can find chef Brian Kanak’s “bad axe venison” plunked on top of his housemade, all-beef mini hot dogs.
The name of the sauce comes from where they get the venison - Bad Axe, MI - and the chef blends it with cinnamon, cumin, allspice, and chile powder. “The challenging part was to see how far we wanted to stretch our creativity without taking away from the original style of the Coney,” said Kanak. “With these flavors and the local product that we utilize, we felt that this was the best choice for our Coney.”
Poutine may be a Canadian dish, but after the team at The Original Dineran use it to top their hot dogs, they make it an American classic. Prepared with meat from Highland Oak Farm, this half-pound dog comes topped with warm cheese curds, crispy French fries, and velvety veal gravy.
“We keep with the vibe of our city and follow the news of the day for the theme of our dog of the day,” says chef Ryan Bliebtrey about the inspiration behind this creation. “Just the other day, we had the Soprano Dog in memory of Tony Soprano.”
While they don’t offer the latter dog anymore, they do carry a Breakfast Dog, which comprises a grilled frank and egg wrapped up in a French-toast-battered-and-fried bun. With a drizzle of maple syrup and puff of powdered sugar, breakfast is complete.
Chef Tim Goodell has mastered the art of making haute burgers, but now the enterprising chef is churning out a modern twist on the hot dog.
Enter the Sonoran Hot Dog Sandwich, a creation consisting of a juicy, bacon-wrapped Bobak sausage finished with caramelized onions, pinto beans, onions, tomatoes, mustard, queso fresco and garlic aïoli. That gets set in a toasted French bread bun, and then, the crowning glory, lush and meaty Hatch green chiles are thrown on top. Pair that with a caramel or double chocolate milkshake for a match made in culinary heaven.
132 S 17th St Philadelphia, PA
Okay, so the title of this dog is in conflict with where it’s from, but after one bite of this haute dog, you will be longing for the West Coast too. With fresh diced avocado, bright tomatoes and a tangy lemon-mustard vinaigrette resting atop a 100% beef big boy, everything about this dish screams California.
Of course, this sausage shop has even more gourmet hot dogs, including the Georgia Bulldog topped with pepper hash and mustard BBQ sauce, and the Thai-style dog with spicy peanut sauce and green papaya slaw. The best part is, they also offer vegan hot dogs and gluten-free rolls, so you can bring any of your friends.
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