Just as the monsoon comes every year, so does hot-dog season, with its storm of desire for crackling tube steaks that bite back when you bite in. Though not as common as hamburger joints, the Valley boasts a number of old favorites when it comes to finding a good dog. Here's a sampling.
Ted's pork and beef hot dogs are made special and flown in from Buffalo, N.Y. Get your charbroiled dog on a potato bun with any of 14 toppings. $2.25. Add Ted's famous loganberry shake, $3.05, or housemade onion rings, $2.75.
If Chicago is your kind of town, you'll want the original “Chicago Style” hot dog, of pure beef topped with mustard, relish, onion, pickle, tomato, celery salt and sport peppers on a poppy-seed bun. $4.35.
Here's another twist: A hot dog on a bialy stick, sort of a cylindrical bagel. Choose from such toppings as sauerkraut, green peppers, Cheddar, with your choice of side dish, $5.99.
Nogales Hot Dogs
When you're in the mood for something different, try these Sonoran hot dogs: all meat (pork, beef and chicken) dogs, wrapped in bacon, then loaded down with mayonnaise, beans, onions, tomatoes, peppers, jalapeño sauce, guacamole, cheese, mushrooms and perhaps the kitchen sink. $2.75.
Try this high-end chili dog, with chili created at an upscale Los Angeles restaurant by a French-trained chef, smothering an all-beef dog made by hand at a century-old Boston factory, popped onto a fresh bun grilled in garlic butter. $3.45.
Most popular, and don't tell your cardiologist: the chili dog, a fresh bun made just for Wienerschnitzel topped with one of three wieners — original, the big original and all-beef Angus, with a nice slathering of chili. $1.31. We won't even mention the idea of adding cheese and onions.
How's this for unique? The cheese and potato dog started in New York, A broiled all-beef wiener sits on a bun covered in cheese and topped with a potato serving that resembles warm potato salad. $2.50.
Go for the classic. It's an all-beef Vienna hot dog on a poppy-seed bun with mustard, relish, onions and sport peppers. Comes with fries, $3.25.
It's a bargain: One hardy housemade all-beef dog with fries and a drink, $5. Kids can substitute two skinny dogs.
This is a Middle Eastern restaurant, but the hot dogs come highly recommended: Hebrew National, with a variety of traditional toppings, including sauerkraut, $2.99. Or try the Polish dog meal, with your choice of toppings, fries and a drink, $5.99
Back to basics: traditional Chicago all-beef steamed hot dog with mustard, relish, onions, pickles, tomatoes, sport peppers, sliced cucumbers — all nicely sprinkled with celery salt, on a poppy-seed bun. $2.59.
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