Sherman's Food Adventures: Top Dog

Top Dog

For those who don't know, there is a phrase that I once coined while dining at a nice restaurant. The portions were so small, it left us quite hungry. Therefore, we decided to pay McD's a visit afterwards for some Filet-O-Fish. After that point, if any meal didn't fill us up, we referred to it as a Filet-O-Fish meal. Today, after dining at Chez Panisse, I was not exactly bursting at the seams. Without a McD's in sight, we made our way over to Durant and went for something quick and cheap. So, instead of a Filet-O-Fish, we went for hot dogs at Top Dog instead.

Yah I know, after a fine French meal at one of the best restaurants in the Bay Area, I have sunk to the depths of mystery meat stuffed inside intestinal casing. Well, food is food and no matter how much it costs, if it's tasty, I'll eat it. We ended up getting 3 hot dogs: Bockwurst, Frankfurter and Hot Link. While our dogs were being prepared, I started snapping photos and the guy behind the counter remarked that, "It's nice to see someone so enthusiastic about my cooking". He has a point, I was busily taking pictures of him cooking hot dogs. I really am crazy!

Cable Car Guy decided to add Russian hot mustard to his already spicy dog and he didn't look all that comfortable eating his hot dog. We were not sure if it was the dog or the mustard. Didn't matter, it was amusing watching him gag. He did say it was good despite the spiciness. I thought that the bun was quite nice since it was a French roll and it was nicely toasted. My Bockwurst was meaty and mildly seasoned. With some sauerkraut, the thing rocked. For $3.00, it's a nice cheap eat which is really pretty good. With all the "gourmet" hot dog joints that are all the rage, it's nice to see a place that makes great "regular" hot dogs for a great price. Oh, it's open late too, so you can grab a couple while piss drunk. They probably would taste even better!

The Good:
- It's cheap
- It's a good hot dog
- Open late

The Bad:
- No fancy stuff here

Top Dog on Urbanspoon

2 comments:

KimHo said...

Now I understand why you weren't so enthusiastic about Chez Panisse!

I think you quote it quite nicely. It is time to return to the basic hot dog with your classic toppings at an affordable price. Just for the sake of blogging it, I guess will have to do that *after* a visit to Japadog shop sometime in December!

Finally, was the place where Top Dog located shaddy or run down? You know mystery meat gets better the dodgier the neighbourhood is? :)

Sherman Chan said...

Well, the area ain't too bad, it's near the Berkeley Campus. I did like the hot dogs. Yup, the simple hot dog for cheap is a dying breed, unless it's Ikea or Costco.

Search this Site