Our 10 Favorite Hot Dogs in Phoenix

By Amy Silverman Mon., Jun. 27 2011 at 4:21 PM

The snap of the casing, the juicy mystery meat, the seasonings -- thankfully, the mighty hot dog makes its home not just in ball parks and backyard barbecues, but at plenty of wiener stands across the Valley. With so many places to choose from and always a new hot dog to try, we at Chow Bella came up with a few of our favorites. Read through our list to see what we recommend (we've linked to the location info), and if we don't have your favorite listed, let us know.

Get a closer log at these dogs in our hot dog porn slideshow.

1. Anything from Maui Dog

Maui Dog owner John Stamatakis says you won't find anything like his Maui dogs on the mainland and he may be right. Homemade sauces and toppings with a tropical flair and a signature bun recipe give his dogs a "sweet meets meat" kick, island style. Like the Hana -- an all-beef dog slathered with sweet, spicy, and garlic-y "Maui Mayo," then topped with avocado, "Maui Pico" (a fresh creation of chopped pineapple, mango, tomato, and onion drizzled in lime juice), cilantro, shredded jack cheese, and bits of turkey bacon. Devour deliciously as-is or turn up the heat with Stamatakis' "Volcanic" sauce. -- Laura Hahnefeld

Can you guess which hot dogs Zach Fowler and Carol Blonder love? Find out after the jump.

2. The East Coast American style from Costco
It contains a quarter pound of 100% beef -- no fillers, binders, phosphates, corn syrup, or artificial anything. The price hasn't changed since its introduction in the '80's: a buck fifty with a 20 oz refillable soda. The Costco food court hot dog satisfies a craving for the hot dog like the one served on Sundays, a.k.a. Deli Lunch Day, at my house when I was a kid. Reminiscent of the taste of a German style knockwurst, my family's preference, it has a hint of garlic seasoning and an almost crisp skin. The warm sauerkraut topping is de rigueur (request it when you order) along with chopped raw onion, pickle relish and spicy brown mustard. My tactic for dealing with a bun (soft, squishy white bread) shorter than its dog is to nibble the ends first. -- Carol Blonder

3. BWDFHD from Monkey Pants Bar and Grill
My favorite hot dog can be summed up by six little words to still your beating heart: Bacon. Wrapped. Deep. Fried. Hot. Dog.
Quite literally, your heart will skip a beat when you bite into this sinfully delicious hot dog from Monkey Pants. You may be thinking, bacon wrapped hot dogs? Been there. Done that. Not quite, my friend. There's only one way to improve upon the classic deep fried, pork fat bonanza: smother it in nacho cheese sauce and make sure to serve them in duos, because one BWDFHD is mere child's play.
This is a meal to die for. -- Erica O'Neil

Nicole Whittington

The Aiko from Short Leash.
4. The Aioko from Short Leash Hot Dogs
In my humble opinion, hot dog buns are the worst. They can barely contain the dog/brat/wiener. Toppings? Forget about it. Luckily Short Leash uses a delicious naan to contain the entire wiener and all its toppings. The Aioko, specifically, rivals the best of spicy and sweet combinations in a hot dog. It's loaded with mango chutney, jalapenos and a touch of that taboo white stuff, mayonnaise. Short Leash is a mobile establishment, so you have to stay updated via Facebook and Twitter, if you're hoping to find new wiener pics of where they might pop up next. -- Nicole Whittington

Tags:

chicago hamburger company, cooper'stown, costco, maui dog, nogales hot dogs, sonoran hot dog, two hippies beach house

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Keti Tsereteli

I think this one should have made it on that list, too: http://onioncrunch.tumblr.com/...

Homemade, but looks and tastes wonderful! That's the accomplishment of the Onion Crunch on top. Those crispy, fried onions definitely make the hot dog for me!

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The Main Ingredient

I find it almost comical that we are the current award winner from New Times for Best Of Phoenix, Best Hot Dog, & on this list we didn't crack the top 10! Because Michele is gone? Our dog remains AWESOME & unchanged since we won, so just curious about the inconsistency there guys!

vicelord

In need of some attention today? Perhaps upset that you didn't get free publicity? Shut up and keep making food and serving drinks, nobody owes you anything.

Internet Tough Guy

What a nasty little cunt. I'm sure the owner of the business that you're harassing anonymously over the internet is far too classy (and busy being successful) to respond, so I will. Shut your fucking mouth and keep sucking cock for beer money, nobody owes you anything.

Guest1

Just calling this to attention, if you notice this is not a comprehensive single author review, it seems to be INDIVIDUAL NT bloggers describing what may be THEIR personal preferences. That's what I perceive it to be anyway, especially with a line like; "Can you guess which hot dogs Zach Fowler and Carol Blonder love? Find out after the jump." Now while Michele may have enjoyed your dogs MD, I assume the other bloggers may have their own favorites.. not everything has to be tied into who had what best of.. last year. Whats wrong with other writers formulating their opinions autonomously?And again its about Hot dogs.. Shortleash FTW.

Dominic Armato

"...reviewing mariscos joints in south phoenix that anybody who is not chicano wouldn't eat at if their family was being held hostage."

Aaaaaaand this is why we can't have nice things, people.

Internet wuss....

You are all losers. MD has a point. I don't think motor trend could award a car "car of the year" and then not even rank it in the top ten and get away with it. Whatever. Newtimes is a rag. They should stick to stories about the MCSO that nobody gives half a fuck about, or reviewing mariscos joints in south phoenix that anybody who is not chicano wouldn't eat at if their family was being held hostage.

The Main Ingredient

I really think EVERYONE should go back & re-read my original comment. The POINT was that they are contradicting themselves by literally sending us a plaque in the mail that says "Best Hot Dog". Now, until this year's "Best of" comes out & someone else (I think Short Leash is a no brainer) gets it, it's kind of strange that you don't put TMI on this list of TEN places. Vicelord, not sure what your deal is, but THE NAME OF THE GAME IS FREE PUBLICITY! I would be out of my mind if I didn't push this business to the extreme! In this market?! In the summer?! Internet Tough Guy, wow, little exteme. EVERYONE: We're talking about HOT DOGS, lighten the fuck up! -MD

vicelord

I'll go harrass him in the restaurant too. Lord knows I've been there enough times.

vicelord

that's why he is going online and complaining that he wasn't on the list, huh?

CBW

Because it never was what you thought it was or is. You may have been on the Best of however that doesn't really mean its the best. Cause its not. Sorry...its the best you have but its not the best.

The Main Ingredient

Think you might be missing the point a little captain. YOU don't have to think it is. Hell, maybe I don't think it's the best in the whole valley for argument's sake. Point is, NEW TIMES gave us the distinction of "Best Hot Dog", now, a few months later it's not even on this top ten list? Just calling out a contradiction in good fun. Lighten up & eat a big juicy sausage- you deserve it!

Dawgfather

TheCosmicJester

I'm missing the Ted's love, too! A jumbo all-beef dog with everything on it, onion rings, and the loganberry drink... man that's good eatin'! And they have darned good corn dogs too.

Oxtox

TED'S! TED'S! TED'S!

Dominic Armato

Though I love any attention lavished upon a Chicago classic, if you want to be pedantic about it (and let's be honest, that's basically what we do), a Maxwell Street Polish isn't a hot dog... it's a Polish sausage. On a Venn diagram they're both sausages, but though they share many attributes, a Polish isn't a subset of a hot dog.

Also, FWIW, the pickle and tomato are non-canonical. It's not *impossible* to find those on a Maxwell Street Polish in Chicago (Wolfy's, for example), but it's pretty hard. And neither of the two classic Maxwell Street places (Jim's Original and Maxwell St. Express, both since relocated from Maxwell Street) serve it that way. Bun, sausage, griddled onion, mustard, sport peppers. Unlike a Chicago-style hot dog, which has a couple of different standards that are only loosely adhered to by the majority of Chicago hot dog stands, I think outliers are a lot rarer when it comes to a Maxwell Street Polish... or, in that case, they might simply be called a Polish rather than a Maxwell Street Polish.

Doug'sDsDs

I'll bet you eat yours with a knife & fork. What does non-canonical mean anyway?

Dominic Armato

Yes, I eat my hot dogs with a knife and fork. Preferably silver. But only when they're topped with caviar and gold leaf and served on bone china. Which is always. The proprietors of the countless Chicago hot dog stands I've visited become confused when my manservant amends my hot dogs thus, but I refuse to eat like a barbarian, even when surrounded by them.

By the bye, have you seen my monocle? The help have been searching for it all morning but they're practically useless. No matter. The chauffeur has just had the tires on my motorcar re-vulcanized, and I'm off for a country drive.

Ta!

JuxtaPalate Food Blog

Sad to admit, but I've honestly had dreams about the Short Leash Dogs. Yet another sign that I need a life.

No mention of Ted's in Tempe?!

Oxtox

Having Dave's Doghouse on the list but excluding Ted's is downright criminal. Dave's Doghouse sucks compared to Ted's. One more reason not to like Amy Silverman's articles....