If you’re looking for the best hot dog in the Puget Sound, try one of the three restaurants Evening viewers overwhelmingly recommend.
Diggity Dog in the Tangletown neighborhood of Seattle has literally dozens of options for kids, vegans and the staunchest of carnivores
There are several kinds of traditional hot dogs, a variety of gourmet sausages, and veggie dogs. Customers can create an almost infinite number of combinations by adding one of the many available toppings, from avocado to pineapple.
"When you're really craving a hot dog, you've got to find the place that serves it and we do most of the stuff that anyone would ever want,” says owner Daniel O'Neil.
The house specialty? The Kimchi Dog, topped with Korean fermented vegetables.
Diggity Dog is on Meridian Ave. North and is open Monday through Sunday.
On the other side of the city, Matt's Hot Dogs has been serving up traditional dogs in Georgetown since 1992.
"If you just want ketchup on a hot dog, that's okay,” says owner Matt Jones. "Our hot dogs are just really, really, really, really good."
Made special for the restaurant, the hot dogs have no fillers or byproducts and snap when you bite into them like an old-fashioned sausage.
The toppings are simple and classic – chili and Chicago Dogs are two top sellers.
"I just hope that everyone who's watching this comes in every day for the rest of their lives,” Jones said, laughing. “That's all I ask."
Matt’s is located on East Marginal Way and is open Monday through Friday.
For arguably the most popular dogs in the Puget Sound, head to Tacoma and taste the creations that make The Red Hot an undisputed fan favorite.
"We go through about 12,000 to 15,000 hot dogs a month,” says Stu Miller, who owns the restaurant with his brother Chris.
They founded The Red Hot on a simple philosophy: baseball, beer and hot dogs belong together. The restaurant has big screen TV’s, rotating local beers on tap, and dogs made with 100% beef brisket.
Most of the toppings are made in-house, and they don’t shy away from experimenting.
"Just whatever's delicious, really,” Chris says.
Their best seller comes with peanut butter and bacon.
But we recommend the Tideflats Dog - topped with a dozen ingredients, including sauerkraut, chili, cole slaw and nacho cheese. It's indescribably scrumptious, and the kind of thing that's drawn customers from as far away as Calgary, Canada.
"Once they told me that I was like, 'Please let me buy you lunch,' that was the best story I ever heard,” Stu says.
The Red Hot is a 21 and over tavern, but you can always grab something to go. It's located on 6th Ave in Tacoma and is open seven days a week.
Evening viewers also recommend four local hot dog carts:
Joe's Gourmet Dogs and Pioneer Grill Dogs, which can both be found in the stadium district near CenturyLink Field; The Hot Dog Stop in Everett (with a brand new location in Ballard): and Big Dog's in Monroe, which was also last year's Best of Western Washington winner for Best Hot Dogs.
