Where to get the best hot dogs in Philly, the suburbs, and the Shore

When Citizens Bank Park canceled Dollar Dog Night due to food fights and general hot dog overenthusiasm, Philadelphia’s hot dog culture entered overdrive. This summer, many restaurant owners and chefs have seemed to view the hot dog as a kind of blank slate, the perfect nostalgic vehicle for toppings and indulgence.

Jennifer Zavala, owner of Juana Tamale and a dedicated sports fan, almost immediately started offering dollar dogs for Phillies home games.

“I think it was the best and worst thing they could have done,” Zavala said. “Because now that more people are doing hot dogs in response to that, it’s really kind of rejuvenated the hot dog culture here. It’s the perfect comeback story.”

These are some of our favorite hot dogs in the city and suburbs, and at the Shore.

» READ MORE: It might be a hoagie town, but Philly’s hot dog scene is coming into its own

This Cedar Park food truck’s soft pretzel/hot dog combo is undeniably a sandwich: A butterflied Hebrew National gets griddled, then cushioned between the split sides of a chewy soft pretzel from West Philly baker Emily Wilson. Dress it up with brown or yellow mustard, sauerkraut, relish, and more. —Jenn Ladd

📍Baltimore Ave. and 50th St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19143 🌐 instagram.com/atruckcalled_sandoz

Exceptional hot dogs should not be limited to restaurants. For an improved experience of the classic backyard barbecue dog, order frankfurters from Heavy Metal Sausage Co. to grill at home. They’re a mixture of pork and beef that are smoked for flavor and have a nice snap, perfect for topping with mustard and relish. —Maddy Sweitzer-Lammé

📍1527 W. Porter St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19145, 🌐 https://www.heavymetalsausage.com/

This 1950s lunch cart-turned-hot dog shack on Delaware Avenue is one of the few places where you can still find the fish cake/hot dog combo — an obscure Philadelphia classic. You can upgrade to a hot sausage if you want to splurge, but do not skip the pepper hash. —JL

📍1234 N. Delaware Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19125, 🌐 facebook.com/p/Johnnys-Hots-100054527091748

What’s a pizza place doing in a hot dog roundup? This revamped Fox Chase landmark serves up a Texas Tommy — a bacon-wrapped, cheese-topped hot dog variant invented in Pottstown, of all places. Here, a trimmed-down Liscio’s cheesesteak roll gets slicked with Whiz, topped with a traditional German wiener (read: a long hot dog), chopped bacon, and fried onions. —JL

📍7947 Oxford Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19111, 🌐 josephspizzaparlor.com

Juana Tamale does $1 hot dogs during every Phillies home game: The dogs are all-beef Dietz & Watson, which are scored before they’re deep-fried and served on a bun. While dollar dogs are new at Juana Tamale, Zavala has served lots of different hot dog specials, a theme she has doubled down on this summer. In addition to stoner Americana bites like a hot dog breakfast taco, she’ll bring back her Sonoran hot dog, a Mexican-style dog in which the sausage is wrapped in bacon and served tucked into a pillowy soft bun. —MSL

📍1941 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19148, 📞 267-273-0894 🌐 juana-tamale.square.site

If you don’t think hot dogs can be romantic, think again: Le Caveau’s French hot dog is served by candlelight, stuffed into a baguette that’s slathered with Dijon and whole-grain mustard plus cornichon butter. The plump beef-pork dogs used for this come courtesy of El Camino Real owner Owen Kamihira, a family friend of Le Caveau’s owners and a partner in their forthcoming Superette (which might carry these dogs for retail sales). —JL

📍614 S. Seventh St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19147, 🌐 instagram.com/lecaveaubar

The hot dogs from this Fashion District kiosk are all about attention to detail: The Sabrett dogs are seasoned on the grill, the brioche buns warmed on a butter-basted roller, and the house-made toppings — be sure to get the kraut! — are carefully applied. Owner Dawn Demry has plans to expand to more mall food courts soon. —JL

📍901 Market St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19107, 📞 929-230-3816 🌐 instagram.com/littlehotdogwagon

You probably know about Lucky’s burgers, but its owners are so passionate about hot dogs, they hold an annual Wiener Race fundraiser featuring dachshunds dressed in hot dog costumes. Lucky’s actual hot dogs reflect the enthusiasm. There are lots of toppings, but no matter what you choose, expect a Dietz & Watson dog cradled in buttered split-top roll. —JL

📍4421 Main St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19128; 848 S. Second St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19147; 5154 Ridge Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19128 📞 215-509-6005; 267-519-2080; 215-842-5836 🌐 luckyslastchance.com

Phila Lorn’s Southeast Asian love letter to Philadelphia serves many things, but he says it’s his dream to sell hot dogs. “It’s the only thing I want to do that I haven’t done yet,” he says. The hot dog he’s come up with is inspired by Chicago-style toppings. It’s an all-beef dog topped with sport peppers, cornichons, and what he calls Cambodian chill — also known as prahok, it’s a spicy, fermented pork sauce that’s often used as a dip with fresh vegetables. It’s available at lunch, but not all the time. —MSL

📍 764 S. Ninth St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19147, 🌐 https://mawnphilly.com

The ever-changing gluten-free doughnuts at this West Passyunk shop are the main draw, but owners Carol Ha and Bill Kelly also love a good dog. Besides their year-round corn-dog doughnut — a doughnut-shaped corn dog, served with a side of deli mustard — this summer they’re offering the Hot Diggity Dog: a deep-fried all-beef Sabrett dog tucked into a toasted doughnut bun. Dress it up with house-made condiments, including relish, dill mustard, pesto, chopped onions, and spicy mustard. They’ve reluctantly put out ketchup, too. —JL

📍1439 Snyder Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19145, 📞 267-237-3786; 🌐 okiedokiedonuts.com

This Northern Liberties bar/venue and onetime jazz club recently decided to do away with its longtime taco menu in order to become “the hot dog bar” of Philadelphia. From the bar’s closet-sized kitchen, they’re serving an average-sized all-beef dog for $3.50 and a fifth-of-a-pound dog made with a pork-beef blend for $7.50. The big dogs can be dressed up with melted cheddar, taco toppings (pickled jalapeños, onion, tomato, jack cheese), or Chicag-O style (dill pickle, peppers, relish, onion, tomato, celery salt). There’s a vegan dog, too. Watching your carbs? Ask about the pickle dog. —JL

📍847 N. Third St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19123, 📞 267-324-3348; 🌐 ortliebsphilly.com

Philadelphia’s public market is naturally teeming with dogs: There’s various pretzel-wrapped dogs at Miller’s Twist; fancy corn dogs battered, fried, and topped to order at Fox and Son’s; and all-beef dogs with all the traditional toppings from Famous Franks-A-Lot. —JL

📍51 N. 12th St., Philadelphia, Pa., 19107, 🌐 readingterminalmarket.org

The team of sausage-makers at this Fox Chase institution make German wieners the traditional way: just meat, salt, water, and seasoning. At roughly eight inches long, these might hang out of a traditional hot dog bun, but their perfect snap and hickory-smoke flavor make any mismatch forgivable. —JL

📍7979 Oxford Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19111, 📞 215-745-3114 🌐 riekersmeats.com

For the Flavors on the Avenue festival on East Passyunk this year, River Twice served an early contender for best bite of the summer: an all-beef hot dog topped with brassica kimchi, a spicy, crunchy, slightly bitter tangle of wild greens, plus a slather of savory miso-mustard and a sprinkling of crunchy, umami-heavy fried onion furikake. The dish was the brainchild of Randy Rucker, the chef-owner of River Twice, who wanted something he and his team could serve quickly to hungry festivalgoers, an affordable dish that also captured the attitude of the festival: lighthearted and a little over-the-top. It was a special, but Rucker says it may make a return appearance. —MSL

📍1601 E. Passyunk Ave., Philadelphia, Pa., 19148, 📞 267-457-3698 🌐 https://www.rivertwicerestaurant.com/

This vendor inside Captain’s Market in Montgomery County serves up quarter-pound all-beef hot dogs from Reading’s Berks Foods on New England-style brioche buns. Whether they come decked out with house-made chili, cheese sauce, or pulled pork, they’re knife-and-fork affairs. —JL

📍430 W. Main St., Trappe, Pa., 19426, 🌐 welovebigdogs.com

Few things pair more perfectly than hot dogs and beer, and that’s the whole ballgame at this recently relocated Bucks County outfit, which now operates inside of Bristol’s Naked Brewing. Choose between a regular dog or a foot-long and from a range of toppings repping various parts of the U.S., such as Philly (mustard, pepper hash, onions) and Seattle (cream cheese, sriracha). —JL

📍212 Mill St., Bristol, Pa., 19007, 📞 267-554-7129 🌐 facebook.com/CheeseDawgs

Frankfurters the old-fashioned way are the main draw at this modest roadside stand in West Chester, which predates the sandwich chain by 23 years. (The two businesses have a longtime understanding.) Jimmy John’s uses custom-made natural-casing dogs from Dietz & Watson, but they’ve got skinless dogs, too, if you’re fussy. Want to bring them home? You can buy them fresh by the eight-pack or frozen by the 5-pound box. —JL

📍1507 Wilmington Pike, West Chester, Pa., 19382, 📞 610-459-3083 🌐 jimmyjohns1940.com

Here’s another hot dog sandwich. After closing Ambler’s Lucky Well last year, chef Chad Rosenthal is back in the borough with Rosey’s, a new bánh mì shop. Rosenthal’s love of smoked meats turns up in the hot dog bánh mì, featuring two seared, butterflied Nathan’s dogs dressed with house-made mayo, cukes, jalapeño, cilantro, and pickled carrots and radishes on a toasted baguette. —JL

📍58 E. Butler Ave., Ambler, Pa., 19002, 📞 215-718-2048 🌐 roseysbanhmi.com

Delco denizens lamented when Ridley Township’s Hot Dog Stand shuttered in 2022; this newcomer replaced it last year — bringing fresh dogs in the process. The franks are Nathan’s (all-beef or beef-pork blend), and the rolls come from South Philly’s Carangi Baking Co. Get a traditional Texas Tommy or lighten up with a Ridley Ripper: a deep-fried dog with Whiz. —JL

📍401 MacDade Blvd., Milmont Park, Pa., 19033, 📞 610-468-3647 🌐 relishridley.com

Berks hot dogs, whether all-beef or a pork-beef blend, are the franks of choice for this seasonal Cape May staple, founded by a former vegetarian. (That explains the “carrot dog,” a cooked, grilled carrot topped and served just like a dog.) Topping options are near-neverending here, from the Deutch Dog (mashed potatoes, sauerkraut) to the Meshugana Dog (coleslaw, Russian dressing, potato chips). —JL

📍319 Beach Ave., Cape May, N.J., 08204, 📞 609-884-8388 🌐 hotdogtommys.com

There are 37 toppings listed on the handwritten menu at this 35-year-old stand in Burlington County. The dogs are Dietz & Watson and they come in all varieties, including jalapeño-cheddar-stuffed. Done with dogs? They have sausages and kielbasa, too. —JL

📍 3970 Main St., Chatsworth, N.J., 08019, 📞 609-519-3705 🌐 https://www.facebook.com/89diggidy/

This 25-year-old hot dog joint in North Wildwood rocks from May to September, serving hundreds of customers each day during the height of the summer. Owner Mike “Maui” D’Antuono uses a custom beef-pork-veal dog from Hofmann’s Sausage out of Syracuse, N.Y., and he’s in the kitchen every morning prepping house-made toppings, including horseradish mustard, fried onions, and cheese sauce. —JL

📍806 New Jersey Ave., Wildwood, N.J., 08260, 📞 609-846-0444 🌐 mauisdoghouse.com

In the eyes of owner Russ Cowan, a hot dog is essential to a Jewish deli. The dogs here may not be kosher, but they are top-of-line franks from Vienna Beef in Chicago. Get one topped with Craig LaBan’s favorite pastrami, wrapped in bagel dough, baked in puff pastry, or served traditionally on Radin’s house-made challah buns. —JL

📍486 Evesham Rd., Cherry Hill, N.J., 08003, 📞 856-509-5492 🌐 radinsdelicatessen.com