Best Hot Dogs
A lot of places sell weiners but truly great hot dog joints are rare. It’s a tough business and unfortunately most don’t last long. Thankfully we have a few fab frankfurter eateries in VanPort. Here are the best ones.
1. Zach’s Shack
Portland – Central
The best hot dogs in VanPort. I like the New York with their red hot spicy sausage. They offer a smattering of beers and a few pedestrian cocktails. They don’t have a lot of tables but I always find a spot. Street parking is challenging. Great hot dog joints are rare. Let’s try to keep this one around!
2. Diggity Dawgs
Vancouver – North
Diggity Dawgs is legit. They have a few different weiners and a large variety of hearty toppings. I ordered my go-to: spicy sausage link with chili, cheese, mustard and onion. But the Italian looks fab. It was delicious. Their chili has beans, which I don’t prefer for hot dogs. The spicy link was only a little spicy. I was hoping for more. The toppings were generous. I was thankful for the plastic cutlery I found in the bag. There’s no seating. In fact, there’s barely room for three people to stand. Unfortunately only Shasta brand sodas. Parking is ok. Excellent hot dog joints are rare and usually have short life spans. Diggity Dawgs is the best dog this side of the river and worth supporting to keep around.
My video review: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Xr9pvuazsp4
3. Franks A Lot
Portland – Central
Great hot dog joints are rare. I’m always on the lookout for excellent ones. Franks has been on my list to try for months. Most places offer one or possibly two different wieners. Usually the options are just toppings. Franks has about a dozen dogs to choose from. That’s legit! I ordered the Red Hot Frank which is their spiciest. I went with yellow mustard, cheddar and onion. It was truly fantastic. The price is excellent too. It’s just $7.75. The cheese was a little more, but worth it. Next time I will add chili. It’s a stand so the limited seating is outdoors. Ample parking. Franks-A-Lot is one of the best.
My video review: https://www.youtube.com/watch
4. Roake’s
Milwaukie
Roake’s is special. Not too many eateries have been around since 1937. There’s a reason why and it’s because they stick to what they do well and give people what they want. When I write about hot dogs, often times people will mention Roake’s. My favorite hot dog in the area is Zach’s Shack but Roake’s is its own thing much like In-N-Out is in its own lane when it comes to burgers. The joint has a cool 1950’s vibe with vinyl booths and doo-wop music. I ordered the long sausage. with mustard, onion and Coney Roake’s sauce. It looks like mess in the photo but it was tasty. It wasn’t like what I expect from a sausage. My daughter went with their regular dog. I’ll probably just go with that next time. We also ordered some fries and a bowl of chili. It was nice for dipping the fries. I learned they have two locations and that this one began in the 90’s. I want to go to the original 1930’s location and try their cheeseburgers.
5. Roake’s on Columbia
Portland – North
Roake’s is special. Not too many eateries have been around since 1937. There’s a reason why and it’s because they stick to what they do well and give people what they want. When I write about hot dogs, often times people will mention Roake’s. My favorite hot dog in the area is Zach’s Shack but Roake’s is its own thing much like In-N-Out is in its own lane when it comes to burgers. The joint has a cool 1950’s vibe with vinyl booths and doo-wop music. I ordered the long sausage. with mustard, onion and Coney Roake’s sauce. It looks like mess in the photo but it was tasty. It wasn’t like what I expect from a sausage. My daughter went with their regular dog. I’ll probably just go with that next time. We also ordered some fries and a bowl of chili. It was nice for dipping the fries. I learned they have two locations and that this one began in the 90’s. I want to go to the original 1930’s location and try their cheeseburgers.
6. Good Boy! Hot Dogs
Vancouver – Downtown
Good Boy is a really good hot dog stand. Unfortunately they only have one type of wiener but they have a wide range of toppings. Some are common and some are creative. I tried their chili dog. They wisely use the no bean variety which is ideal for frankfurters. Mine was drowned in chili so it was a knife & fork affair. Next time I’ll ask for a moderate amount so it can still be a hand-held. But I look forward to trying other topping combos. I’d like to see Good Boy add a spicy polish dog and perhaps other meats like Italian and bratwurst sausages.
Good hot dog joints are rare and typically have short life spans. I hope that people will support this one to keep it around for a long time.
My video review: https://youtube.com/shorts/WUk48-qdcAc
7. Nick’s Famous Coney Island
Portland – Hawthorne
Nick’s Famous Coney Island has been serving hot dogs since 1935 and has an Old-school vibe to match. The offer a variety of hand-helds but the star attraction are the wieners provided by Olympic Provisions. Other than the veggie version, they only have one type of dog but offer five variations of toppings. I went with a Modified Bacon Chedda’ with grilled onions, bacon, yellow mustard and Coney sauce. I prefer Italian and polish sausages for a hot dog but if you love the Coney Island style, Nick’s is legit.
My video review: https://youtube.com/shorts/QR4PqEZvOus
8. Weiner Wagon
Vancouver – Downtown
Weiner Wagon has been a staple in Vancouver for years. They have three different variety of dogs. The garden variety hot dog, mild polish and a hot link. There’s lots of toppings to choose from. Being a spicy guy I ordered the hot link. Unfortunately it’s not very spicy. Their chili is Hormel with beans. I prefer chili with no beans on hot dogs. A hot dog with chili, cheese and onion is a hard enough balancing act as is. Chili with beans adds goopy man-over-board moments. The gal cut my hot link dog into bite size pieces. I appreciate the effort but it made the dog impossible to eat as a handheld. The bun didn’t have enough structure to hold it all together. Thankfully she included a fork. If I return, I will definitely ask to omit the dog bites treatment. Having said all that, I enjoyed the dog and it was a good price. Sure I prefer Diggity Dawg, Frank’s-A-Lot and especially the current champ, Zach’s Shack, but Weiner Wagon is still a good dog.
9. Donny’s Dogs
Vancouver – East
Donny’s Dogs is a hot dog stand at the Southwest Washington Center of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the staff who run it are deaf. It’s directly across the street from the post office on Hearthwood. The vinyl banner and table make it look very temporary, like hot dogs at a church picnic. But there’s more to it than meets the eye.
They serve hot dogs, corn dogs, and fried pickles. The hot dogs can be either 6 or 12 inches. I chose a 6-inch Farm Dog, which comes with melted cheese, bacon, jalapeños, onion, and ranch dressing.
This is not a quick process—it takes a good 10–15 minutes to finally get the frankfurter you ordered. Mine tasted very good. While I was waiting, I observed that the corn dogs are hand-dipped and look excellent. I will definitely return to try one. I should mention there’s only one little table and the chances that it’s available are about as likely as the government sending you a check for a cool million for being a good citizen.
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