Mutt’s Amazing Hot Dogs
1400 NW 23rd St.
mutts-hot-dogs.com
702-5000
Mutt’s
makes hot dogs an art form with its homemade buns and all-beef kosher
franks. The best-sellers are The Boardwalk, with mustard, chili,
cheddar-jack cheese and onions. In a close second is the S’noran Dog
wrapped in bacon and slathered with chipotle ketchup, pico de gallo and
avocado. Feeling adventurous? Try the Pond Dog made with duck sausage or
the Maui Waui made with — wait for it — Spam.
Sonic, America’s Drive-In
208 Johnny Bench Drive
sonicdrivein.com
272-1670
Lest
we forget Oklahoma’s own, they are everywhere. (Heck, there is probably
even a Sonic on the moon by this point.) The one next to the corporate
headquarters serves up a selection of coneys. Mix things up and try your
wiener nestled inside a pretzel bun, or do things New York-style with
spicy brown mustard, grilled onions and crunchy sauerkraut or
Chicago-style with pickle, relish, tomato, sport peppers, celery salt
and mustard in a poppy seed bun.
Coney Island
428 W. Main St.
239-8568
One
need not travel to Coney Island, Brooklyn, for a great hot dog.
Granted, at Coney Island in OKC, you can’t get your lunch and walk down
to the beach or take a ride on a roller coaster, but downtown denizens
come in droves for straightforward dogs dripping with chili, cheese and
onions. Many attest these are the best in town. Don’t be deterred if it
looks seedy; treasure awaits those who venture inside.
Van’s Pig Stands
320 N. Porter St., Norman
pigstands.com
364-0600
For
a real Sooner treat, try the Deep Fried Jumbo Hot Dog at Van’s. It
features a quarter-pound all-beef hot dog from OKC’s Schwab Meat Co. It
ends up with a crunchy outside and a hot-and-juicy inside. The Van’s at
Fourth Street in Moore was destroyed by the May 20 tornado, but a new
one is in the works at 1999 Tower Drive. The owners promise it will open
soon.
Johnnie’s Charcoal Broiler
2652 W. Britton Rd.
johnniesburgers.com
751-2565
Folks
have been lining up at Johnnie’s since 1971. Surprisingly, or not,
about 25 percent of diners eschew a famous burger for one of Johnnie’s
frankfurters. They are split open, grilled over charcoal and served on a
hamburger bun. Most popular is the No. 13, a frankfurter covered in
good ol’ chili and cheese. Other options include a wiener drizzled with
Johnnie’s Sauce, the sauce with pickles and onions, or mustard with
pickles and tomato.
Hot Dog OKC
202 E. Sheridan Ave.
hotdogokc.com
250-5660
If
you’re hungry on a Friday and Saturday evening and you’re in Bricktown,
get your late-night hot-beef fix at the Hot Dog OKC cart, open 7
p.m.-2:30 a.m. The cart features Nathan’s Famous hot dogs and Polish
sausage and hot links from OKC’s Schwab Meat Co. Try the OKC dog; the O
stands for onions, the K for kraut and the C for cheese, and it’s topped
with spicy brown mustard.
Pops
660 W. Highway 66, Arcadia
route66.com
928-7677
Head
to Arcadia for the best soda selection around and some tasty hot dogs,
all at Pops restaurant. After you’re finished gazing at the gigantic pop
bottle out front along Route 66, and when your head stops spinning from
choosing one of hundreds of bottled drinks to wash down your meal,
belly up to the bar for the quarter-pound, all-beef Ripper Dog. Pops
deep-fries that sucker and tops it with sauerkraut, mustard chow-chow,
cheddar and jalapeños, served on a poppy seed bun.
Photos by Shannon Cornman and Mark Hancock
This article appears in Nov 13-19, 2013.