The Hotdogger

I hadn’t been to The Hotdogger for about five years, but was downtown with my son at lunch time and decided to go in. It was 18 dollars for 2 dogs and 2 sodas, which seems a little pricey considering the hot dogs were not grilled, just warmed in a toaster oven. The person who handled our money also used bare fingers to add peppers to my son’s dog. Not only that, I found two pieces of aluminum foil in mine! I remembered this place as being pretty good, but clearly it has gone way down hill. Not worth the money, and potentially a health hazard!

Hotdogger has the best hot dogs I’ve ever had. A huge part of it is owed to the fact that the buns are from a local bakery. No grocery store buns! Huge variety of mustards. Every dog can come with relish, mustard, onions, and tomatoes.

Best hot dogs in all of Sacramento/​Davis. The buns says it all. You gotta try this place at least once and you will be hooked. Even better than Top Dog in Berkeley honestly.

Their hotdogs and buns are fantastic! Usually hotdogs are a hit or miss for me but the Hotdogger is definitely a hit for me. They make sure they get the order right for you and produce an amazing hotdog. There so many different kind of hotdogs to choose from and the variety is interesting. I would definitely come back for more!

Stopped in here and they had vegan options! The vegan dog was delicious and the guy working there was super nice. My husband and I really enjoyed it and and we will definitely be back.

Came in past midnight and I was greeted by the owner’s son. He was patient with me as I was trying to read the menu. I ended up ordering the Polish Dog and along the way the owner’s son asked me what ingredients I would like to customize my hot dog. I was a bit disappointed to see that the polish dogs were not grilled instead the hot dogs were in a hot dog roller, which is basically the same kind of thing you can expect when making own hot dog at a 7 – 11.
The owner’s son was very friendly and we had a full on conversation the entire time. He even went on to ask me what classes I was taking this quarter and which professors I had (LOL). I enjoyed our conversation nonetheless and it sure made me feel a lot less awkward considering the small space, which brings me to the fact that this place is practically the size of a closet! Considering that, I definitely would not recommend coming to eat here with your family of 5.
Anyway, as soon as my food was all ready to go I walked home and ate my polish dog. It was good, don’t get me wrong, but for the price of $ 4.50 it was way too expensive. I could have gotten the same polish dog from Costco for $ 1.50 and that even includes a drink! Yes, I understand this is a small mom-​and-​pop business but $ 5 for a hot dog is a little too much for average hot dogs. Maybe I’ll come back to try some of the other hot dogs next time but I’m starting to think this place isn’t worth my money. Sad to say that the food is no match to the fantastic customer service!

Yes! The best hot dogs ever! :D The wiener jokes crack me up every time

Sweet! I get to be the 200^th reviewer. So here’s the facts. This place is pretty cool. It’s a small little joint that is ran by a pretty awesome guy named Ivan. I went into this place today and had a great conversation with Ivan and ended up eating lunch there. As I am eating lunch and listening to the conversations that take place between Ivan and customers and random people walking by, I thought to myself that as a business owner myself I want to aspire to have that type of relationship with the community. So if you like great food and great conversation, I encourage you to visit this place. If you have any personality you will not be disappointed.

Came here with my husband who was craving a nice grilled hot dog. Turns out the hot dogs here aren’t grilled. We both got a hot link with different toppings. The hot dog was decent, but not anything super special. We also ordered the potato wedges with cheese. There was a tiny sprinkling of melted shredded cheese on the fries. I don’t recommend getting it.
There is no seating in the shop since it’s pretty much the size of a closet, but there are a few plastic tables and chairs lined up on the sidewalk in front of the shop.

We are fromSoCal and were in town to tour UC Davis! Stopped into this teeny place! Teeny shop but the owner, the employee, and the hot dogs were large with life! Enjoyed having a conversation with the cook as he prepared our food! Genuine, caring, and funny! Made us feel at home and I was happy to give our $$ to support the hot dogged!

I’m normally not a fan of hot dogs, but I’d heard such great things about this place that I decided to give it a try.
My friend and I walked in and asked the worker for one order of the most popular hot dog (the Chicago dog), and one Dogfather. Service was great and he made a point of talking to us while we were waiting for our food! The walls were decorated with posters and weiner pun knickknacks.
The Chicago dog was a little sparse on the toppings, and I don’t remember much except the taste of relish. I preferred the Dogfather, which reminded me of the hot dog version of a Costco combo pizza.
Came out to be around $ 11 altogether, which I felt was a huge steal at the time, but neither of us felt full afterwards…
Not a bad place for a quick hot dog fix, but nothing special, either.

I always get the hot dog from the Davis farmer’s market, with their awesome lemonade. Both are amazing. One of my favorite hot dogs ever– nice snap to the dog, a big selection of mustards, comes with free relish/​sauerkraut/​onions. The bun is what makes it so good– so soft and perfectly proportioned. The corn dog is also wonderful– the batter is slightly sweet and oh so crunchy.

This place has become a tradition for me.
I used to stop by here during undergrad and then graduate school for their hot dogs at farmers market. My favorite is always their chicken apple. They have quality condiments and a variety of mustards (they even use heirloom tomatoes). Their hot dogs have just the right snap. Now I stop by whenever I am in Davis.
This place is worthy of diners drive ins and dives. I feel it is comparable to dogs I have had in Chicago and New York.

Decided to play a game of «restaurant roulette» today. This involves driving down a unfamiliar stretch of highway with your stomach yelling at you, and deciding that you will get off at the next stop and eat no matter what. The game carries a high level of risk and I do not recommend playing but I was so damn hungry I had to. Luckily, it came up aces today as I made my inaugural visit to The Hotdogger. There are only a couple of stools to sit at in the place so I ordered with an eye on eating in my car so chili was out. Went Kraut Dog. Generous amounts of onion, kraut, tomato and a selection of mustards (I chose Maui sweet onion) accompanied my dog and it came on a big sourdough bun/​roll. The dog and toppings were fresh and tasty the bun was way to big and screwed up the meat/​bun ratio. Overall, great little place and I am happy I lived through «restaurant roulette».

Are you craving some dogs? weiners? lol You should give this place a go. I’ve been to this place three times already, and it’s just as good as the first time I tried their hot dogs. This place is weiner-​approved. They have a variety of hot dogs with all sorts of toppings and flavorings. It might seem a little overprice for «just» hotdogs but it’s a nice place to try once in a while. I’ve tried the Ortega and Hot link and I must say it’s pretty good. The hot link was only $ 4.88 including tax. The hot link was pretty big, not your typical dog. It was fulfilling and delicious. I forgot what sauce Gil (I think that’s how you spell his name) put on my hot link but it hit the spot. As for the Ortega, it was also good as well. They’re all unique and delicious in their own way. If you’re in a hotdogger mood then check this place out! Good food + friendly customer service = PERFECTO =)

Fuckkkkkkkin, like most places in Davis; not open late enough for drunk business. Yeah its a mess but also lots of $$$. Closed 30 minutes early, typical of Davis especially with especially on late night weekends, I don’t understand their business model!
Your job is street meat. I want street meat. Yeah its shitty but $¢$. I do not lose, you lose! Get with it.

Alright hot dogs. It’s fast and easy food. But it’s such a high price for such a small hot dog! The quality isn’t amazing.
I give it two stars because the quality of the food is normal and it’s not enough food for the price.
Would most likely not go again.

I never really thought about coming here because I was use to the $ 1.50 polish dogs at Costco, but I’d figure trying this place out wouldn’t hurt. It is a place for hot dogs so my standard was that it’d taste super better than the ones from Costco.
I came here the day the Minion movie came out to get a meal before the movie. The service here wasn’t too fast since it was only one girl behind the counter, but she was super friendly and fun to chat with. I tried the polish dog with everything and it was a decent hot dog. The flavor of the polish dog itself was good but it was super duper tough to chew. I don’t know if it’s store bought ketchup or what, but it was my favorite thing in the bun. I wish I had asked for more onions but I like that the onion was in fairly big pieces; bigger pieces give a better crunch.
Final Thoughts: Super small place, don’t like the prices too much but it does have a pretty decent dog. Not good to eat here but it’s perfect for to-​go, she wrapped our orders really well. I’m not sure if I remember correctly but you get something free on your birthday here?

You like hot dawgs because they remind you of childhood but don’t want the additives and nitrites? The Hotdogger serves chicken snossages and vegan dogs in addition to a host of pork and beef links and dogs.
Toppings include onions, tomoatoes, pickle relish, ketchup and about 80 varieties of mustard.
You can choose a pre-​determined ‘works’ or pick your own toppings.
Though they don’t serve alcohol, there’s a great selection of iced teas, lemonades and fountain drinks.

I used to think this place was over rated and pricey. 8 bucks for a hot dog??? Puhlease
However, 2 years out of Davis, and after travelling all over the U. S, trying hot dogs in every state (including Chicago), I can confidently say that I have never had a better hot dog than I have had at the Hotdogger.
The quality of the dog istelf, coupled with the freshness of the bun and variety of ingredients has been unmatched in my hot dog pursuit.
When I make my way back to Davis, I will definitely be giving the hotdogger (and the hot dogger’s wife ;)) some love!

The Hotdogger is a very small hole-​in-​the-​wall type place next to Uncle Vito’s. It’s a family owned business that’s been in Davis for decades!
Pros: The hot dogs are pretty good! They’re not amazing, but not bad at all! They have a huge variety of sauces and mustards! Very cool. The main reason why I’d come back is because the one guy working there was really nice! He seemed like a chill dude.
Cons: It’s a bit expensive for a hot dog. I ate the whole thing in maybe 5 bites, and it cost me like $ 6 for the Ortega Dog.
Overall: I wouldn’t come to eat here all the time, but I’d definitely stop by again sometime soon to support this local family business!