The Missing Link

Hired this guy for a fundraising event. He didn’t hold up his end of the deal, ripped me off and wont make it right. Ripping off a charity event _​REALLY? Hopefully karma works quickly with this one.

Called and spoke to owner. Said he sold the business.
No idea if the cart is still operational or where.

Eating an $ 8 lamb snausage right now. The bun and fixins are good, but the dog is flavorless. They serve-​em-​up dirty water style like NYC’s $ 2 Sabrettes. For the price, I expect a grilled dog that’s not sitting in water all day.
Also why even bother wearing gloves if you’re handling food and money at the same time?
Rosemunde & Top Dog are cheaper and better. But, hey, these guys bring the dogs to me. I’ll try it again only if I am having a super sausage craving or if they decide to update their cooking method.

I am not sure how retarded somebody must be to mix up a hotdog stand with a gourmet sausage place, but I guess you don’t need brain to walk around in SF. Anyways, the sausage is pretty freakin’ amazing, especially in a soft white bread with some onions and sauerkraut. I could eat this all week and still not get bored. Highly recommended if you would like grab a quick tasty lunch.

I was at treasure island flea this past weekend and got hungry. None of the food trucks really stood out so I went with the Missing Link, mainly because their line was short. Their gimmick is having hot dogs made from different meats (buffalo, elk, etc.). I’m not against trying different types of hot dogs but none of them really stood out, so I went with a regular beef hot dog. You would think a place that sells nothing but hot dogs would make a solid beef hot dog, I was wrong. I can’t comment on the quality of the hot dog itself because it was cooked so horribly. The Missing Link puts all their hot dogs in a pan with hot water to boil the hot dogs and then when you order a dog they transfer it to a grill. The 2 hot dogs I got must of been sitting in the hot water for a looong time cause even though they were grilled, they were soggy, limp, and and had any/​all flavor boiled out. To make things worse, they’re really stingy with onions and sauerkraut.

Great concept but not for me. I was inquisitive enough to try it and not a big fan of either the boar or the veggie.

Quick review b/​c its that’s simple.
Co-​worker/​bud devoured his while my gf, with each bite, was «m’mmm,» EACH. BITE. that’s good right?

DELICIOUS! I encountered the Missing Link at the monthly Treasure Island Flea, and it was by far my favorite part of the experience (the Angora rabbit in a sweater was second).
I was lucky enough to snag the last boar link (first time trying boar), and it was juicy and plump, but still light. I thought the price was just fine given that I thoroughly enjoyed it, it is an exotic meat, and heck it’s San Francisco.

I really wanted to like these guys.
It was my first time seeing them at The Treasure Island Flea. As Jarrod B below said — they were fighting a battle and they were doing so with serious grump.
Some places do that to try to prevent attitude from the customer, but I’m not that customer. I even attempted to be chipper, patient, and encouraging, but was met with more Oscar the Grouch. You could tell they were just WAITING for someone to say something rude. No one did though. Not in the twenty minutes I waited. Despite the stress and the long wait without a real warning or apology — a little humor or cheer would’ve added an extra star to this review.
Especially since their «Venison Sub» ($ 8) left something to be desired. And again, this is coming from someone not overly picky about the food and despite money being tight… TOTALLY WILLING to pay an extra dime for a rare treat. No guff. I hadn’t had deer in years and years.
The sandwich was hot enough. Just. Not steaming. I’ll give them that (apparently their machine was dying on them as well as that kick ass wind that showed up in the late afternoon). The meat was tasty, but it was nothing special, and it was rubbery. Take a look at my photo and you’ll see it was a Salisbury steakum — old elementary school cafeteria sort of thing.
Actually, I wonder where I can order them, because they’d probably come out better and cheaper at home. Clearly no special carving happens through these gents… they just warm it up. Then throw dry pre-​cut cabbage on top which they call «slaw».
I love slaw. I like cabbage in all forms. Hey, I’m German & Irish.
Even thinly sliced plain cabbage added to deep-​fried Japanese food.
I eat that stuff! but here it was dry. DRY DRY DRY.
Thank Goodness for the onion. And mustard.
I was hungry though (and broke), so I ate it.
Guys, I’m willing to give you a 2^nd chance because I support THIS IDEA.
But bad first impression.

Hella meh. Saw these guys at Treasure Island Flea Market where they were fighting a losing battle against the crowds, the wind, and pretty much everything else. They seemed like nice guys, but they were clearly overwhelmed. Napkins and mustard bottles were flying around, the cook was wiping his nose with his ungloved hands and they forgot what I ordered.
The Wild Boar I eventually got was cold off the grill (don’t know how they managed that one), topped with store bought dry shredded cabbage (which was billed as «cole slaw») and Heinz mustard. The toppings, or even the meat for that matter, didn’t matter much since the flavor was completely overshadowed by the enormous bun which made for a completely bland and uninspired $ 8 meal. I could have just eaten plain white bread and gotten pretty much the same experience.
Next time I’ll just go to Rosamunde.

I tried The Missing Link at the Treasure Island flea market: First things first, the Elk link is amazing. It’s so much tastier than the typical sausage. Somehow there is spicy cheese infused into the link, which I’m sure contributes to its tastiness. However, I was disappointed with the construction of the hot dog as a whole. The menu said the Elk link was topped off with coleslaw and aioli. But what it’s actually topped with is shredded cabbage and something that may or may not actually be an aioli. This was an important difference to me because I was expecting a variety of complimenting flavors — not dry cabbage. I asked for extra aioli which wasn’t very flavorful but still, it was better than eating dry cabbage.
I think these guys have a lot of potential for having a 5 star meal but for an $ 8 hot dog they are falling short of the mark.

MEEEEEEEEEEEATTTTTT!!! I LOVE meat. If heart disease wasn’t a thing, I’d have a giant plates of wide varieties of meat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In fact, one of my life dreams is to marry the owner of 4505 Meats. But I have a lot in common with this guy too… he makes sausages, I like to consume sausages, what would we ever fight over that couldn’t be solved with some wild boar?
I don’t know what I was thinking, but I got the regular sausage first because I wanted to see what sort of general quality I was dealing with here, and I really don’t recommend this, as it’s not that much cheaper than the other ones, and when in Rome/​at The Missing Link, you try exotic meats! I will NEVER make that mistake again, and you shouldn’t even make it once because of this warning.
For my second, I had the elk, and I’m positive I’ve had nothing like this in my mouth before. The texture, the flavor, juiciness… meat-​gasm for sure. I wouldn’t shut up about this elk sausage for at least 2 weeks. Even today if we get into a meat discussion, I WILL be bringing up the elk sausage, and quite enthusiastically.
Since I was at an event and these were free, I went with the wild boar for my 3^rd sausage. Pig is my favorite animal to eat, so I was super excited to try the wild boar and dareisay I found a new favorite animal? I was distracted at the very beginning and was like «Oh dear, I am eating Pumbaa» but quickly turned into «Mmmmmmmm, Pumbaaaaaa»
The elk and the wild boar sausages truly were the missing links in my carnivore-​istic lifestyle, hunt this truck down if you have to!

Adventure of Link.
Dragged my mom out of class for this:
(decades ago. not my proudest moment.)
Dragged my co-​worker out of work for the Missing Link.
Split two. Smoked buffalo with sauerkraut. Wild boar stuffed with apricot and cranberry.
Both were bland and missing a distinctive flavor. Even the stuffed fruit was lost in the wild boar.
Would be three A-​OK were it not for the eight dollar cost. Should be more expensive than traditional dogs. But not this high.
Amiable service but more points lost when the mustard (former) and aioli (latter) came on the dog even though we asked for them on the side.
Unfortunately a quest that fell short.
(game was sold out too. story for another time.)

Went by for the first time the other day and I gotta say I think these guys are the f%$#@ awesome. I had like the boar sausage with the setup of jalepeno jelly and coleslaw and it totally hit the spot on a cold day.
Hope these guys blow up and I can enjoy a beer at their restaurant one day. Keep it up fellas!

Really? 8 bucks for a delicious hot dog? Man, you can get a hot dog inside PacBell park for cheaper than that…
Or see a movie.
Unless it is a Kobe beef hotdog or sausage, there is no reason you can justify selling a hot dog at that obnoxious price…

The Pheasant link was killer. The sauasage itse’f was moist and loaded with flavor. Dressed nicely, i think this was the first «dog» of sorts that I ever had that I can say had great presentation.
Worth $ 8 to try once. If it were about $ 6, I’d go back time and time again. Or even if there was a side and/​or a drink for that $ 8 fork-​over.

When you think of hot dog stands, first thought are probably those in the streets of NYC that have dogs sitting in what seems like filthy, polluted street water. The Missing Link is totally opposite of that and a very unique lunch experience. This simple operation is more unique then one would think. Starting with the menu full of game meat (from gator to elk to bison), the selection also comes with customized toppings that accompany the hot dogs well. Each dog and bun is grilled on the panini to get a fresh grill creating the crisp outer texture and soft, juicy centers. I got the «Rudolph» reindeer hot dog (right before Xmas which is probably why I didn’t get presents) that tasted flavorful. These dogs are not cheap though at $ 8 – 10 a pop but well worth a try.

A «hot dog» (specialty sausage?) stand is not something you can visit every day, but I’m glad these guys are here. It’s a great break from the other fast food fare in the neighborhood. (Don’t get me wrong, I like the taco truck, too.)
There’s a great selection of non-​obvious sausage meat choices, including bison, elk, pheasant, lamb, rabbit, antelope, etc. You can also get alligator, etc. Yes, they mean it when they serve jackalope, and no, it’s not an endangered species. In one sense, I’ll bet most of the meat they serve is more cruelty-​free than any other fast-​food meal serving you beef, pork, or chicken.
The service is very friendly and I think the money they charge is worth it considering the convenience of their spot, and the quality of the meat. Will definitely be going on a regular basis, though my aorta is going to demand that I keep it to no more than once bi-​weekly…

I’m a nice person. I don’t usually comment on other people’s reviews, but why in the world would you hope this was a «regular» hot dog place? And when you see elk, bison, and other game meats listed, wouldn’t you ASK why? This is SAN FRANCISCO!
These sausages are inventive and different and yummy. And huge. Certainly worth the $ 8 or $ 9 you pay for the dog, cool chips and a drink. My friends who don’t work by me are jealous not to have this delicious stand at their disposal every day. Added bonus? The guys are super nice and, well, quite handsome.
I intend to return to try all the different meats they have! Thanks for bringing something different to our little Jackson Square area.

I like unusual meats, so I like this unusual hot dog stand. Pheasant is a bit bland, elk is tasty, bison is better still.
Some of their condiments-​garnishes — chili aioli, cucumber something or other — are top notch, and a full lunch with a drink for $ 9 is hard to beat in this neighborhood.