The sense of hometown Martinez pride is on display the moment you walk through the doors of the Hillside Tap Room and Eatery. Old photos of the bayside town line the walls, and a neon sign bears the slogan “A drinking town with a fishing problem” in glowing yellow cursive. It seems like the perfect spot to escape the Contra Costa County heat, watch a game and catch up with friends over a hunky hot dog paired with a beer or slushy, boozy or not.
Consider the Hawaiian hot dog ($15), featuring a quarter-pound pineapple sausage, sweet relish, salsa, melted cheese, bacon and guacamole. Or the SF Street dog ($14), a beef frankfurter topped with grilled onions and peppers, bacon, nacho cheese and pickled jalapeños. Or the Martinez dog ($12), a Cajun sausage topped with fresh jalapeños, barbecue sauce and grilled onions.
“Lowkey fire” was a phrase we overheard from a recent visitor describing the Slaw dog ($12), a beef frankfurter topped with chili, mustard and coleslaw.
The only downside on a recent visit was that the plant-based options were sold out, making dining difficult for the vegetarian in our group. But cheese fries and coleslaw made for a tasty, if not entirely filling, alternative.
Pair it with: Cheese fries, coleslaw and slushy drinks. The lemonade and peach-mango non-alcoholic options were the perfect antidote to the summer heat, and the frozen sangria was awfully tempting.
Details: Open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 400 Ferry St. in Martinez;
Could there be a simpler dish than a classic hot dog? You take some bread, slap some meat and condiments into it — some might call that a sandwich — and voila, you’ve got yourself the perfect basic snack.
But not all hot dogs are simple, not in this complicated year of 2024. To suss out what’s happening on the vanguard of weenie tech, we fanned out far and wide to taste Cubist Korean sugar-coated corn dogs, Hawaiian bacon and glazed-pineapple dogs, gourmet cheese dogs to pair with craft beer and wild vegan dogs with James Beard-award cred. Forthwith, here are eight spots that are worth visiting if you want to broaden your hot-dog horizons
Two Hands Corn Dogs, Dublin
The corn dogs at Two Hands Corn Dogs in Dublin come in a variety of flavors; this one is wrapped in fried potato cubes, then topped with sauce and and FLAMIN’ HOT® Cheetos powder. (Kate Bradshaw/Bay Area News Group)
Korean-style corn dogs – and slushies – are the specialties at the only Bay Area location of this growing national chain, situated in Dublin’s Fallon Gateway shopping center.
Customization is the name of the game at this fast-casual operation. First, you’ll pick from one of seven different corn dog coatings – from the standard American state-fair style with corn batter, ketchup and mustard to the sweeter injeolmi option, featuring a bean powder coating and a sweetened condensed milk-based sauce. The potato coating option ($5.79), for example, is crispy, savory and not too spicy, topped with sauce and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos powder.
As for the corn dog filling, there’s the standard beef sausage, but also variations like spicy sausage, cheese or a plant-based sausage. Or go half-and-half, mixing sausage and cheese, or a blend of two cheeses with the half-cheddar, half-mozzarella option, which can add an extra 50 cents to $1.50, depending on what you choose.
Pair it with: Kimchi seasoned fries ($5.29), a slushy ($4.79) or both! The kimchi fries are crispy and more sweet than spicy, while the slushies come in a variety of flavors, including a sweet, refreshing pineapple slushy. And the milk teas include rose, taro and matcha flavors.
Details: Open daily from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 3742 Fallon Road in Dublin; twohandsus.com.
Frank & Furter’s, San Jose (Berryessa, Valley Fair, Oakridge)
This locally based favorite, formerly known as Umai Savory Hot Dogs, was way ahead of the fusion hot dog trend, having introduced them to the South Bay years ago. Credit current owner Dat Thieu for some of the wild newer concoctions.
Popular choices include the Truffle Dog ($10.99), a beef-brisket frank with shiitake mushrooms, caramelized onions, truffle aioli and a teriyaki glaze; the Kyoto Heat ($8.99), which dials up the volume with jalapeños, red pepper flakes and a “dynamite sauce” on top of crispy onions; and Bulgogi Sizzle ($11.99), a double-the-savory combination of frank and marinated Korean beef,
kimchi relish, Gochujang sauce and both black and white sesame seeds.
We love the build-it-yourself option ($7.99 base price), which allows you to jazz up …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
