The pursuit of Reno-Tahoe’s dreamiest hot dogs and spectacular sausages.
Hot dog, wiener, frank, frankfurter, sausage … call it what you will, this ubiquitous little meat tube with many names has been a part of our lives as far back as most of us can remember.
Picnics, campouts, cookouts, birthday parties, sleepovers, movies, baseball games, vacations, family reunions — the list goes on. And hot dogs, in one form or another, probably were an integral part of them all. It’s just the perfect good-time, summertime food.
And Americans absolutely love them. A study by the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates our nation consumes 20 billion hot dogs a year. That works out to about 70 hot dogs per person annually. Yikes!
Their versatility goes well beyond their many names. Hot dogs are so simple and unfussy, they can be cooked in any way possible — boiled, nuked, grilled, sautéed, deep-fried, or even cooked on a stick over a campfire! Quick, easy, and they still taste great.
But maybe the best thing about the hot dog is that it’s a culinary blank slate available to everyone, from children to Michelin-starred chefs, limited only by taste and creativity.
So, get your buns ready. Let’s check out a few local hot dog purveyors and sample some of the cylindrical creations they’ve conjured up to satisfy the nostalgia within us all. To avoid being accused of favoritism, we’ll return to our ABCs and review our findings alphabetically.
Ace in the Hole
Baseball and hot dogs have a long-standing tradition, so there’s no better place to start than with a sure thing: the Reno Aces.
Ready to take one for the home team, I headed down to Greater Nevada Field in Reno and was delighted to find there’s a wide variety of hot dogs and sausages available for purchase from multiple venues in the park. I was equally pleased to note that all are made locally at Flocchini Family Provisions in Carson City.
Franx, the main concession stand, carries the full range of hot dogs, which include foot-long, bacon-wrapped, and an ever-changing menu of assorted specialty dogs. One of these is the stadium’s signature hot dog — the Aces dog — which is revised each year, then served throughout the baseball season. Another popular special promotion is the park’s $1 hot dog promotion, offered during every Sunday game.
The current Aces dog features an all-beef hot dog buried under a blanket of creamy, golden chipotle ranch sauce, topped by breaded-and-fried jalapeño slices, and tucked into a soft, fresh bun. The savory juiciness of the hot dog and the mild smoky spiciness of the sauce are nicely complemented by the crunch and heat of the jalapeños. If you like a little spice with your dog, give this one a try.
Additionally, Franx offers three styles of sausages — Italian, bratwurst, and andouille. These items proved so popular that management recently added two portable stands around the park to exclusively serve these sausages.
The Italian sausage is the most popular food item sold at the park, according to James Vandegrift, director of operations. One taste and it’s easy to see why. This impressive, foot-long sausage, which dwarfs the bun trying to surround it, bursts with the flavorful juices of tender pork containing sweet notes of fennel and anise. It’s piled high with multicolored peppers and onions, all grilled to perfection. This ain’t your father’s ballpark fare, to be sure. If you only eat one thing there, this should be it.
Down at the Ranch(arrah)
Nestled among the luxuriant shops in Reno’s Village at Rancharrah is a butcher shop. You might think that’s odd until you step inside. Armando & Sons is definitely a gourmet butcher shop — one that combines an artisan butchery with a sit-down burger-and-sausage bar, creating a uniquely hybrid culinary experience.
At the bar, customers have the option of ordering one of three Flocchini sausages: Käsekrainer, bison, or venison, all of which can be prepared either Bavarian or Italian style. Feeling adventurous, I chose the one I’d never heard of: Käsekrainer, a lightly smoked, gourmet type of bratwurst containing pork and small cubes of Emmentaler cheese.
I chose well. The Bavarian-style Käsekrainer is a vision to behold, with house-made dill-caraway sauerkraut on one side and pickled red cabbage on the other, cradling the sausage that is slit down the middle and oozing with juiciness.
From the first bite, it’s a feast for the mouth. The cabbage for the sauerkraut is a wider cut than typical, giving it a satisfying crunch. The same is true of the pickled red cabbage. The nicely balanced sweet/tart flavor of these provide the perfect accompaniment to the pleasingly plump sausage. The Käsekrainer is a delicious surprise — juicy, bursting with flavor, oozing with the melted Swiss-like cheese in every bite. The slight charring from the grill adds color, flavor, and texture, providing a slight crunch. This marvelous, flavorful concoction is served in a lightly toasted, sweet pretzel bun. What could be more perfect?
BAM Good!
Tucked away in a corner of Smithridge Center in South Reno, Bam!Dog Righteous Hot Dogs is a small restaurant with a surprisingly large and diverse menu of hot dogs. Spouses Steve King and Joanne Benz are co-owners of the shop and food truck of the same name.
They offer 15 signature hot dogs and sausages that create a cross-country, cross-cultural culinary menu highlighting regional and international hot dog styles. They also offer a veggie delight, featuring a soy-based hot dog and vegetable toppings.
Their premium hot dogs and sausages are locally sourced Flocchini products. Many topping ingredients are made in house. Additionally, the artisan rolls are freshly baked in house every morning.
The Wisconsin cheesehead — with its Great Basin Pale Ale and Cheddar bratwurst, topped with house-made mac and cheese and bacon — is gooey and delicious. And you can’t go wrong with the Texas throw down, featuring a jumbo, all-beef, quarter-pound hot dog covered with house-made chili.
But my favorite is the little city roller, created to represent Reno. It features Basque chorizo that is juicy, flavorful, and mildly spicy, with just the right amount of heat. It’s paired with grilled onions and peppers; topped with a light smear of cooling and tangy, house-made cumin-lime crema; and finished with a swirl of Sriracha sauce, adding another layer of flavor and a touch more heat. I highly recommend you give this one a try.
Have the wet wipes handy because none of these can be eaten neatly.
Beefing It Up
Beefy’s is a tiny diner in Midtown Reno with a long history, dating back to 1947, when it opened as Landrum’s. Its current owners, Ryan Quinlan and Pat Gallagher, love the distinctive history and character of the diner and fully embrace its diminutive size and limitations; in fact, there are only 11 seats inside. Don’t worry, there’s a lot of covered, outdoor seating.
Beefy’s menu includes six all-beef hot dogs made locally by Ponderosa Meats, located just a few doors down. The owners take great pride in their carbon-neutral footprint by sourcing many of their ingredients and products (meat, rolls, pickles, spirits) locally.
One of the restaurant’s signature hot dogs is the devil dog, which sounds pretty spicy. I was feeling brave, so I went for it. Just for curiosity’s sake (pineapple on hot dogs?), I decided to try the kon tiki as well.
After biting into the kon tiki, I was pleasantly surprised at how well the flavors blended together. The hot dog is bacon wrapped and deep fried, placed inside a soft roll, then covered with grilled, teriyaki-infused pineapple pieces and sprinkled with freshly chopped green onions. The juicy hot dog, the crunchy bacon, and the warm, tangy pineapple combine for a culinary luau I won’t soon forget. I’m a true fan now!
As a lover of spicy food, I looked forward to the devil dog, a jalapeño-stuffed hot dog wrapped in two slices of thick bacon and deep fried. It’s plated inside a roll, then covered with Cheddar and topped with more sliced jalapeños and a healthy swirl of Sriracha sauce. It packs a lot of heat, but I loved it. Then the owners told me there’s another one, the diabolical dog, which is the devil dog covered with their secret recipe inferno sauce. Do I dare? I wondered. But after trying a tiny taste of the sauce … no, I dared not.
Coney Island is a Trip
Coney Island Dogs & Burgers may be in Reno, but owner Debra Magnus does her best to make it a genuine New York hot dog experience, without the airfare.
Magnus carries Sabrett all-beef hot dogs and sausages with natural casings, the exact kinds used by the Big Apple’s street vendors, shipped from Bronx, N.Y., to her Reno store. Her Sabrett fixation doesn’t stop there. She goes the whole nine yards bringing in all the Sabrett products, right down to its brown mustard, hot sauce, and street-cart red onion sauce.
The menu offers 12 styles of hot dogs and sausages, served grilled to perfection, many cleverly named to reflect New York culture … but not all. The Capone truly is a traditional Chicago dog. The juicy, oversized Sabrett hot dog is loaded with fresh, ripe tomatoes, chopped onions, a crunchy dill pickle spear, a swirl of brown mustard, a liberal sprinkling of celery salt, and, to make it truly authentic, neon-green relish and real sport peppers (heat wise, they’re somewhere between pepperoncini and jalapeños) specially shipped in from Chicago. Magnus says these last items really make the dog, and I have to agree. There’s crunch, tang, sweetness, and a touch of heat on a flavorful hot dog. Yum!
The goodfella is a New York street dog: 10 inches long with that delightful snap when bitten, swirled with tangy brown mustard, piled high with sauerkraut, and drenched in the sweet-and-spicy red onion sauce that I hadn’t tasted since I left New York decades ago. It was like going home again (sigh).
Dog-gone Good
Who would expect to find a hot dog vendor offering an innovative menu of gourmet hot dogs in the middle of Meadowood Mall’s food court? Super (Deon) Brown, co-owner (with his wife, Alisha) of Doggy Dogs Gourmet Hot Dogs, is the creative expert behind this novel menu, as well as the man behind the stove.
The 13-dog menu includes your basics, but Brown’s original interpretations of regional and cultural preferences are where he really shines. He uses Nathan’s all-beef hot dogs, which he gently parboils, then drops into the fryer for texture and color.
Brown’s favorite is the classic Angelino, which he says is “LA on a bun.” The hot dog is juicy and flavorful with a nice snap. It’s complemented by beef chili (no beans), Colby jack cheese, dill relish, caramelized onions, and tender, flavorful beef navel pastrami, cut into bite-size pieces. A drizzle of yellow mustard and a spicy sport pepper tops it off. It sounds like a lot of stuff, but it all comes together beautifully — in appearance and flavor.
Blazin’ Asian is so distinctive that it’s a must-try. The sizzling hot dog is dressed with Asian slaw, pickled onions, pickled daikon radish, and fresh green onions, lending nice layers of texture and flavor. The addition of a creamy, sweet/spicy Sriracha aioli and gochujang, a wonderfully savory Korean hot sauce, bring it all together with mild heat and a distinctive umami flavor. A sprinkle of sesame seeds tops it off. The results are pleasantly acidic, deeply savory, and a bit spicy, but not hot. This one’s a keeper.
Here’s the Scoop
Native Renoites will tell you that Scoopers has been around forever. That’s not quite true, but this family-owned business, started in 1980, is one of the oldest continuously operated food vendors in our area. The original drive-in-style shop in Sparks still looks just like it did back in the day. There’s now a South Reno location as well.
As for the menu, it’s also pretty much the same, says Colin Richards, co-owner of Scoopers with his brother, Shawn. Why mess with the winning formula their loyal customers know and love? They offer 11 hot dog variations, all made with Kirkland all-beef, quarter-pound hot dogs or Polish sausages.
Richards recommends trying the two bestsellers, which share similarities. First, they’re the only two that are deep fried. The mighty Mike is named for their dad, Scoopers’ founder. It’s a hot dog that’s split and stuffed with American cheese, wrapped in bacon, deep fried, served on a bun, then topped with mustard, mayonnaise, and onions. The bad dog kicks that up a notch, using a Polish sausage and pepper-jack cheese instead. Both are tasty, satisfying, and worth a try. Be sure to pair your dog with one of Scoopers’ award-winning, thick, creamy milkshakes, available in more than 50 flavors. You won’t regret it.
Home of the Steamin’ Weenie
That’s Sinbad’s Hot Dogs’ motto, according to current owner Kristine Maioli. The staff literally steams all the restaurant’s hot dogs and buns. It’s one of the reasons they taste so good. The other reason, Maioli adds, is that they contain original Casper hot dogs, made famous in the San Francisco Bay Area years ago. That brand has since changed hands, but Maioli still sources hers directly from the family that created the original recipe for the nearly foot-long, all-beef hot dogs with natural casings that snap when you bite them.
Sinbad’s opened in 1979, making it arguably the oldest continuously operated food vendor in the area. Still in the original location, almost hidden away in a Sparks strip mall, its reputation – and those steamin’ weenies – keeps a steady stream of loyal customers coming through the door.
The most popular item on the menu, no matter the season, is the chili cheese dog. The hot dog is served open faced, on a bun, covered with two generous scoops of savory, mildly spicy chili con carne featuring both beans and ground beef, and topped with chopped onions and grated Cheddar. The combination is a nice balance of savory and spicy flavors, with added crunch from the onions for extra texture. Oh, yes – it’s served with a fork and knife for good reason.
There are, at minimum, at least 10 hot dogs and sausages on the menu at any one time, but Maioli offers specialty dogs throughout the year. The pastrami dog (what can be wrong with that combo?) was the June specialty item, and the slaw dog, a juicy Casper dog covered with Maiori’s tasty, house-made coleslaw, is available only until Aug. 31. You snooze, you lose.
It Takes a Village
Another member of the old-timer’s club is Village Pub in Incline Village, now celebrating its 40th year in business. Despite its age, it’s still a hopping, boisterous, noisy, happening place.
Steph Webber manages the family business started by her dad, Steve. She says that hot dogs always have been a mainstay of the business and still are a top seller.
They’re made with Big City Reds quarter-pound, all-beef, skinless hot dogs and all-beef collagen-casing Polish sausages. Then they’re butterfly cut lengthwise, spread out, and laid on an open-flame char broiler, where they are seared in a crosshatch pattern to give a bit of crunch and a nice, broiled flavor.
There are eight dogs on the menu from which to choose plus a build-your-own option. Webber’s favorite is the Dixie, which starts with a grilled hot dog placed on a nicely toasted bun. It’s then covered with house-made coleslaw — always freshly made to order so that it’s crisp, flavorful, and never soggy. The slaw dressing is refreshing, light, and slightly creamy, with just the perfect touch of acidity. It’s topped with a half dozen or more thick dill pickle slices for even more crunch and flavor. It’s a perfect summertime hot dog.
These are just a few suggestions to get you started. Your own perfect hot dog awaits. We’ll let you take it from here.
RESOURCES
Armando & Sons Armandoandsons.com
Bam!Dog Righteous Hot Dogs Bamdoghotdogs.com
Beefy’s Beefysreno.com
Coney Island Dogs & Burgers Coneyislanddogsandburgers.com
Doggy Dogs Gourmet Hot Dogs Simon.com/mall/meadowood-mall/stores/doggy-dogs
Flocchini Family Provisions Flocchinisausage.com
Reno Aces Greaternevadafield.com
Scoopers Find Scoopers Drive-in on Facebook
Sinbad’s Hot Dogs Sinbadshd.com
Village Pub Villagepubtahoe.com
