The New Top Dog
posted at 4:42 pm
on Aug. 3, 2004
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Believe it or not, the best hot dog stand I know of is not Pink’s.
It’s Top Dog in Berkeley.
I ate there three times while I was at a recent conference, which is shocking enough (or maybe not, if you know me). But even more (revolting? naw) is that the three times were: twice on the last night we were there, and once the next morning before I hit the road.
There’s not much on TD’s menu and the few things that aren’t hot dogs are completely ignored by the crowd around the counter.
There’s not really a line, just a scrum around the two open doors.
One fellow works the grill. He asks your order, you let him know what you want. He cooks it and remembers what you asked for. You pay him. He gives it (OK, them) to you. It’s a good system.
The nockwurst (yes, veal is sold in liberal Berkeley) and kielbasa were superb, and the apple chicken sausage was bland but sweet.
The bread is as soft and fluffy as you can get without wrapping the hot dog in cotton batton.
Drinks are drinks.
The building itself is decorated in “Beautiful Mind” style with clipped out and photocopied political outbursts and copies of court cases and 19th century editorial wood carvings covering the walls held with Scotch tape. A small TV plays over the grill, which usually held about 200 hot dogs in various stages of cooking.
I think that’s part of what brought me back so many times—I wanted to chip in and do my part. A hot dog is a terrible thing to waste.
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