You can find a hot dog style for every palate

By Kyle Kirves

When I was a kid, I had a t-shirt that broadcast the four items required to live a truly happy, fulfilling, and enlightened life: baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet. I’ve been known to thoroughly enjoy a day out at the ballpark and will deliver an appreciative whistle at a well-turned double-play or diving catch in centerfield. Ask my family what I believe to be the most perfect end to a perfect meal and they’ll say it’s my mother-in-law’s apple pie (the recipe of which my daughter is now custodian). That dinged-up red pickup in my driveway? The one with all the craft brewery stickers on the back? That’s a Chevy Colorado.

To this day I maintain the best, most perfect example of the all-American portable meal is the Great American Hot Dog. Seeking validation, I went asking the artists whose canvas is the sausage-on-a-steamed-bun what the enduring appeal of the hot dog is.

“Nobody has a bad memory associated with a hot dog,” says Nikki Knez, social media guru for Jonny’s of Longmont – a self-styled Chicago-themed hot dog restaurant that’s as authentic as you can get. “Family gatherings, Fourth of July. It’s part of the American experience.”

Owner Jonathan (Jon) Bjorgo agrees, but suggests this is not the frank your Mom used to make in a boiling pan of water or Pops seared on the grill. “This is a labor of love. This is real food, prepared fresh-to-order, with Vienna beef hot dogs. It is a complete portable meal.” They will drag it through the garden for you at Jonny’s – that’s mustard, onions, pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato wedges, pickled sport peppers and celery salt for the uninitiated. The result is so real that Chicagoans might take a bite, close their eyes, and swear they can hear the “L” overhead, the Cubs (or Sox) on the radio, and feel the breeze off Lake Michigan. “We’re educating people about being the real deal here,” says Jon. “And you can get your hot dog any way you want. We don’t judge. And yes, we do have ketchup, but. …”

Another Chicago transplant, Dan Polovin, proprietor of the venerable Mustard’s Last Stand outfits along the Front Range, is perhaps the elder statesman when it comes to hot dogs in Colorado. For over thirty years, Mustard’s has been making to-order hot dogs for patrons of every stripe – both Stephen King and Roger Ebert count among the faithful Mustard’s fans. “We follow the Chicago tradition here,” Dan says, “but we’re not chained to it.” He cites emphasis on the best ingredients, and a certain indulgence for the quirks and charms of every palate, to Mustard’s success. Unlike certain assembly-line style hamburger joints, Mustard’s takes great pride in creating each order to your specifications, with none ever emerging exactly the same. “It’s not a rubber stamp kind of thing,” Dan assures me, adding, “I’ve had Chicago purists say, ‘The altitude must’ve gotten to Dan. He lets people put sauerkraut on a hot dog!’”

When asked what makes the hot dog such a constant staple and enduring favorite in the face of every fad diet of the past century or more, he’s quick to respond “What’s more American than the hot dog?” Dan asks, rhetorically. “It’s all about family, springtime, baseball. All that.”

Chicago-style dogs aside, regional variations on a theme are welcomed by Coloradans looking for something a little more…western.

Biker Jim’s has an established reputation for, not just being the best hot dog restaurant in Denver, but one of the best restaurants – businesses, even -- in the Mile High City, period. “We were the number 1 rated business in Denver for the first four years Yelp was taking ratings,” says owner and founder Jim “Biker Jim” Pittenger. That, he says, is a testimony to the face-to-face, conversational aspect that grew up around making food for people from a hot dog cart. It’s the kind of personable contact that’s a rarity in the food industry. That commitment to the food cart remains in place for Biker Jim’s even in the era of the bigger, and less personable, food truck.

Yes, Biker Jim’s serves all-beef hot dogs for the purists out there, but they hope their diverse menu makes you – wait for it – game for something a little wilder. The menu challenges you to stretch your mind about what you think a hot dog can and should be. With options ranging from beef, to ostrich, wild boar, and rattlesnake-and-pheasant, they are a veritable hand-held Buckhorn Exchange. “Our most popular protein,” Jim says, “is an elk jalapeno brat.”

Taking the Centennial State theme one step further, Shantelle Stephens of Bailey-based Coney Island says “The Durango Dog is our signature offering. It’s a dog topped with poblano and chipotle creme.” You probably already know Coney Island – it’s the place on the side of Highway 285, a building that is actually shaped like a hot dog. If you’re going to the high country, it’s the best u-turn you’ll ever make.

Styled in the old-school, “Route 66”-style American tradition of restaurants that are also roadside landmarks, Coney Island is proudly as Colorado as you can get. It makes for a great photo op, sure, but the food is the real attraction. The menu is flavored with Southwestern influences and flavors and go well beyond the ketchup and mustard world of the convenience store roller dog. “Hot dogs are something we all grew up with. But on vacation, people want a regional expression of it,” Shantelle says. “We also use as much local produce as we can. All of our sauces are made in house and we do a lot of the cooking here. This is not,” she says, “just opening a bag or a can.”

“People have made it part of their own summertime traditions to stop at Coney Island. We’re excited that people get it,” Shantelle continues. “We hear all the time how worth the stop it was and how surprised people are that a hot dog can taste this good!”

A hot dog CAN taste that good! That seems to be the point of all of these artisans of the All-American, crowd-pleasing frank. Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie, and Chevrolet … turns out that kindergarten t-shirt WAS right about everything.

Kyle Kirves drinks beer, plays guitar, runs trails, and manages projects – all with varying degrees of success. While not a craftsman himself, he is quite content writing about the Colorado artisans who create such wonderful things and memorable experiences.