Profile

"You should be able to eat a hot dog that tastes good without being afraid," says founder Jeremy Spector. Around this motto he's created Dogmatic Dogs. No ordinary tube steaks, Spector's $5 dogs are made by Sullivan County's Violet Hills Farm from well-contented pasture-raised cows and turkeys, of course. In another break with tradition, Dogmatic serves its sausages not on squishy buns but on crusty, pliant demi-baguettes that are hollowed out and heated on a metal-spiked contraption that looks like a piece of Uncle Fester's Posturepedic.

Resplendent in chef's whites and camouflage cargo shorts, Spector spears the baguette onto one of these spikes, effectively toasting it from the inside, unskewers it and pours in a choice of homemade sauces or condiments, and then shoves in a hot dog. The beef version on one early visit was deliciously spicy if a little dry, but enhanced by a melty jalapeño-cheddar sauce; the turkey took nicely to mustard. And although a tasty bundle of grilled asparagus slicked with Feta-and-sun-dried-tomato sauce fits no known definition of "frankfurter," gourmet or otherwise, vegetarians can now approach a hot-dog shop without quivering in their pleather booties. — Robin Raisfeld and Rob Patronite

Related Stories

Best of New York Awards

• Robin Raisfeld's Pick for Best Hot Dog (2009)

Featured In

• The Concrete Elite: New York's 20 Best Food Carts (6/25/07)