Hot Dog Heaven

When I ordered my '49ers all beef hot dog at Show Dogs, I asked for relish. I got RELISH. That's okay, I can always tip out the excess.

I was called back from happy retirement last week to help out my former colleagues at a crunch time, so I found myself in San Francisco again. Walking down Market Street in the morning, I noted a new eatery on my route, Show Dogs. Being a lover of a good tube steak, I couldn't wait to return for lunch.

They have an extensive sausage menu at Show Dogs and they offered me all kinds of toppings from sauerkraut to onions but I consider myself a purist. A squeeze of mustard, a stripe of catsup and a tumble of relish are all I need to transport myself to hot dog heaven.

Right away, I knew I was in for a treat when the cook fished out a fat dog from its water bath and laid it on the grill to brown up. Another good sign - when the dog length generously exceeds the bun length. And the bun was toasted crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and sprinkled with sesame seeds. There is a little snap when you bite into a good hot dog, followed by a rush of salty, juicy flavor; this was a good dog.

The atmosphere in Show Dogs is a little funky - after all, it's in mid-Market. However, the black-clad, deathly pale waitress with the skull-printed kerchief artfully draped in the back pocket of her jeans was efficient, checked back once to make sure all was well, and even gave me a little existential smile when I complimented the cook. The music is too loud and the beat is too heavy, but I found myself tapping my toe to the hip-hop sounds. The place itself is clean and wonderfully bright from the wraparound windows - perfect for lunchtime reading. And, somehow, even though they offer fried foods, too, the place doesn't smell of frying oil, a bonus.

Show Dogs is a little pricey but that's possibly a good thing as it probably discourages some of the more colorful denizens of mid-Market. The diners around me were clearly either tourists or working folks like me enjoying a respite from sightseeing or salt mining. Ten dollars for a dog and a drink is probably excessive but I'd happily spend it again if I was called back to work again.