We tried hot dogs from 5 local restaurants. Here's what we thought

Mitchell Boatman and Cody Scanlan, The Holland Sentinel
·4 min read
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HOLLAND — There's perhaps no better food to symbolize summertime in America than the hot dog.

With that in mind, your favorite newspaper taste-testing duo turned our attention to the summertime favorite. We — reporter Mitchell Boatman and photographer Cody Scanlan — did our best Joey Chestnut impression and spent an afternoon sampling the greater Holland area’s best hot dogs.

More: We tried some of the tastiest fair-food at Tulip Time. Here's what we recommend

We chose five local restaurants in Holland, Zeeland and Douglas — each of which serve up tasty dogs. We decided to go with specialty hot dogs, rather than trying something similar at each spot, to give each eatery a chance to shine.

Here’s what we thought:

The Cowboy Dog from Frank's Restaurant in Zeeland.
The Cowboy Dog from Frank's Restaurant in Zeeland.

Frank’s Restaurant in Zeeland

Our Selection: The Cowboy Dog, which was on special. A hot dog with barbecue sauce, onions, cheese and bacon. Served with chips for $8.25.

Mitchell: I’ll add barbecue sauce and bacon to just about anything, so this was right up my alley. The bacon was cooked perfectly and served as full strips instead of crumbles, which was nice. This is a flavor combo that always works for me.

Cody: The Cowboy, with its onion, cheese, bacon and barbecue sauce, was a fun special menu item. The barbecue was sweet and the bacon was well-cooked. I think all these flavors worked well together and the dog itself was cooked well.

The Classic Coney Dog from Vee's Grill and Coney Island.
The Classic Coney Dog from Vee's Grill and Coney Island.

Vee’s Grill and Coney Island in Zeeland

Our Selection: We had to try a Coney. It's in the name. We got the special, a hot dog with chili, ground beef, mustard and onion for $3.75.

Cody: It was exactly what you'd expect. Lots of chili, mustard and onions. Maybe a bit too much chili, if I'm being picky, but I guess I'd rather have too much than not enough. The hot dog itself had good flavor.

Mitchell: I’ll admit I’m not the biggest Coney fan, but this was still a solid hot dog. It’s got all the elements you’d expect and the flavors work. There was a little too much ground beef for my taste, so I’d probably stick with the classic Coney over the special Coney on future visits.

The Chicago Dog from Mr. Kozaks II in Holland.
The Chicago Dog from Mr. Kozaks II in Holland.

Mr. Kozak’s II in Holland

Our Selection:  We had the Chicago Dog. A hot dog on a poppy seed bun with mustard, tomato, relish, pickle, onion, sport peppers and celery salt. Served with fries for $5.75.

Mitchell: Chicago-style hot dogs are one of my favorite foods, and Mr. Kozak’s does it well. It’s got everything you want and expect and the flavor is great. Is it a bit messy? Sure, but it should be with that much stuff packed on a bun. The fries were really good, too.

Cody: The Chicago dog can be a little divisive with all its ingredients, but I think it all works well. The hot dog was stuffed to the brim with its many toppings and each was balanced well; the pepper is my favorite. Bonus points to the side of fries that came with the dog.

The Dune Dog from Dune Dogz in Park Township.
The Dune Dog from Dune Dogz in Park Township.

Dune Dogz in Park Township

Our Selection: We went with the namesake Dune Dog, the spot’s take on a classic corn dog, for $5.99.

Mitchell: Although Dune Dogz offers several hot dog options, it just felt right to get the namesake Dune Dog. It’s your classic corn dog. There’s a good breading-to-dog ratio, it was fried well and it's a classic for a reason.

Cody: A corn dog was a good change of pace. The breading was evenly coated and the ratio of breading to dog was done nicely. There are no surprises here; it's a corn dog and it's tasty.

The Donna Dog from The Root Beer Barrel in Douglas.
The Donna Dog from The Root Beer Barrel in Douglas.

The Root Beer Barrel in Douglas

Our Selection: We had the Donna Dog, described as a “fan favorite” on the menu. A hot dog topped with mac and cheese and bacon for $5.50.

Cody: This one was my personal favorite. A generous topping of mac and thick-cut bacon made this a fork-and-knife ordeal. The bun was sturdy enough to handle the weight placed on its shoulders. And the hot dog itself was my favorite of the five we tried. Even with all the other flavors at play, it still was able to stand out.

Mitchell: I see why the Donna is a fan favorite. This was the largest hot dog of the day in terms of thickness. The mac and cheese was high quality — something worth eating on its own. For $5.50, I’d say this was our best value of the day. Just bring some patience if you’re heading down to the Root Beer Barrel — it’s a popular spot and you might get caught in line for a bit as a result.

The final results (admittedly swayed a bit by our choice of corn dog):

Cody: Root Beer Barrel, Mr. Kozak's II, Vee's Grill and Coney Island, Dune Dogz and Franks

Mitchell: Root Beer Barrel, Mr. Kozak’s II, Frank’s Restaurant, Vee’s Grill and Coney Island, Dune Dogz

— What should Cody and Mitchell eat next? Send recommendations and ideas to newsroom@hollandsentinel.com.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: We tried hot dogs from 5 local restaurants. Here's what we thought