Hotdogs

Beer taps? How 'bout mustard taps? An entire line of mustards and relishes accompany the most unique dog on the island at Puka Dog.

Great Hawaiian Hotdog Co. Outside entrance of Moose McGillicuddy's. 310 Lewers st. in Waikiki. 630-1828. Prices: $. This little stand used to be popular at the now-closed Comp USA store, but is now only available outside of the Moose's grill/nightclub. It has a special creamy-white garlic sauce that has become quite popular and also features the very delicious Eisenberg dogs from Chicago. You can choose from a self-serve condiment bar for toppings that includes sauerkraut, sliced onions, and jalapeno peppers. There is a smoked sausage dog as well, but I’d stick with the all-beef dogs for a “purer” hot dog taste. Please note they are looking for a new main location, but I'm not sure if they found one yet.

Hank’s Haute Dog. 324 Coral St. in Kakaako. 532-4265. 10am-4pm daily, except closed on Sunday. Prices: $. Map. Hank Adaniya brought the much-acclaimed Trio restaurant in Chicago to center stage internationally, garnering a highly-coveted Mobile 5-Diamond Award for culinary excellence. With surprisingly little fanfare, he has since shifted his attention to, of all things - the lowly hotdog! Except not so lowly, in this case, with such haughty dogs as duck/foie gras, kobe beef, venison, and rabbit, all of which are rotated periodically. Just for us locals, Hank has even developed Portuguese sausage and kim chee dogs! Another big advantage is the availability of fries and onion rings on the side, which can be dipped into three different sauces – wasabi, garlic, and curried ketchup. Parking can be difficult here because basically – there is none except for after 7pm at the lot nextdoor. Otherwise, you’ll have to park on the street somewhere.

Woody’s Dog. A Closer Look. 4 locations: 94-805 Lumiaina st. at the Waikele S.C. in Waikele, fronting Lowe’s Hardware Store (map shown); the Pearl City Don Quijote; the Navy Exchange at the Pearl Harbor Navy Base; and outside of Zanzabar Nightclub at the Waikiki Trade Center, but only after 9pm. No current phone # available. Prices: $. Map. Woody’s uses uses the all-beef Vienna dogs brought in from Chicago, which carries a bit more of a stronger, more sausage-like taste than normal dogs. It offers one of the cheapest dogs in this section, bottoming out at $1.99 for a regular, although it does come smaller than most others in this bunch. A jumbo-sized is more comparable in size and price to everyone else here.

Puka Dog. 2301 Kuhio Ave. at the Waikiki Town Center. 979-2405. Daily from 10am-10pm. No validated parking available. Prices: $. Map. Have we been fooled all this time?  With local, national, and even international media promoting this dog as a Kauai creation, the only thing original about this stop is the mustard and relish sauces!  Yes, much thanks to fellow foodie Ken Williamson, who first brought to our attention that this type of dog is actually a European creation!  It is made by baking a bun-sized piece of bread, poking out a hole down its length, grilling it from the inside of the hole with a special contraption, and sliding a grilled sausage into the cavity. From there, you have your choice of great specialty mustards, mayo’s, and salsa’s, all home-made and stuffed down the same puka (puka means Hole in Hawaiian), with flavors like garlic, mango, banana, pineapple, and a huge collection you gotta experience yourself to appreciate.  Yes, it is a very original dog, and most different from anything else we have in the islands, but sorry, despite what you hear out there, we can no longer consider this type of dog an island creation!

The cheapest quality dogs anywhere, gah-rahn-tee! At Costco a buck-fi-ddy is all you need, and they'll even throw in a drink!