The 16 best hot dogs in the Triangle, served in nearly every style

The search for the Triangle’s best Hot Dog is a real underdog story.

Our April 2022 reader poll started with 16 hot dog joints from all across the Triangle, with the final showdown pitting the Raleigh institution The Roast Grill against North Raleigh’s Steve’s Place Deli.

Steve’s Place was voted the top dog in the Triangle.

Steve’s Place is a strip mall hot dog stand that’s built a two-decade following. There are no seats indoors, just a counter to order from. Owner Steve Weiner is the second owner of the shop, having bought the place from Steve Daniels, a retired Raleigh police officer who ran the hot dog shop from 2000 to 2019.

The hot dogs are Steve’s Place come any way you want them. There are Brightleaf reds and Nathan’s Famous beef hot dogs, 11 toppings and any preparation diners prefer. They come boiled, griddled and Weiner said they’ll even throw them in a deep fryer.

Where to find Steve’s Place: 6320 Capital Blvd. Suite 119, Raleigh. 919-872-2222 or facebook.com/stevesplacedeli

Raleigh hot dog icon: The Roast Grill

The 82-year-old lunch counter on the edge of downtown Raleigh may be best known for its hard stance against putting ketchup on hot dog.

Owner George Poniros said the famous anti-ketchup philosophy came from his grandmother, Mary Charles, who didn’t want ketchup to get in the way of her homemade chili. The Roast Grill still will not put ketchup on a hot dog, but you’re now at least permitted to bring your own, if you like.

The Roast Grill is one of Raleigh’s oldest restaurants, started by Poniros’ grandparents in 1940. Poniros has been running the Roast Grill for the past 30 years, watching the modest 12-seat counter ascend into an icon. He said there’s no secret to its magic, it’s simply a matter of caring.

The wieners come from Michigan, the chili is a 100-year-old recipe, the slaw is coarsely chopped cabbage that used to mean a quarter upcharge, which patrons were happy to pay. The hot dogs slowly blacken and burn on the Roast Grill’s flattop, cooked up a couple feet away from the counter full of diners.

It’s a hot dog, but it’s also an experience.

Where to find The Roast Grill: 7 S. West St., Raleigh. 919-832-8292 or facebook.com/theroastgrillhotweiners

The (other) best hot dogs in the Triangle

Here are the other 14 best hot dogs from our list, in alphabetical order.

ACCORDION CLUB 316 W. Geer St., Durham. 984-569-2003 or instagram.com/accordionclub

Like a carnival Ferris Wheel, a basket of hot dogs warms behind the bar at this beloved Durham dive bar. For its many varieties of cheap cans and craft beer on draft, at its heart the Accordion Club is a chili bar, serving a meaty and rich pork version or a bright and spicy green chili version. Other toppings include funky and crunchy kimchi and always velvety warm nacho cheese.

ASHWORTH DRUGS 105 W. Chatham St., Cary. 919-467-1877 or ashworthdrugs.com

This downtown Cary soda foundation and pharmacy has been around for 65 years and serves mountains of hot dogs each week, coming in pork, beef or veggie. The all-beef option extends well beyond the bun and the pork comes in bright red.

THE CARDINAL 713 N. West St., Raleigh. facebook.com/thecardinalbar

This Raleigh dive bar serves dogs on New England-style split buns, griddled on both sides to add a little structure under the weight of topping options like chili, slaw, jalapenos and cheddar cheese. There are no house creations, only whatever the diner’s hot dog heart desires.

CLOOS’ CONEY ISLAND 2233-102 Avent Ferry Rd., Raleigh. 919-834-3354 or facebook.com/cloosconeyisland

Named for a strip of New York City famous for hot dogs, but built as a monument to Detroit, Cloos’ serves hot dogs and hamburgers seared on a flattop grill. The hot dog roster is a tour of the famous American styles, from New York to Chicago, and the original Coney Dog, with chili, mustard and onions.

CORBETT’S BURGERS & SODA BAR 126 Kilmayne Dr., Cary. corbettsburgers.com

This gourmet hot dog menu uses Nathan’s Famous wieners and features some of the most creative combinations to land on a bun. There’s the Boston Dog, wrapped in bacon and topped with baked beans, onions and Cheerwine barbecue sauce, or the Spicy Dog, which peps up coleslaw with ghost pepper jack cheese.

THE DOG HOUSE 931 N. Miami Blvd., Durham. 919-682-3109 or thedoghouseus.com (Other locations: 2009 Guess Rd., Durham 919-286-9200 5279; N. Roxboro Rd., Durham. 919-471-3800; 3521 Hillsborough Rd., Durham. 919-383-7900; 114 Boone Square St., Hillsborough. 919-644-0100)

This roadside stand is entrenched with hot dog lovers around Durham, serving from a walk-up window that often draws a crowd. Charmingly, all the hot dog varieties are dog references, from Ol’ Yallow (heavy on the yellow mustard and American cheese), to the German Shepherd (mustard with sauerkraut, of course).

THE GROCERY BAG AT PERCY FLOWERS STORE 4879 NC-42, Clayton. 919-553-4088 or facebook.com/thegrocerybag40

Just outside the massive Flowers Plantation development, this Johnston County destination boasts hot dog sales well beyond a million.

JIMMY’S FAMOUS HOT DOGS 2728 Guess Rd., Durham. 919-471-0005 or jimmysfamoushotdogs.com; 4435 Hwy 55, Durham. 919-361-6888

With locations in north and south Durham, Jimmy’s is only a decade old, but serves up the classics so well you’d think it’s been around forever.

JONES CAFE 415 E. Main St., Clayton. 919-553-7528 or facebook.com/jones-cafe

This Main Street staple stands out in a quickly changing downtown Clayton. Jones Cafe, or Jones Lunch as some call it, is still a dining room of local power brokers, feasting on all-the-way hot dogs in the checkered-floor dining room.

KING’S SANDWICH SHOP 701 Foster St., Durham. 919-682-0071 or kingssandwichshop.com

You can see this Durham legend beyond the center field fence in ballpark scenes from the cinema classic Bull Durham. In the past 30 years, nearly everything about that part of Durham has changed, but the lines at King’s remain long and loyal and you can get your hot dogs bright red or brown and “All the way” means chili, slaw, onions and mustard.

SHORTY’S HOT DOGS 214 S. White St., Wake Forest. 919-556-8026 or shortysfamoushotdogs.com

This downtown Wake Forest lunch counter is more than 100 years old and still serves up one of the Triangle’s most popular hot dogs. Shorty’s goes with a bright red variety, blackened on a flattop grill and best enjoyed on a barstool.

SNOOPY’S HOT DOGS & MORE 1931 Wake Forest Rd., Raleigh. 919-833-0992 or snoopys.com (Other locations: 3600 Hillsborough St., Raleigh. 919-755-9022; 2431 Spring Forest Rd., Raleigh. 919-876-3775; 82-101 Glen Rd., Garner. 919-799-2545)

This Eastern North Carolina-style hot dog joint has been a Raleigh favorite since the 1970s and was at the center of the city’s late-night food options until closing its Glenwood Ave. location in 2020. Here, hot dogs are served with a point of view, coming with onions, mustard and chili, unless you’d rather eat it some other way.

SUP DOGS 107 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. 919-903-9566 or supdogs.com

This Franklin Street outpost of a Greenville icon has become a fixture in the UNC fandom universe, with students finding the Columbia Street intersection just a quick sprint away. The namesake hot dogs are a slam dunk (see what we did there?) even when there’s not a big game, serving up a gourmet-style menu with classics like Chicago dogs with all the fixings, sauerkraut-topped New York dogs and creations like the Hawaiian dog, topped with pineapple and sweet honey mustard.

SUTTON’S DRUG STORE 159 E. Franklin St., Chapel Hill. 919-942-5161 or suttonsdrugstore.com

Practically built into the bricks of Franklin Street, Sutton’s is a beloved old-fashioned soda shop and pharmacy-style lunch counter, serving lunch hour hot dogs the way it has for decades. In 2023, Sutton’s will mark 100 years in Chapel Hill.