DOGGIE DINER in the SF Bay Area

Did anybody here ever eat at the Doggie Diner (San Francisco Bay Area)
 
                                                         
 
This iconic dog head was a rotating sign in front of every Doggie Diner (I think the downtown Latham Square DD was an exception)...
 
LINK to tribute web site for DD...
 
It's entirely possibly that the hot dogs I loved at a teen, might be viewed by me as crappy today...
 
 
 
 

Yep---back in the hippie days--they were cheap and open all night! :)---and i know the cook at a couple of them and got the "back door "discount!

Open all night was a big deal back then, plus they were affordable...
 
I wonder what dogs they used...a custom version of a popular brand, off the shelf dogs, or something obscure...???
 
If DD was still open, would you eat there nowdays...???
 

Oh my God! Doggie Diner!
I was about 8 years old when I first saw the red dog on top of the Doggie Diner building that was located on McArthur and I think San Pablo in Oakland California many, many moons ago!
Our family had traveled from Los Angeles to the Bay area.
In those days the Ferry was still operating from Oakland to SFO, and we took the Ferry across the Bay!
 
I seem to remember that you could get a half  fried chicken which was placed on top of french fry's in a square box!
I absolutely loved going to the Doggie Dinner, and of course was very taken by the big red dog's head Lol, lol!
Wow! Thanks for bringing back some old (really old) memories

One thing that was distinctive of DD were the ads featuring Phyllis Diller...most notable were the ads with her wearing a hat with hot dogs stuck on it...(she was a LOCAL gal)

I only remember DD being in the East Bay...If there were any in SF I didn't know...
 
In SF Mels & Zims were where we ate...
 
PS...I remember riding the ferry to Marin Co before the bridge was built between Richmond & San Rafael and opened in 1957...

looking at the DD sign...It seems to me that the design had elements of Ub Iwerks (the very famous cartoonist) in it...looking at the eyes, and the mouth...it seems plausable but have no factual knowledge...

First ate at Doggie Diner ( the one on Telegraph and McCarthur in Oakland in 1970, Grew up in Chicago and ate a lot of dogs. In my opinion they were inedible. All of the food was very low quality. Always loved the Doggie heads but would never eat there.

I liked them way back then, but would probably find them revolting today...they were always open, and they were hot (good on a cold day), and cheap (affordable), and nearby...
 

Be sure to try out Top Dogs in Berkeley for a late night snack! They stay open till 2am on weekdays and 3am on weekends. It's a tiny hole-in-the-wall place usually with a line forming outside. Also Rosamunde Sausage Grill on Haight Street in San Francisco - this place is my all time favorite for hotdogs and sausages. 

Top Dog was one of my all time favorites...the original place was on the south side (of UC Berkeley) on Durant St...later northside (Euclid) and westside (Shattuck) were opened...
 
"Tiny" is an understatement...if it's raining you'd be hard pressed to get 10 people inside the doors...but worth it...
 
On the rare occasions I go down to the Bay Area I try to work in a stop at Top Dog (much better than Kaspers (Caspers?)
 
Did you know that you can get Top Dog's dogs shipped to you from their webby site...???
 
I think (but not sure) that the buns were straight off the shelf Columbo's...

BackRhodes


Top Dog was one of my all time favorites...the original place was on the south side (of UC Berkeley) on Durant St...later northside (Euclid) and westside (Shattuck) were opened...

"Tiny" is an understatement...if it's raining you'd be hard pressed to get 10 people inside the doors...but worth it...

On the rare occasions I go down to the Bay Area I try to work in a stop at Top Dog (much better than Kaspers (Caspers?)

Did you know that you can get Top Dog's dogs shipped to you from their webby site...???

I think (but not sure) that the buns were straight off the shelf Columbo's...

 
Top Dog was and is an ok hot dog place. Nothing special. The Bay area never has been a very good place for hot dogs. Not like Chicago, Detroit, the East Coast, etc. I have never had an exceptional hot dog in California. Good ones but not great.

I ate there very willingly during the late 1960's (Go Bears !!!)...
 
Jump in and order, smell the dogs cook as you muse about those standing next to you, get your order and "eat it and beat it"...
 
I can't compare to the places you mention, but, for my quirky tastes I eat my dogs Lady Godiva style (naked - plain - nothing on them), and I'd be happy to eat and compare ANY dog IF served the same way...
 
As a native of Calif I ate lots of dogs, mostly better than "Tail O' The Pup" in Gollywood...there are some I wish I still could bite into right now, and some best forgotten...
 
But the best news is: that I have a grill just a few feet out my door...
 
Is it lunchtime yet...???   I'm getting hungry
 
OK, Smoke...knowing I like my dogs Lady Godiva style, what would you suggest I toss on the grill ... ???  I like a pop, rush of flavor carried by juicy, meaty bites...beef, polish, cajun, noo yawk, kosher...???
 
I can't get that wide of a variety here in the boonies...
 
(right now I'm thinking about an Evergood Cajun Hot Link on a toasted seed bun)...
 
 

PS...I think Angelo's Meats is still in the outskirts of Petaluma (Sonoma County) ...he was one of the original veggie & meat exotic sausage producers...and quality traditional stuff there that you just can't find at the typical supermarket...