JoDog Craft Hot Dogs — Restaurant in Tampa

Came here on a rainy Saturday afternoon; Channelside was totally empty. Decided on a basic hot dog & waffle fries. I was disappointed to see that the hot dogs are not prepared on demand, even on slow days, but rather kept in a closed container on the flat top grill, staying warm & sweaty, & slapped onto the bun with their preferred amount of ketchup & mustard. Especially for a sort of upgraded $$ hot dog experience, I expected it would be at least thrown on the grill for a minute to give it a fresh lift. Fries were super fresh though. Hot dog was prepared first while fries cooked so it was cold by the time I received the complete order. Overall, the fries were seasoned & yummy, hot dog was really pretty regardless, & cashier was polite & efficient. They have a varied, creative menu to include a vegetarian option, although I stuck to a pretty basic order. Atmosphere is food truck, outdoor scene with sit down restaurant prices. Hot dog, fries, & water cost about $18. Overpriced. If I happen to return, I will ask them to put the hot dog on the grill...

I'll first start off by saying the food was overall pretty good. I like that this restaurant has unique hot dog combinations, and the Mexico City Dogs were pretty good and reasonably priced. However, the sausage was quite small in size (though long, which messed up the sausage/bun ration imo) compared to the image used in its advertisements which appear fuller and the bun could have been improved by heating it up a bit. The fries were okay, but probably could have been mixed more as the top layer (2/3) were not hot/spicy, but the few at the bottom (1/3) with the puddle of sauce had more of the hot/spicy flavor.

Pictured: two Mexico City Dogs and...

After seeing these online, I had to stop by Channelside to pick up some craft hot dogs.

While creative and nice to look at, these hotdogs are not worth the $7-8/each that they are. They don't look like the display pictures, and the hotdog barely fit the buns. It felt odd just looking at and eating them due to their odd proportions. Topped with a hefty amount of liquid sauce on some, it results in a soggy mess after just a few bites. I've had worse (such as Portillos 🤢), but I've had better.

🌟: 5.8/10 (Not a fan, but others might enjoy it, so dont knock it before you try it) 💵: $ ($7-8/each, likely need 2-3 per person to feel full so the cost...