I had the pleasure of checking out Philadelphia’s newest and maybe only eatery for gourmet hot dogs.A coworker whose son is one of the founders asked me to stop by to check him out doing his boardwalk barker technique to draw customers in. I said I would and try out a dog as well. Hot Diggity was the dream of four high school friends, Keith Garabedian, Sean Kendall, Tom Zmijewski, and Matt Anderson.When I was done shooting John outside I went in to take some interior shots when the groups of customers thinned out momentarily. One of the first things I noticed was the cool drawings that depict each hot dog drawn by Hawk Krall. I also dug the bar like tables that had holes bored through so that you can have a place to hold your paper cone of hand-cut fries.

With the interior shots done it was time  to try a Hot Diggity. They have ten regionally inspired hot dogs as well as the Hot Dog of The Month. At the time of this writing it was the Philly Surf & Turf. They also have the “Farmers Market Dog” that rotates. This week it featured pickled tomatillos, fire roasted corn and jalapeno salsa, fried tortilla strips, and queso fresco. The dogs are 7-inch Sabretts served on Liscio’s rolls. The Belgian-style hand-cut fries comes in small and large sizes with a choice of 12 dipping sauces. For you vegetarians out there, all dogs can be made vegetarian using Worthington Linketts.

The staff and chef worked on the dogs for a year and a half to perfect them and I believe they did just that. They are bringing the hot dog in Philadelphia back to the front. If you are not sure about these gourmet dogs you can still get, “The Plain Old Dog” with the usual hot dog condiments.Finally it was time for my dog. Shooting burns a lot of calories and I was hungry. It was a hard choice, but I decided to go with, “The Big Kahuna.”  The fries are fresh cut and made to order so they came right behind the dog. I decided to go with the spicy ginger mayo for my fries. The fries were like fries should be, cut fresh not dropped frozen into a deep fryer. I made a good choice with the “Big Kahuna,” I love pineapple salsa and the spicy (orange) habanero aioli bought all of the flavors together. Make sure you grab a fork because these dogs are so loaded with toppings you may need to scoop some of it back on after you bite into them! Great service, fast and friendly!