HOT DOGS
The unofficial official dish of the 4th of July.
The Red Hot, Tacoma
It’s no accident that The Red Hot tops this list. Just as a wine aficionado relishes a fat wine list at a restaurant, any hot dog fan will feel exhilaration when they clap eyes on The Red Hot food menu with over 20 hot dog variations; it’s probably the genesis for that saying, “an embarrassment of riches.” These riches include classics like a Coney dog and a bratwurst with sauerkraut, as well as delectable abominations like The Mister Mac with macaroni and cheese, red pepper ketchup, and crunchy breadcrumbs piled atop a hot dog.
The Frankfurter, Sumner
If your head is spinning from the description of The Red Hot, head to The Frankfurter in Sumner where your choices are limited to a classic few—a kosher dog, Louisiana hot, kielbasa, or a chicken basil dog. Throw in fries or tater tots and you’ve got lunch! Don’t sweat it.
Hole in the Wall Burger Shop, Gig Harbor
Yes, the burgers and ice cream here are great, but we highly recommend paying Hole in the Wall a second visit just for the hot dogs. While the Classic dog is a reliable craving-crusher, it’s the Chicago dog that earned the place on this list: pickled peppers, tomato, scallions, relish, poppy seeds, and mustard will treat you right on a hot day.
Jake’s Burgers at Sterino Farms, Puyallup
Nothing is more divisive about a hot dog than the condiments. Jake’s Burgers is highly aware of this fact, and they are virtually attempting world peace with their contribution humbly known as “The Dog—” an all-beef hot dog with grilled onion, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and relish. That’s right, “AND!”
Shake Shake Shake, Tacoma
Hot dogs from Shake Shake Shake begin with a Nathan’s dog, “split and grilled,” then finished with your desired toppings. Personally, we like the Bacon Hot Dog. Lest you accuse us of gilding the lily, the smoked bacon on this hot dog is balanced with a healthy scattering of raw onion and some sweet BBQ sauce.
Radnor’s, Tacoma
The serious yet disparate reasons we love Radnor’s: they’re open til 1am, their name comes from a Tacoma sailor and businessman in the early 1900s, and most of all, they serve their hot dog on a Hawaiian bun.
Lucky’s Drive-In, Tacoma
When hunger strikes heavy, come to Lucky’s for a chili cheese dog. This nostalgic spot favors local ingredients, so you can feel great about this fast food.
POTATOES
They may be a side dish, but they’re destination-worthy in their own right.
Hans’s Place, Tacoma
Pronouncing “Hans’s” is already a mouthful, but just you wait until you get their fresh-cut potatoes in your mouth. They’ve been around since 1940, and this legacy might be traced directly to their jojos. For potato lovers who live outside the Pacific Northwest, a jojo is a breaded and fried potato wedge, and yet they’re so much more—when done correctly, they are crispy on the outside, and creamy on the inside—and dunking a steaming hot jojo through a plastic cup of cold ranch is a crucial human experience, like seeing the ocean for the first time, or finding love.
Frisko Freeze, Tacoma
Sure, fried potatoes of all shapes and sizes are beautiful things—but something must be said for the classic thin-cut french fry. Optimal crispiness, easy dunking, salt distribution, and preferably served with something called a “special sauce,” “house sauce,” or “fry sauce—” that’s the pinnacle of potatoes. And if it’s this all American fry you’re seeking, look no further than the nostalgia factory known as Frisko Freeze.
The Hub, Gig Harbor
We can’t have a potato round-up without paying homage to the much-adored tater tot. If your love for tots runs deeper than the deep fryer, Gig Harbor’s The Hub does it right with cajun tots served with a chipotle mayo for dunking.
The Huckleberry Club, Tacoma
This potato isn’t fried—STAY WITH US!—but it is piled high with ingredients like chorizo, nacho cheese, and candied jalapeño. Sounds pretty American to us.
PIE AND ICE CREAM
“As American as…”
Spilled Butter Desserts, Tacoma
Spilled Butter calls themselves a “micro scratch bakery” due to the size of their output, and that’s just one indicator of how good this place is. Another clue to their greatness: if you ask for an apple pie, they’ll ask you to specify, “classic or Dutch?” Give their strawberry rhubarb pie a try while you’re there; rhubarb is a local specialty, with nearby Sumner being known as the rhubarb pie capital of the world.
Homestead Restaurant and Bakery, Tacoma
If you like to be greeted by a giant chilled pie case when you enter a restaurant, you’re in luck: Homestead has pie of the cream variety (chocolate cream, coconut cream, banana cream, etc.) as well as classic fruit pie under a golden brown crust.
Ice Cream Social, Ruston
Ice Cream Social sources sustainable dairy for their ice cream, so you can feel really good about going there—but you were going to feel good anyway, because the ice cream is fantastic. We love their Buttered Pecan or locally-sourced Valhalla Coffee flavors, but their rotating seasonal offerings are always worth a try.
Bliss Small Batch Creamery, DuPont and University Place
Their batches might be small but the options are stacked; Bliss serves up alternative milks for the dairy-averse as well as the real deal, and their flavors range from simple Summer Strawberry to unique offerings like Breakfast Cereal.
Main Street Dairy Freeze, Sumner
The Dairy Freeze is always playing saccharine 50s music, but nothing is sweeter than their tall lineup of milkshake flavors; Chunky Monkey, Pina Colada, and Huckleberry are just a few. Can we also just admit that sometimes, all you want is a soft serve ice cream cone? No matter what you’re feeling, you’ll find it at this red-and-white window.
Cooper’s, Tacoma
When you were a kid, the true mark of a special occasion was a root beer float. Cooper’s wants to take you back to a simpler, sugary time with their floats, with your choice of cola, root beer, orange cream, black cherry cream, or vanilla cream.
Searching for more American food? Find a legendary burger with our South Sound Burger Hunt, or start things off nice and early at breakfast with our Twin Peaks-Worthy Diners!
Before the food coma descends, tag us at @visittacomapiercecounty with your American food pic!
