Wayback Burgers

Dogtown is the Northeast cheat code for satisfying a serious In-N-Out craving. If you know, you…read moreknow. My go-to order is the Dogtown Burger with two patties, extra cheese, no lettuce or tomato, grilled onions cooked well done, and plenty of Dogtown spread. Pair that with well-done fries topped with two slices of American cheese, spread, and grilled onions, and you've basically unlocked a full California-style burger experience without leaving the East Coast. The Bethel location really nails the vibe. They grill the patties in mustard and serve fresh, snappy green chilies on the side, just like the classic West Coast spots. It's the little details that make it feel authentic. Milford is excellent too, but Bethel gets the edge for those extra touches. The meat is consistently fresh, the burgers are messy in the best way possible, and the fries hit that perfect balance of crispy, cheesy, and indulgent. If you're chasing that Animal Style flavor in the Northeast, Dogtown absolutely delivers.

Food was fantastic. Prices are unbelievable reasonable. Everything is under $10 which you see…read moreliterally nowhere anymore and the food is real. The cheese sauce is homemade. The relish is clearly homemade, and the hotdog are perfectly sized and done.

Rings

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Front

Liv's Shack

4.3(116 reviews)

3.4 mi

The Shack Attack sounds crazy but wow is it outrageously delicious and so worth the price. One of…read morethe best things to eat in summer on the shoreline. Requested a rare burger and it was perfect, melty cheese, huge chunks of tender lobster, beautifully grilled buttery fresh soft bun. The cheese curds are amazing. Cheerful, excellent service. BYOB for the perfect relaxed summer meal!

Stopped by Liv's Shack on a Sunday afternoon and while the food was excellent, the portions were…read morelittle small. You order from a giant menu at the front before grabbing a seat at one of many picnic tables. The atmosphere is casual and a couple of bees made it difficult to eat as they chased me. The chicken tenders were hot and crispy, and the lobster roll was buttery and fresh. The clam chowder was very good. While everything tasted great, I felt the portions were quite small for the price, which left us looking for more food somewhere else.

Outside

Lobster Roll

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Jordan's Hot Dogs & Mac

4.0(166 reviews)

25.7 mi

The salad with the sweet chili and chicken ! So good. They have other options in the menu as well,…read moremy kids love the burgers from this place

Kind of disappointing. I drove 7 miles to get there because Google gemini said they served Sabrett…read morehot dogs. They don't. Not their fault. I ordered 2 hummell dogs with kraut and mustard to go anyway. All the signs said they were $4.50 ea, but after buying a small soda my bill was $14.00! It wasn't until I got into my car to eat them that I started to realize they must have charged me an awful lot for mustard and sauerkraut. I don't feel like going back and making a fuss, but I won't go back to eat there either . Just for the record the man serving me was very nice and the hot dogs were actually pretty good when I finally ate them but I really wanted Sabrett dogs and I guess I'm just going to have to keep looking for them somewhere in Connecticut. I didn't catch it

The O.G. Mac Dog

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The Hotdog Hustler

4.8(13 reviews)

47.6 mi

If you haven't already heard this place is legendary. This is no ordinary hot truck. This is a next…read morelevel. Gourmet hotdog is an understatement. This is the trifecta of hotdog trucks. Great location Great dogs and slaw Incredible service. I have to say I'm a big fan of their coleslaw. It was next level. Give it a try If you have kids perfect, the park is just steps away for the kids to play.

Great food and great service. lots of variety, something for everyone…read more The truck is very clean.

Order up!

Cheese dog on the left, Ball Park on the right

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The truck!

Jack Rabbits

3.6(132 reviews)

2.2 mi

I'm a big wing fan and a big hot dog fan. The Wing Addicts recommend Jack Rabbits for wings, and a…read morerestaurant I love recommended them for hot dogs too. I recently planned an errand in the general Old Saybrook area so I could try both at Jack Rabbits. I had the vague impression that there may be more than one part to Jack Rabbits. I went to the part that's more of a bar. It was crowded. There was one table open, but I opted for one of the last seats at the bar. If Jack Rabbits isn't quite a dive bar, it's dive-bar-adjacent. There were clearly a lot of area regulars there. The bartenders were all friendly and helpful. They knew the names of a lot of customers. Always a good sign. The thing about trying both the hot dog and wing part of the menu when you're alone, you can't really do a deep dive into either part of the menu. And the depth of the menu, definitely warranted a deep dive. I'll return to try more of the menu with reinforcements next time. I ordered a New York style hot dog, which was served with a split and grilled Hummel as the base. The toppings included sweet pepper relish, mustard, bacon pieces, kraut and onions. There was a lot going on in a way that I enjoyed. The dog was well cooked. They had a number of specialty dogs I'd like to try. I also ordered 8 Sriracha Lime Cilantro wings, and ate four there and brought the rest home for my son. Good flavor. Good texture. Meaty wings at a goods price. My son liked them too. Wing Addicts had another good call. I'll definitely return. 4.5 Stars

We ordered a variety of 80 wings lastnight for a birthday. The boneless garlic parmesean cheese…read morewere aweful. Hardly had any sauce on them and dry. Like they were made in a hurry. We've always gone here for wings and very disappointing

Inside

Garlic parn hardly any sauce.

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Outside

Riley's Hot Dog & Burger Gourmet

4.6(294 reviews)

32.2 mi

My husband isn't exactly a hot dog guy. So I got a sideways look when I suggested that we try this…read moreplace out for lunch....but after our meal, he said that he'd never had a specialty hot dog before and really enjoyed this! How could you not like this place?! Great atmosphere, friendly staff and an awesome menu. We tried the reuben dog, taco dog and guilty pleasure dog with the Cajun fries. Dogs are messy but fun.... loved the taco dog! Cajun fries were too salty but appreciate that they are made in house! (Wish they had sweet potato fries with a fun dipping sauce though!) Can't wait to go back and try more creations!

Riley's is much nicer inside than you'd ever expect from a hot dog place. There's a lot of space,…read moreeverything is clean, and the whole setup has a trendy industrial feel that works really well. Even the bathrooms were noticeably nice, particularly for such a fast-paced lunch spot. I had the Chicago Dog and the House Dog. We've been on the hunt for a good Chicago dog that's, you know... closer than Chicago, so I was glad to see one on the menu. It was quite good, but not what I expected based on the ones I remember from Chicago. This version leaned heavier on the relish and toppings, didn't have the bright green relish, and ended up a little messier overall. It did match exactly what the menu described, though, so that part's on me for not reading it more closely. All that micro-complaining aside, I'd get it again--though I may first try to work through the extensive menu a bit. There are some great options, and you should expect to struggle deciding (maybe check the menu in advance). The House Dog was delicious, but also pretty messy--definitely grab some napkins. Prices were a tiny bit higher than I'd expect for hot dogs, but the quality, presentation, and overall vibe seemed aligned with that. Overall, Riley's is a great option if you want a nicer sit-down hot dog experience with lots of choices and a comfortable atmosphere. I'd go back, especially to try more of the specialty dogs.

Very cute interior

The Bronx Dog

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Menu

J & B Hot Dogs

4.9(19 reviews)

39.4 mi

This was my first time stopping here. Came highly recommended…read more Was not disappointed. The franks had a snap to them. I understand that indicates they come in their natural casing . They were delicious and the price was very reasonable ( $ 3.00). Most trucks charge a minimum of 3.50. The owner was very personable and polite. Sadly, he had a for sale sign on his truck. I asked about it, and he said it's time for him to move on, However, he has been trying to sell for a couple of years. I hope he stays around for a while !

Friendly, convenient off course. Since economy is down the drain, economic level. And support your…read morelocal people in this frozen days.

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Yo these hotdawgz are bangin dawg!!

Oh K-Dog

4.2(102 reviews)

26.7 mi

Reallly wanted to like it but the jot dog didn't taste like a good quality beef dog. And it wasn't…read moreas good as others ive had in other places. Inside of restaurant was partially used for storage. Felt sticky inside. Not inviting to eat in. On positive note, the eggs were cooked perfectly. And I was eye witness to good handwashing!

So great! Loved the selections of corn dogs. Made with rice flour. I went with the mozzarella and…read morepotato and cheese sans dog. Delightfully fun and the staff was very friendly! Can't wait to go again!

Menu/Kiosk

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Avocado Egg Toast with garlic bread

Big Dawggs

4.5(19 reviews)

33.1 mi

The owner and workers are awesome people. They engaged in conversation. They are down to earth and…read morethey put out some amazing food. Definitely stopping at their food truck again!! I look forward to testing more of their menu. The fries were well seasoned and perfectly crispy. I love the rolls and it's even better that it wasn't hot dog buns!! They should produce key rings for purchase - the number tags are awesome and I would definitely buy one.

For over three years, I would be driving to central Connecticut to ride the rail trails, and I…read morewould pass this food truck on route 138 in Griswold. Each time I've been heading out, I'd tell myself, "I'll stop on the way back." But every time, I'd be so tired from my ride or just really wanted to get into a hot shower, that I'd murmur to myself, "Next time." Well, after this scenario played itself out for the umpteenth time, I decided to ride out to it by way of Arcadia. OMFG! Was this place ever so good! The absolutely best French Fries I've ever eaten and after looking at the menu, I can understand why. Being a small food truck, they probably only have one fryolator. So everything gets cooked in the oil they use. The Hot Dog I ordered was the BBQ Dawgg. A beef Hot Dog wrapped in Bacon and then deep fried until the Bacon is crispy. Into a tasty, but not overly huge Bun and topped with grilled Onions and BBQ Sauce. So you get the Bacon fat and Hot Dog fat mixing in with whatever kind of oil they are using, which imparts all those flavors into the French Fries. Service is fast and friendly.

Chicken sandwich

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BBQ Dawgg - a Bacon wrapped hot dog with grilled Onions and topped with BBQ Sauce

Jake's Diggity Dogs

4.0(98 reviews)

33.5 mi

I've been going here since they were on crown street. Their hot dogs are the BOMB. Sometimes they…read morestock out of mochi. The owner and staff are friendly. Store is small but always clean.

Properly prepared dogs, but way off-balanced…read more Spot #5 of 6 in our hot dog trek, and we were in probably the swankiest place we've been thus far. This place is very affluent, so there's lots of shopping opportunities in this area. tucked in the parking lot of one of these places is a large duplex-sized place called Jakes, which has a ton of good press online. We go in, and the place is somewhat dim. The place is small but very dark. It kind of reminds me of a collectables shop in terms of the ambiance. Functional, but not very inviting. The menu has pretty much all hot dogs, and lots of them. The sheer amount of unique dogs is impressive. This being one of our later stops in our trek, we opted for a chicken teriyaki dog and a Seattle dog for comparisons. The food comes out quick, we take pics and dig in. First off, the hot dog to bun ratio was way off. the hot dogs were way too small for the bun, which was very evident with the Seattle dog. So you would get lots of bread with a little bit of dog on each bite. Second, the hot dogs were actually very salty. This usually has no real bearing on the dish, since I do like my salt. The problem being that the two hot dogs we got had high salt condiments on them (bacon and chicken teriyaki). the combo of salt on salt just lead to some very salty bites. The dogs themselves were prepared properly. I do enjoy the split and grill method of dog cooking. but there was a major lack of balance with the two we got. If we got hot dogs that had other non-salty ingredients, then these dogs would be good. but as prepared, they were a little off. It's an option if you want a hot dog, I would probably avoid the two that we got unless you like salty dogs.