I give you a big fat 0 undercooked dog and overpriced crap
Adrian S.
Place rating: 2 Olympia, WA
The lines at the food shacks at the Farmers Market were too long(I’m notoriously impatient), so I wandered across the street to Man Bites Dog to try their daily special: a Louisiana red hot. I was underwhelmed. It was a chicken sausage, and it wasn’t spicy and it wasn’t hot. In fact it was undercooked and pink in the middle. They need to grill these on a fire, not a flat top. The server pointed to a list on the side of the cart that showed condiments, and told me I could add any of them for 50 cents each. Really? Chopped onions are 50 cents? Good hot dogs in Olympia — the search continues.
JP M.
Place rating: 4 Olympia, WA
A darn good polish with grilled onions and a nice all-beef Nathan’s dog for $ 8. Nicely done with plenty of condiment choices. Next time I’ll try one of the specialty items. A super nice spot for a hot dog stand and the young entrepreneur was a nice hard working guy. trust your raccoon buddy and give it a try!
Nathan A.
Place rating: 4 Olympia, WA
I love the concept and I loved the bite or two I had of my daughters HotDog! She had a classic, pretty plain with ketchup and that was it. WHat do you want? She is only two. She loved it. What I tasted makes me want to go back and eat one of the more exotic hot dogs.
Terran W.
Place rating: 4 Seattle, WA
Finally I had a little cash to try out a Man Bites Dog dog. It’s the hot dog cart in front of Dancing Goats Espresso across the street from the Olympia Farmer’s Market. It was 2:30 and he closes at 3:00. And I was in the mood for a plain ol’ hot dog. Of course they offer the classic dog, it’s the first thing on the menu. There were a few other selections: a New Yorker(w/chopped or grilled onions), a Sauerkraut(w/sauerkraut), and Olympian(w/cream cheese and jalapeño-raspberry jelly), and … and … I think that’s it, but there might be one more. No Chicago dog, which is what I was looking for, but opted for the Classic(plain.) Each variety can be made with a all beef hot dog or a Polish sausage. There are also some pulled pork options. Chips and soda are available, as is bottled water. Sounds good. But since I was there a little late in showing he had to grill the dog on-site(griddle to be more accurate) to order. «At least you know it’s fresh,» Steve said. «Isn’t a ‘fresh hot dog’ an oxymoron?» I thought to myself, «Okaaaaay,» I said. I was a little miffed about that since my blood sugar was low but, hey life on – «life’s terms!» I didn’t allow myself to get all twisted up about it, but it would have been nice of him to tell me there would be a five minute wait before I paid for it. I get whiny when I’m hungry, so I felt a little put out, but he was honest, polite, and friendly. I expected, as at most hot dog stands, the wiener to be hot and ready, on demand. Not so, but like I said, it was near the end of his business day. No big deal. So, it’s finally done. He pulls out a steaming bun and I could hear the sizzling dog getting nestled in place on top of a foil wrapper. He brings it over and voila. I’d like to say that it was the best dog I’d had in awhile, but that just isn’t the case. The best thing about it happened to be the bun. Something about the all beef wiener tasted a little off and the bun smelled a little of soap(?). Perhaps the steam bath hadn’t been completely rinsed or the dry buns were stored with fabric softener, I dunno? The bun was actually better than the dog, yet it was also a little too large for the wiener itself. Had I gone with the Polish, it’s possible this review would have been much shorter, and it probably fits the bun. Next time I’ll try one of the specialty dogs with a Polish sausage, and you never know, another star could be coming your way. In fact, my initial rating was three stars, but since he was so polite and unapologetic about his business decisions, I’m upping the rating. I want to see Man Bites Dog succeed.