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5 great gourmet hotdogs in Cape Town

Friday, September 19th, 2014 by Linda Scarborough

When the hotdog craving strikes, there’s nothing that will satisfy that physical need for salty sausage and sweet sauce on a soft roll. We rounded up our favourite five places to buy gourmet hotdogs in the Mother City.

Baguette Bicycle

Owner Luciana Venter sourced a hot dog stand imported from New York and customised it with a canopy and a built-in oven. Yep, that means your authentic pretzel roll is baked right there on the street while your hotdog sizzles on the griddle. Hotdogs cost R35, and you can add the following: All Gold Tomato sauce; chilli mayo (made with Miracle Whip infused with chilli flakes); proper Dijon mustard and that plastic luminous yellow kind that people still seem to love; and Goldcrest gherkins and sauerkraut. They also cater for non-meat eaters, offering Fry’s vegetarian sausages as an alternative. Find the Baguette Bicycle stand between Clarke’s and Birds on Bree Street every First Thursday night; outside House of Machines on Friday nights (when the weather’s good); and at many events around Cape Town. Follow them on Twitter http://twitter.com/BaguetteBicycle.

Pretzel hotdog rolls by Baguette Bicycle

Die Wors-Rol

Hotdog from Die Wors-Rol

This gourmet hotdog on wheels is the brainchild of Bertus Basson, chef at Top 10 restaurant Overture, judge of Ultimate Braai Master, and all-round great guy. Die Wors-Rol’s travelling trailer sells hotdogs for R45, which come with superb thrice-cooked fries. The super-long sausages (22cms) hail from Sweetwell Farm on the R44 outside Stellenbosch (where piggies roam free) and the mustard is from a Basson family recipe. (Here’s the recipe if you want to make it at home.) Betsie, the brand’s pin-up girl mascot, is now emblazoned on their fully-fledged food truck that will travel to anywhere in the Western Cape.

On a Roll

The trademark hotdog at this 50s-style diner is named after the owner’s canine, The Batman. It comes comes with a bratwurst sausage, camembert cheese, caramelised fig, baby leaves, a drizzle of balsamic glaze and a side order of fries for R66. You could also go for The Chubby Checker, which boasts a Dirk Diggler-sized cheese griller (if Dirk is not familiar to you, be warned that your Google search results may not be safe for work) along with creamy mushroom sauce, mozzarella and peppadews. Also served with fries for R64.

The Power and The Glory

A hub for after-work drinks – or after-school drinks for Michaelis art students – the P&G gets pretty busy at night and finding a seat can be a tough task. You might meet interesting characters here, such as the guy who does full-scale artworks on the newsprint-covered tabletops in ball-point pen, but you’ll be relieved to hear that their hotdogs are straightforwardly tasty: a frankfurter is slipped into a crisp, buttered roll (baked by Euro Haus) and topped with gherkins, tomato sauce and mustard or chilli mayo for R34.

Weinhaus + Biergarten (formerly &Union)

These epic hotdogs are made with emmenthal-filled pork sausages (the manager insists their supplier is local, but confidential) and a toasted hotdog bun made by Jason. Served with the holy trinity of mustard, tomato sauce and mayo, the dog is then topped with bacon sprinkles (as one does) and served with pickles on the side for R40. Wash it down with some Brewers & Union craft beer – and be sure to wipe the foam off your hipster beard afterwards.

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7 Comments

  • Graham
    September 30, 2014

    Did you omit the Gourmet Boerie from this piece deliberately or in error?

    Reply
    1. Eat Out
      October 1, 2014

      Hi Graham, This article is part of a new series we are doing called ‘five great’ – so we do have to limit our list somewhat. These guys were the ones that emerged as favourites amongst the team. We are partial to the Gourmet boerie dogs too – but they are more boerie rolls than gourmet hotdogs – and the wors has a tendency to be a little undercooked, in our experience. Are you a fan?

  • Gerry Goldwyre
    March 28, 2016

    Hello

    I won the BBC master chef programme some years ago, and was in Cape Town in Feb 2016 I met Tania Morkel and promised to get back to her
    I do not do Facebook and I cant find her email anywhere.

    Is it at all possible that you could pass on my email details or send me her email address please i know this is a big ask but I plan to return to CT and had promised Tania I would do a food demo or something

    I realize it is a big ask but if you can help I would appreciate it Thank you

    Gerry

    The Water Tower restaurant Dalkeith

    Reply
    1. Tania Morkel
      July 27, 2016

      Hi Gerry
      Saw your message. How are you doing? Hope to see you soon in South Africa.

  • Gerry Goldwyre
    September 6, 2016

    Tania

    I still hold fond fond memories of the Saturday morning and would love to have your contact details I am working on a trip to come back and do as we did on our year out through USA

    I have only today noticed your note I am a Facebook Luddite and work mainly with email and Skype

    Please sen detail and we can hopefully establish contact

    I did not receive any email from you, I only hope it did not go into spam

    We loved Capetown so so much I want to come back and paint and cook

    Hope to catch up soon

    Gerry

    Reply
  • Gerry Goldwyre
    November 7, 2018

    Tania

    Did you get my message and how do we hook up ? I shall be in SA 10th Feb until 16th March 2019

    Reply
    1. Eat Out
      November 12, 2018

      We’ve sent you both an email so you can chat directly 🙂

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