Theres No Need to Fear...Underdogs is Here!

Underdogs

132 South 17th Street

Philadelphia, PA 19103 

www.underdogsphilly.com/

My girlfriend and I walked over to a new hot dog place that she had found a few weeks earlier on the day of my cousin’s wedding in July. We needed to grab some lunch before we headed to the hotel to get on the trolley to the church, and I had been dying to try Underdogs ever since she had told me about it and since I had then read about it in Philadelphia magazine soon thereafter. When we walked in I of course had a difficult time choosing which hot dog I wanted, because there was over 20 different ones to choose from. I wound up going with the Marrakesh, which is a spicy Merguez sausage with harissa mayo and Mediterranean salad on top, and my girlfriend ordered the Penn Deutch which was a beef hot dog served with a spicy brown mustard with a pepper hash on top. We also split an order of fries and a side of curry mayo.

When we sat at our table, I found out that you can get your name written on the wall if you eat all of the hot dogs on the menu. They punch a whole in your menu near the name of the hot dog each time that you eat one. My girlfriend had turned to the wall and asked me if one of the names was my friend Chris. It was indeed, and I texted him to make sure and we had some good laughs about that.

The hot dogs came out very quickly, and I dug in immediately. I found my hot dog to be quite blissful. It had a bit of heat to it from the spices in the Merguez and the harissa mayo, and it was brightened up and freshened up by the Mediterranean salad that it was topped with. I dusted it off rather quickly, and immediately dug into the deliciously crispy fries and the powerful curry mayo. The fries were really crispy and served in a brown paper bag. The curry mayo was a powerful taste; just enough to make you say, “wow that’s good!” I cannot wait to try the other 11 dipping sauces that they serve with their fries.

Three and a half pints for Underdogs from me. They are really nailing their mantra, and the variety and perfect execution that they offer is always worthy of the buzz surrounding such a place. They have since opened another location in South Philadelphia, so check that one out too. Hot dogs really seem to be a rising trend in the food world nowadays. This is one of two booming hot dog restaurants in the city that I know of, and I am sure there are probably more that I don’t know about. Underdogs offers an amazing selection for a great price point and they do everything perfectly. Get out and get yourself a hot dog as soon as possible! Cheers!