Oh Snap.

Where is the best place to get a hot dog in Portland? Twitter survey says: Zach's Shack.

On the menu, it says "Dogs with a snap!" Zach goes on to explain: "All beef dogs with a natural casing. It's the casing and the steaming that gives the dog the 'snap'."

I ordered the New York Dog ($4) - cheddar cheese, yellow mustard, onion and chili. I've had some chili dogs in my life and I've never had mustard on it with the chili. But I have to say. I am a fan. You have the crunchy fresh onions, the heat of the chili and the tangy mustard, all brought together with the melted cheese. I could *almost* hear the dog snap, but it was covered in toppings, so even if it did snap, the sound would have been absorbed by the chili, I'm pretty sure.

I could have actually eaten it with my hands, but I was headed to a movie afterwards, so I didn't want to risk it, given my history of spillage. But it wasn't SO loaded that made it impossible to eat. I respect that. I respect the failure to concede to the trend to overload everything.


Although that did not apply to the fries. A simple $2.50 order of plain fries was a huge basket of super hot crinkle fries! Sturdy - I imagine they hold up to the available toppings (cheddar, cheddar and jalapeno, and chili and cheddar) quite well. I would say these are average fries, though they were exceptionally hot and fresh.

Also observed: Man who looked like Smith Jerrod from Sex in the City, with an adorable red-headed little boy, thoroughly enjoying their father/son outing. The boy was in the middle of eating his hot dog and spontaneously jumped up to give his dad a hug. "Ben and Jewwy's! Ben and Jewwy's! We awe going to Ben and Jewwy's!" he said while giggling and wiping his mouth on his sleeve.

Freaking adorable.

Next time, I'm going to order the Chicago Dog ($4): yellow mustard, green relish, sport peppers, pickle spear, onion, tomato and celery salt. Also available, Feat Dog (brown mustard and coleslaw), Dylan Dog (cream cheese, onion and tomato), and Grateful Dog (onion, cucumber, tomato and celery salt), among others. All of which are $4 or under.

I'd also like to order up a red-headed child who can't quite say his r's. That would be delightful, thank you.