True innovators are capable of flipping the most widely accepted maxims on their heads. Take as evidence Christopher Columbus disproving the world was flat, or Garfield, who proves again and again that cats do like lasagna. Dispelling the archaic notion that street food belongs on the street is what Hot Dog Alley does.
When you peep signage that could be the handiwork of a 4-year-old, brace yourself because you're about to plunge headlong into HDA -- a tiny private alley, stuffed with a nondescript tent and food cart from whence Lower Haight denizens Mojo and C. Hot Dog Alley sells water (no joke) and heaping man-dogs named for famous San Francisco neighborhoods (no Clarendon Heights, dog?!).
For real options range from the SOMA Dog (a mild hot link slathered in homemade chili), to the Fillmore Dog (a spicy hot link with jalapenos), to the Tenderloin Dog, a normal frank wrapped in bacon that will "melt in your mouth," even as it poops on your stoop.
Upping the epicness is a slew of fixings/condiments like hickory BBQ sauce, sweet n' spicy Southwest mustard, and onions/peppers/sauerkraut Mo & C-Dub grill on a big Foreman (again, no joke).
Plus the alley serves signature cheddar-sprinkled, bacon-wrapped, cream cheese-stuffed jalapeno, aka the Mission Popper, not to be confused with Slippery Ed (the Mission Pauper).
To wash it all down there's a smattering of soft drinks and their own cherry lemonade. HDA's open from noon until around 3 p.m. daily, and then again around the time the bars close, just don't eat it on the way into your apartment because there's no flipping that whole "hot dog in a hallway" thing.
