America's Top Dog in Chamblee

Came across this place while surfing the web Saturday morning. A description I read was that if you want a burger, you go to Flip and if you want a hot dog you go here. Worked for me. I wasn't really hungry for a hot dog, but for some reason it sounded good. After checking out the menu and discussing with my wife, it was settled.

Americas Top Dog is in the same shopping center as the Velvet Room. I've never been to the Velvet Room but I always thought it would have been a fancier, free standing facility, not in a strip mall with Big Lots. That's really neither here nor there, but if you know where the Velvet Room is, you know where America's Top Dog is. The main sign doesn't actually say "America's Top Dog", it says Dogs Fries Burgers, or some combination of those words. It's in red, white and blue though. The interior is equally patriotic and it fits. What's more American than hot dogs, burgers and fries?

We were greeted by what I presume was the owner running the show. He was behind the counter, probably working on something fantastic. His accent was heavy...New York maybe? Whatever it was, it helped with the whole experience - like being somewhere up north where people know their hotdogs.

The menu is full of crazy hotdog combinations. I ended up with the Georgia dog while my wife went with ol faithful, the Chicago dog. Even cooler than the funky menu is the topping bar. There are 40 items ranging from pineapple to fried shallots. If you don't get one of the pre-made dogs, you can get a plain one and then go to town at the topping bar. When we go back, that may be what I do. I have another dog in my sights though, so we'll see. Scroll on down for pictures and some deeper descriptions.

Georgia Dog and chili cheese fries. The chili cheese fries were messy and awesome. And the Georgia Dog was insane. It had chili, pimento cheese, chow chow and slaw on a red hot inside of a deli roll. All the different flavors balanced out really well, the hotdog itself had an awesome flavor and it was great having a real bun instead of some floppy white bread with this giant mass of ingredients.

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My wife's chicago dog and onion rings. I didn't try the chicago dog, but she said it was good. I'm still very amused by the neon green relish that's standard on those. The onion rings were good. Not as good as the rings we had at Flip last week, but still good. They were more of a dry batter I think.









Topping bar. The website says 35 toppings, but I heard the dude say 40, so maybe they added some stuff. I couldn't begin to list all these toppings.

Where the action happens. Also some more DIY dog combos.