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Found a reference to Cream Cheese dogs from 1999, again from the Seattle Stranger-

http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/hot-diggity/Content?oid=535

And another angry food writer who doesn't like hot dogs-

http://blogs.seattleweekly.com/voracious/2009/10/is_there_a_signature_seattle_h.php

Also- this article made it onto SLOG, the Seattle Stranger blog, with another active comment thread where the lovers and haters of seattle hot dogs are going at it.

http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2009/10/02/the-seattle-dog

Around 2002, I used to get those all the time after concerts at a hot dog (ho dogs because the t was missing) stand in front of the Showbox. I never had it with cabbage but cream cheese, bbq sauce and grilled onions. Yummy!

The Windmill was a stop on last year's Annual New Jersey Hot Dog Tour. They serve a long 1/4 lb natural casing Sabrett beef/pork dog that is prepared on a hot griddle. A very good dog; similar to Max's about a mile down the road in Long Branch. Do it yourself fixings bar with basic hot dog toppings. Chili is extra. Their chili took 2nd place in the comprehensive Star Ledger Hot Dog Tasting in 2006. 87 hot dog establishments were reviewed.

I don't know if anyone has suggested it, but you guys should really do Windmill hotdogs in Long Branch, NJ. They are by far the best tasting hot dog I know of.

Hawk,

I wouldn't be surprised if the Cream Cheese dog did originate in New Jersey. Because hot dogs are big here and there is a lot of competition. People want to be known for something original. Which may or may not be good. Most of the time; at least to me, it is not. When I think of being original, I look at a place bringing in Usinger's beef dogs from Milwaukee and serving them with minimal toppings. I never heard of the Lincoln Log Sandwich until the Sopranos. This thing has the cream cheese inside the dog. My first exposure to a dog with cream cheese was 2006. But this was with the cream cheese on top of the dog. As I mentioned earlier, it was served on a quality dog. To me it didn't go well with it.

Those dogs from bavarianmeats do look good. But I would guess that a small minority use those. And like the quality dogs at Bark, I can't understand why anyone would want to put a lot of toppings or condiments on something so good. It's like desecrating a steak. Or a pizza from DiFara's with pineapple. I may be in the minority here, but that's how I feel. There must be a market for these things otherwise they wouldn't sell.

Interesting that Seattle would look at a hot dog as a guilty pleasure. That's the impression I get. Just a different culture. In Jersey (like Detroit) we had 2 places right next door to each other. Each had their loyalists who wouldn't set foot in the other place and proudly proclaimed their loyalty.

You mentioned Kobe Beef dogs. I held off a long time on these, stubbornly refusing to pay the hgh price. I saw 2 quarter pound dogs in Kings Supermarket (an upscale store) for $8.00 and bought them. Ok, but nothing special. Same thing applies to a Kobe burger. I don't know if going through a grinder is good for this type of meat.

By all means get to Jersey and try an authentic Newark Style Italian Hot Dog. Although in reality it is more like a sandwich and a meal. But all of the ingredients go really well together. The dog used by most (from Best Provisions) is perfect for this sandwich.

Have you ever had a hot dog at John's in Philly? The place known for Roast Pork and Cheesesteaks? I've heard that they have a real good hot dog.

@Hotdoglover-
Also meant to say, I am definitely going to do the Italian Hot Dog soon. I need to get out to Jersey and hit a few of the better known spots, I feel it would be a shame to do it without some first person researh. As much as I'd like to spend every day researching hot dogs all over the country it's not always possible.

@hotdoglover-

While cream cheese on a hot dog might not be to everyone's taste, I would hardly call it "fancy" or "trendy" especially when we have chefs doing things like kobe beef vietnamese banh mi hot dogs. Which actually sounds pretty good, but it's not really a hot dog.

The Seattle dog might be unconventional but it evolved "naturally" the way many regional styles have - almost randomly, from a mix of regional tastes, habits and available ingredients. It's considered a rather "low brow" thing in Seattle, something dirty you do at 2am and feel bad about the next day.. I think Seattle is almost embarrased about it. I combed the Seattle "blogosphere" for 4 hours and found nothing but picture after picture of cutesy cupcakes and vegan gluten-free noodles with heirloom tomatoes.

Also some of the better Seattle carts do use real german style wieners from here: http://www.bavarianmeats.com/ that are probably terrific with a swear of cream cheese and some mustard. The fact that the cream cheese dog goes back to 2000 and maybe started outside the stadiums - popular with working class folks as well as the hipsters - means it will probably be around for a while, or at least longer than seaweed wrapped wasabi dogs, or vegan dogs topped with chutney and yogurt (that's what I call trendy).

I do agree that a salmon dog sounds disgusting. The only time fish belongs anywhere near a hot dog is the Philly Combo. And that fish cake is 90% potato.

You might be interested to learn that a lot of Seattleites think that the Cream Cheese dog actually originated in NEW JERSEY, because of a certain episode of the Sopranos that I can't believe nobody has mentioned yet... where Carmela makes a 'Lincoln Log Sandwich' of hot dogs and cream cheese, that some think may be a jersey/italian thing..

http://www.barrypopik.com/index.php/new_york_city/entry/lincoln_log_sandwich/

Sorry. I can't help myself. It seems that nowadays people who open hot dog restaurants feel that they have to offer something new and trendy in order to do well. I won't tell anyone how to enjoy their hot dog, but I think the emphasis should be on the actual frankfurter, not things that overpower and mask the flavor of a fine piece of meat.

Bark in Brooklyn serves a top quality delicious hot dog. It would go great with mustard and perhaps their home made sauerkraut. But when you add toppings like chives, sour cream, cream cheese, crushed fritos, etc, in my opinion you're ruining a great dog. There's a reason why places like Papaya King and Nathan's never go out of style.

I'm almost ashamed to admit it, but a popular hot dog restaurant in New Jersey served a dog with cream cheese that they called "My Schmiero". Their regular dogs were very good and they should have stuck with them. They hired a Public Relations firm who got them all kinds of publicity, including a piece on New York's Eyewitness News. The piece focused on the cream cheese and other esoteric toppings and combinations rather than the high quality dog served there. It was a trendy, fancy pants place that emphasized toppings and combinations rather than the high quality dog that was wasted since no one could appreciate it under all of the crap that only served to mask the flavor of a great dog. While this might be acceptable in a trendy place like Seattle, it wasn't in an old school hot dog mecca like New Jersey. This particular place went under. I knew the owners who persuaded me to try the hot dog with cream cheese. I finally did and it was awful. Cream cheese should be on bagels, not hot dogs.

In my opinion Seattle ought to stick to craft beer, not hot dogs. Salmon dogs (yuck!) are also popular there.

While this regional hot dog style may have been established quickly and "popped out of nowhere", I think more attention should be paid to established regional hot dog styles that have been around a long time, and as an old Rheingold beer commercial stated, "stood the test of time". For example, the Newark Style Italian Hot Dog. Given little attention by the Food Media, this regional hot dog style has stood the test of time. It is to Jersey as the Cheesesteak is to Philly. Introduced in 1932, it is as popular as ever. And it thumbs it's nose at the politically correct and health food fanatics who look down on it for it's cooking method (fried in oil) and high calorie content.

The Newark Style Italian Hot Dog. Born in 1932.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gQHPM9JtIY

I haven't ever seen kraut or bbq sauce at the hot dog stands. They automatically come with toasty bun, grilled onion, and cream cheese. I like to add jalapenos, sriracha, and mustard. very, very occasionally. If I sprung for one every time it smelled amazing at 1 AM I'd weigh 200 lbs.

My favorite stand is for sure Comet Dogs.

I haven't had one in decades but just to keep this sandwich going, I will go there and have them.

I like El Dorado Kitchenette (the little coffee shop on the corner) for coffee, pastries, light & crazy cheap lunches.

The Girl & the Fig has the best cocktails, but the bar area is a little, well, French. El Dorado Kitchen has a better bar space, but I'm never wowed by the drinks. Food-wise, I don't find that there's a lot to choose between EDK, Estate, Girl & the Fig, Harvest Moon & Cafe La Haye - they're the big players in town, and all are good, but not always great. EDK is more contemporary Californian, Estate is Italian with good antipasto, G&F is French, Harvest Moon is Californian and more independent feeling, and Cafe La Haye is tiny & Italian.

The town of Napa is only about 20-25 minutes away, which opens up a ton of other options - personally, I'd rather go to Ubuntu or Bounty Hunter than just about anyplace in Sonoma.

For bargains, you'll find taco trucks practically outside the Fairmont, just pick one. Also in that area is a good, red-sauce Italian/pizza place called Mary's - they've been there for something like 50 years. And Barking Dog Roasters is right across the street from the Fairmont and has good coffee (take some beans home). Another good bargain(ish) place is Fremont Diner, which is on the highway a few miles south of town.

If you like the bike idea, you can rent bikes in town and go wine tasting - the bike place on Broadway by the high school will give you a map for a 10-13 mile loop that's pretty easy and takes you to several decent-to-good wineries.