Friday, August 21, 2009

Kasper's Hot Dogs Oakland


A month ago, I visited and ranked all of the Casper's with a "C" Hot Dog restaurants in the East Bay. My plan was to compare them with the Kasper's with a "K" Hot Dog place on MacArthur in Oakland.

Today, I went to Kasper's for lunch. The place is in a so-so neighborhood. There was plenty of parking on the premises. I was stunned by the line of people literally out the door. An older lady was in charge of preparing the orders, one customer at a time. A younger lady had the easier job of putting the orders in a bag or on a tray, drawing the drinks, and taking the customers' cash.

In line, I noticed a nice history of Kasper's tacked up on the wall. I asked for a copy but they ran out.

I ordered the regular Kasper's dog and a beef tamale. The dog and the bun were steamed, just like Casper's. I couldn't swear to it, but I think the Kasper's dog is a few centimeters longer than the Casper's dog. It's got the snap, but it's not as loud. It tastes a little different too. All in all, I slightly prefer the Casper's dog, but I think it's purely up to the eater's own palate preferences.

I also got the tamale. I had a choice of beef or chicken. They put gravy and raw onions and tomatoes on top. The tamale is bigger than Casper's, but definitely doesn't taste as good.

Next stop-- the closed original Kasper's on Telegraph and Shattuck (they intersect!).

No comments: