On July 25th, Ellie and I spent $100 together on hot dogs LOL.

When I first announced that I was going to do this dog-undertaking, multiple people ran into my DMs to let me know that Royal Tavern was doing a “Dog Days of Summer,” For the month of July, they were releasing 4-5 new specialty dogs to their menu every week. I had learned about this just in the nic of time and would return twice in one week.

That Christmas in July Thursday, Ellie took my spin class at Fitness Works, and we walked over to the Royal Tavern together afterward. There is something that feels fun and naughty about completely negating your workout by bingeing on something after the fact. That night was not the last time I would do that in this series.

The spot was PACKED when we arrived, so we waited next door at The Dive to have a beer while we waited for a table to open. Once we finally got seated (it didn’t take long at all. I actually ended up having to chug my beer at The Dive before heading back to Royal Tavern), we ordered a couple MORE beers – there was a special Half Acre beer pairing menu (which the pour of mine I totally effed up) - an order of fries, duh, and two hot dogs each.

I should take this moment to express that I feel as though ONE hot dog – is a snack. TWO hot dogs – suffices as a meal. THREE hot dogs – you're probably going to feel sick.

We had 5 options to choose from that week, the final week, of Dog Days of Summer. I did The Philly, which came with a fish cake and a cherry pepper relish and a Hawaiian which I don’t think I have to explain. Both exceeded my expectations! The glizzies being slung at Royal Tavern were homemade with a natural casing. I detected that because they were homemade, they had a special and superior flavor to them; topping independent. The dogs also had a good snap to them. There was no sog to the bun even with all they had going on on top.

The Philly dog is what really intrigued me. The Royal Tavern Instagram page described fish cakes as being a part of Philadelphia’s culinary heritage. I will dive a bit deeper into this as a part of my tangential research, but more on that later maybe. El also did the Philly and the Seattle which I saved for my return to the Tavern the following Monday.

There was not a single person in the bar that evening who WASN’T eating a hot dog. People were sharing so they could taste as many as possible. I’ve never seen a wiener cut in half, nor would I condone it, but I understand that people had to make conservative choices to make room in their stomach for all. These dogs were the main menu event – how many were Royal Tavern stuffing a night?! Their Dog Days finale post mentioned that they ended up selling 5,213 total. Wow.

That following Tuesday, July 30th, I returned to the Royal Tavern. I really didn’t want to lollygag with only two days left of special hot dogs and only two more to try! This time I brought Jim. This is funny because my guy hates hot dogs. He thinks they are disgusting. I knew this long before I started this project, and I hope he hasn’t taken my dog-dedication personally. Probably not, since I’ve found him extremely supportive and has even choked down a few dogs with me in solidarity.

I wanted to save the “Seattle” for my visit with Jim since he had his own (negative) experience with them that I had been hearing about for the past year. Last summer he visited his friend Justin in Seattle. At the Mariner’s game it was suggested by Justin that Jim, “had to try” a Seattle dog. A real “when in Rome” recommendation. Jim was horrified, couldn’t finish it, couldn’t take a 2nd bite, had to eat something else just to get the taste of it out of his mouth. Boys are dramatic. Naturally, when I heard what was on it, I thought “yea, I'd bite that more than once” and here was my chance.

Seattle Dog. Ingredients: Hog Dot, Bun, Cream Cheese (slathered). Topping additions and variations: grilled onions, pickled jalapenos.

NOW I am already a fan of a cream cheese and jalapeno combo. You’ve basically presented me with a popper hot dog and I’m not going to pass that up. It hit for me – 10/10. This night I also had a MOP dog – deep fried dog, pickle spear, mustard diced onions. I forget which Jim had, but I know he didn’t like it so what does it matter 😊

One month of dog-exploration later and I still think Royal Tavern had the best. In the end ~$200 well-spent, but this was just the beginning.

Royal Tavern is on 937 E Passyunk Ave in South Philadelphia and on Instagram @royaltavern so you can go back and see all the different varieties they had offered this July!