Hot Dog Heaven: A review of the Korean restaurant “Ssong’s Hot Dogs”

I’ve always been more of a situational hot dog lover — I think they’re strictly meant for baseball games and barbecues. But when I heard about Ssong’s Hotdog restaurant, my curiosity had me leaning on the gas pedal towards the promise of a gourmet Korean hot dog. 

The grey, nondescript storefront, squished between a hair salon and liquor store at 10308 Metcalf Ave., turned out to be my yellow ray of sunshine on a cold and rainy Tuesday afternoon. 

The entire restaurant is painted in a bright shade of yellow, and the Ssong’s Hotdog logo is displayed prominently on the wall to customers from the moment they walk in.

It was heavily emphasized that they only accept cash at the counter, but just as I began to worry — because let’s face it, who still carries cash? — I saw that they have machines on the left wall of the restaurant which allow you to order and check out using your card just as you would at the counter. 

I elected to order the two items that appeared at the top of the menu: the Ssong’s Hotdog and the Mozz Cheese Stick. I also chose a Mozz Spicy Hotdog to, quite literally, spice up my order. 

The tile floor was filled with beige, wooden tables. I elected to sit in one where I got to watch the Korean hotdog making process — where they take a skewered hotdog, wrap it in dough and fry it in bean oil — through the large window separating the seating area and the kitchen while waiting patiently for them to call out number 44. 

After a 10 minute wait, I grabbed my bag and sauces — which a Ssong’s worker recommended and provided me with a slew of options, which was accommodating to my cluelessness of Korean cuisine — and headed back out to my car since, due to COVID-19 protocol, they only allow takeout. 

I appreciated that they took precautions due to the pandemic with distanced tables, a maximum 25 occupancy in the store,  and yellow dots on the floor to be sure customers aren’t too close when waiting in line to order. It can be a major turnoff to the food when there’s suspicion of the restaurant not following CDC guidelines. 

I first delved into the original Ssong’s Hotdog — a sausage fried in dough similar to a corn dog, but with some crispy flakes that added a satisfying crunch when I bit into it. The artful drizzle of sweet honey mustard over the top of the flakey dough accompanied the hotdog well without overpowering the flavors. 

Next up was the Mozz Spicy Hotdog, which I dressed with spicy mayo. The moment the sauce hit my tongue, I knew I’d gotten a bit over my head by putting the spicy sauce on the already spicy dog. I love spicy food, but this particular combination had my nose running so much that the spare napkins had to double as tissues on top of my already prevalent spring allergies. I’d recommend for any spice lovers, but opt for a lighter sauce when trying out this hot dog.

Lastly, to subside from the lingering pain of my last spicy bites, I went to try out the Mozz Cheese Stick, which was definitely the most fun to devour. The standard crunch was combined with flexible cheese which pulled in strings after every bite. 

About midway through, I dipped the cheese stick in the chile lime sauce, which proved to be an unexpected, yet brilliant, combination with the spicy sweetness balancing out the flavor of the cheese and dough. 

My only qualm with the items I ordered was that  the wooden skewer poked through each dog was a bit of an inconvenience to eat around. 

The Korean hotdogs weren’t too heavily battered, and I didn’t feel as though I were eating a pocket of butter and oil, which happens on occasion when eating fried food, ruining the whole experience. 

The hotdogs weren’t by any means heavy, but I was left feeling full and satisfied afterwards. 

I’ll definitely be making the trip back to Ssong’s Hotdogs, but next time I’ll have to be sure not to go before lacrosse practice because running drills with a stomach full of hotdog and dough is something I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy.