I'm not entirely sure how the conversation got turned onto bagel dogs, but I'm fairly certain this guy brought it up. It kind of just took on a life of its own from there. We heard wondrous stories about this... thing... and how it was served in Olympia and Anchorage, but not Spokane.
After a bit of research, and with help from Matt on Twitter, we finally managed to track it down at the Ultimate Bagel. This filled us with mixed emotions. Ultimate Bagel doesn't exactly bowl us over with excitement, but still... The tales of bagel dogs had been grand enough for us to forget about their less than stellar bagels, and give them one more chance.
And you know... Their bagel dogs weren't too bad. Basic, certainly, and the bagel wasn't very bagel-y, but the end result was still quite good in its charming simplicity.
The sausage came wrapped in bagel-style breading, as we had expected, and when cut in half there was just enough space to stuff in the accompanying condiments. Granted, only having ketchup, mustard, and relish at hand was a bit of a letdown after yarns of all the crazy stuff people have gotten other places, but whatever.
Oh, and the sausage was actually pretty decent. I suppose I had expected something vaguely Oscar Meyer-ish, but this was a step or two above the baseline.
We get the allure of the bagel dog, and we'd really like to see a spot like Saranac or Manito try their hands on it. We think they could makes some pretty spectacular bagel dogs. As for now, a stop by the Ultimate Bagel should at least give you a taste of what the hype is all about.