There is one type of development that nearly vanished in the United States, despite being a vital component of urban vitality. It’s the idea of live-work space, often two-story structures in which a small business owner can live upstairs and run a shop or office below. As mixed use has made a slow comeback in recent decades, the Artisan Village condominiums in downtown Phoenix embody the possibility of live-work space, and two gentlemen who are partners in both business and life now operate RoRo Dogs, a hot dog shop, below their dwelling on Roosevelt Row.
RoRo Dogs takes its name from a trendy name for a neighborhood at the north end of Downtown that has been transformed from a scrappy arts district to a dining destination over the past decade. The colorful storefront, with umbrellas, awnings, and metal outdoor furniture the same color as the mustard that one might put on the restaurant’s hot dogs, is found five blocks east of Roosevelt/Central station on the B Line. Bike racks can be found along Fifth Street, both north and south of Roosevelt. The only seating is outdoors lining the Roosevelt sidewalk.
Inside, there’s a counter where orders are placed. The menu is overhead, but make sure to look down to enjoy Jesse Perry’s colorful mural of a cityscape full of anthropomorphic hot dogs. It’s at a child’s eye level, and often younger customers are the first to notice the bicycling sausages painted with acrylics while their parents order real all-beef ones from Schreiner’s. That local purveyor also provides the andouille sausages that are the base of roughly half of RoRo Dogs’ creations. A vegan alternative is found in Lightlife Smart Dogs, a soy protein isolate product.
The menu comprises eight different signature “dogs,” with specifically chosen hot dogs, andouille, or a plant-based analog served in a bun (plain, poppy, or onion) with inventive arrays of toppings that are generously applied, often resulting in a meal that is better suited to a knife and fork than a being consumed by hand. Of course, it’s always possible to substitute one type of bun or sausage for another while otherwise staying true to the restaurateurs’ vision. It’s equally acceptable to create a customized item with any choice of sausage, toppings, and bun.
The American is straightforward with ketchup, mustard, onion, and melted cheddar. The Chicago uses toppings associated with that city: tomato, pickle, sport peppers, celery salt, onions, and mustard. One local expert on Chicago food traditions has observed that the application of mustard as a drizzle on top defies the usual sequence in which ingredients are added, so don’t expect traditionalism here. Nevertheless, this dog stands out with a tangy, slightly spicy array of ingredients in an artful presentation. The bun is of course poppy seed.
The Picnic is fun and a bit messy with baked beans, coleslaw, and an entire bag of barbecue potato chips crushed on top of it. The chili cheese uses andouille instead of a hot dog (although substitutions are always allowed) and relies on crumbled Fritos as its crunchy layer. The Sonoran also has andouille as its base and adds the usual array of Mexican-American ingredients while also departing from tradition by presenting the bacon alongside the sausage rather than wrapped around it. The Flamer goes all out with jalapeños and Flamin Hot Cheetos.
The RoRo Vegan is the sole signature dog centered around a plant-based alternative, The Smart Dog within the bun recreates the form and much of the taste of a traditional hot dog but with its soft texture, it does not have the classic snap. The toppings such as hummus dusted with smoked paprika can easily be applied to either of the meat sausages, though. In addition, any array of hot dog toppings can be served over a splayed bag of chips for a meal with no sausage at all. Toppings like chili, baked beans, and coleslaw are also available as sides.
RoRo Dogs’ approach to dessert is soft serve, offered in vanilla, chocolate, and of course a twist of the two. A small cone is one option, but there are also root beer floats and several creative sundaes with toppings such as walnuts, vanilla wafer, Oreos, and chocolate sauce. Drinks are limited to canned sodas and bottled water, but another option is to walk the hot dog half a block to Greenwood Brewing to enjoy some beer with it. Thanks to mixed use development and places like RoRo Dogs, it’s now possible to eat live, work, and eat hot dogs on the same block.
610 E. Roosevelt St., Phoenix AZ 85004
https://rorodogs.com
PHX Rail Food 