Rochester, NYHot Dogs

dogTown on Monroe Avenue builds eighteen hot-dog varieties around a Zweigle's German-style frank on fresh-baked French bread, each named for a dog breed and modeled on a regional American style. CITY Magazine's readers named it winner of both Best Comfort Food and Best Plate in the 2024 and 2025 polls. Order a specialty dog and a plate to go with it.

Schaller's Drive-In opened in 1956 and is now three generations family-run, still taking orders shouted to the grill. Food Network named its white hot New York's best hot dog, describing the white hot as an unsmoked, uncured pork, beef, and veal frank in a natural casing, a Western New York specialty. This is the original lakeshore stand. Order a white hot.

Mark's Texas Hots on Monroe Avenue is a downtown-adjacent hots counter that CITY Magazine's 2012 Rochester Hot Dog Guide singled out as a late-night stop, open 24 hours on weekends. It still keeps that round-the-clock weekend model today. Order a hot with the works, especially after midnight.

Don's Original traces to 1945 as a Sea Breeze stand on Irondequoit's Hot Dog Row, credited with an early move to serving hot dogs off paper plates rather than a cook's bare arm. WROC and 13WHAM covered its 80th anniversary and 2025 reopening under new owners, who kept the recipes intact. It is a genuine Rochester institution on Culver Road. Order a hot with hot sauce and a side of fries.

Bill Gray's is a Rochester-area institution serving hot dogs alongside its well-known cheeseburger. CITY Magazine's 2012 Rochester Hot Dog Guide named the Penfield location specifically as an East Side hots stop. This is that Penfield address. Order a hot dog, and add the cheeseburger if you are hungry.