Skookum Hotdog Diner

Skookum opened in 2021 with a pretty clear mission: make hot dogs feel like something worth travelling for. The owner previously worked in the hamburger world, but after seeing how many burger places already existed, wanted to do something with a little more surprise. The result is an artisan hot dog diner in Nakameguro where the sausage gets treated with the kind of attention usually reserved for much more serious food.

The process involves smoking, drying, frying and boiling, with a lot of trial and error behind each dog. The idea is still easy eating, but the flavour is more layered than the usual bun-plus-sausage-plus-sauce formula. The namesake Skookum dog is the one to get, generously topped with house-made char siu-esque bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato, onion, lettuce, house-made BBQ sauce and tartar sauce. The word ‘skookum’ comes from Chinook Jargon and carries meanings like strong, powerful and impressive – which is a pretty intense name for a hot dog, but in this case, fair.