O’Betty’s Red Hot Dogs and Sausages, Athens
Posted by CMH Gourmand on November 11, 2009
O’Betty’s Red Hot Dogs and Sausages
15 West State Street
Athens, OH
740 589 6111
This is somewhat recycled content but I just returned from two days in the Athens area and I wanted to make sure I gave O’Betty’s its due. So here we go. Of the many things that connect my soul to Athens county, the strongest is a hot dog shop. Well, not just any hot dog shop – the best ever, anywhere. O’Betty’s won the dining hearts of Athens since it opened in 2003. It has been voted best Hot Dog most years since 2004. The hots dogs names, decor and vibe are inspired by burlesque babes from the first half of the 20th century.
The hot dogs are 5 Star all beef dogs with a natural casing (one of the best commercially available hot dogs in the country). There are twelve “varietease” of dogs including a create your own style and tofu dog for vegetarians. If you want a Chicago style dog – go with the Salome – “Dance of the 7 Veils” – sport peppers, sweet relish, pickle spear, diced tomatoes, diced onion, Stadium Mustard, and celery seed. Many kinds of toppings are available as well as salsas from Casa Nueva, baked beans, mushrooms, and on occasion, homemade corn relish and pepperjack cheese. When possible all topping are locally produced and sourced.
The dine in area accommodates about 16 people. On a Friday or Saturday night expect long lines of college students outside O’Betty’s waiting for their chance to get the perfect hangover food.
Another bonus of O’Betty’s – the in-house Hot Dog History Museum / Weiner Hall of Fame. The items in the collection were amassed by Bob Satmary and are continually added to by customers.
Owners Bob Satmary and Ryan Stolz enjoy what they do and clearly put service and fun first for the business. They are always chatting it up with their friends/customers. And they like to mix things up as well. In the winter – expect some tasty soups to keep warm and all year long expect special hot dog combos to keep things hopping (last one I experienced was a Mango BBQ sauce dog with bacon – yum!). And in August of each year, Bob and Ryan celebrate all things hot dog culminating in a hot dog eating contest which I wrote about earlier this year. If you are very lucky, during Christmas week, you may have an opportunity to see the display of 3D Jesus items from the 50’s in the back room.
CMH Gourmand - Eating in Columbus & Ohio 
Jared R. said
O’Betty’s has dogs and buns that are not only vegetarian, they are vegan. I learned this when I spotted a vegan friend of mine coming out of O’Betty’s when I was in grad school. I thought I had busted him, but he filled me in on the details.
VJ said
Drove from New England, had to have the ‘Tempest’ all natural beef dog with Casa Nueva habenera salsa, jalapeño peppers, cheese…Great! You have to have the fries & try the garlic fries with wasabi dipping sauce WOW!!