“If a man is hungry and can’t get to a fancy French restaurant, he’ll go to a hot dog stand.”
— Joan Fontaine
Hangtown Hot Dogs
It has been nearly a year since Tymphani Schwall took over Hangtown Hot Dogs, which is located at 374 Main St. in Placerville. When interviewed last March, she said, “I have lived in Shingle Springs for seven and a half years, and I always enjoyed coming to Placerville to wander in and out of the shops, especially Placerville Hardware, where I usually ended up. I really love the town and the people. I work in office management, but there are no jobs available locally,” she continued, “so I went looking to buy myself a job. I am a real people person and didn’t want to have to commute to Sacramento for work.”
Nine months later she is still there, still smiling her wonderful smile, and doing well. “The first couple of months were a real struggle,” she said earlier this week. “I get a lot of support from the other merchants and that really helps.
“I made some changes, like switching to Steven’s for my old fashioned dog, but I still have the Nathan’s, which are gluten free, Hebrew Nationals and others.
“I have added some new dogs to my list of speciality dogs, like the Blue Dog, made with blue cheese, hot wing sauce and bacon. I also have a new, unnamed dog made with strawberry jam and Swiss cheese. It is sort of a variation on the ‘Monte Cristo.’ All my speciality dogs come with an old fashioned dog, but I can make them with any of my other sausages.
“For the winter I have also added chili and clam chowder in a bread bowl. Before doing it, I looked around Main Street to see if anyone else was using a bread bowl and I didn’t see any. We try to support each other and I didn’t want to step on anyone else’s toes.
“I also have churros for dessert. They are so big I have to cut them in two to fit in my oven,” she said.
Hangtown Hot Dogs serves a large list of dogs, varying from the teenie beef weenie to a one-third pound monster dog. You can also get a veggie or turkey dog, corn dog, bratwurst, hot link or Polish sausage and, if you are up to it, a habanero hot link. The specialty dogs, of which there are more than a dozen, vary from the America River with barbecue sauce, American cheese, jalapeños, tomato, onion, seasoning salt and bacon, to the Hangtown with mustard, mayo, onion, bacon, cheese, tomato and dill chips and the Reuben, with pastrami, Swiss cheese, brown mustard, 1000 island dressing, sauerkraut and a dill pickle spear.
Not up for a dog? She can also fix you up with a tamale, pizza, nachos (regular and deluxe), chili-cheese Fritos or nachos, chili, giant pretzels or a Reuben sandwich with macaroni or potato salad.
Oh, there is also another new item on the menu, sweet potato fries. “Those are getting really popular,” said Schwall.
To accompany your meal she serves fountain soda, hot cocoa and fresh brewed ice tea, along with a selection of chips and more.
Hangtown Hot Dogs is open from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m., most days, closing at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday and Thursday, “To get some time off,” Schwall said. On Sunday the hours are from noon until 4 p.m.
For more information call 530-626-6546.
Looking for a unique gift, she also sells gift certificates.