There was a time when you couldn’t walk more than a block in any direction in downtown Birmingham without passing a hot dog stand.

But come to think of it, we never “passed” one. We always had to stop.

Many of those old places, as we all know, are long gone.

Jimmy’s Hot Dogs. Tony’s Terrific Hot Dogs. And, of course, Pete’s Famous Hot Dogs, where the gruff but loveable Constantine “Gus” Koutroulakis ruled as Birmingham’s hot dog king for more than 60 years until he died in 2011.

Scott’s Koneys, which closed just last month when owner Scott Green hung up his apron after nearly a half-century in business, is a more recent casualty.

But the Birmingham hot dog tradition lives on, preserved at places like Sneaky Pete’s, which began in the Magic City in 1966 and now has franchise locations statewide; at Sol’s Hot Dogs in Norwood, which has been around since 1970 and has its own Birmingham Hot Dog Wall of Fame inside the shop; and at The Standard in the Pizitz Food Hall, a relative newcomer that serves its own Birmingham Dog with beef sauce, sauerkraut and onion.

And even though another old favorite, Lyric Hot Dogs & Grill, closed in 2013 to make way for the restoration of the Lyric Theatre, the eponymous Lyric Hot Dog is still available at The Collins Bar, which is owned by Andrew Collins, who, for more than 40 years, ran the hot dog joint his father started in 1957.

So, in celebration of the Birmingham hot dog and as part of our ongoing summer project to find the best eats in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile and across Alabama, we’ve put together this (very subjective) list of our Top 5 hot dog places in the Birmingham metro area.

MORE: Birmingham’s best burgers: Our Top 5

5. Pop’s Neighborhood Grill

1207 20th St. South, Birmingham. popsneighborhoodgrill.com.

Heather Guarino grew up working alongside her father, Sammy Guarino, at his Sammy’s Old Fashion Hot Dogs shops on Green Springs Highway and near Eastwood Mall. “I knew what I wanted to do when I was 8 years old,” she says. “I grew up in it, and I just wanted to keep the hot dog dream going.” In 2010, she did just that, opening a place of her own in Birmingham’s Five Points South and naming it Pop’s Neighborhood Grill in honor of her father, who still helps her with food deliveries. “It’s hard to keep him still,” she says. Along with burgers, sandwiches and salads, the Pop’s menu features chili dogs, slaw dogs and a Chicago dog, as well as the signature Pop’s Famous Dog with mustard, onions, kraut and a house-made hot dog sauce that Heather’s pop started making in 1978. The Pop’s Special Dog (above) comes with everything that’s on the Famous Dog and piles on hot beef. We recommend one of each.

4. Paramount

200 20th St. North, Birmingham. paramountbirmingham.com.

We typically go to Paramount for The Standard cheeseburger or The Three Hander sandwich, but we’ve learned not to sleep on those dogs. Paramount offers something different than your traditional mustard-kraut-onions-sauce Birmingham hot dog — including one with blue cheese and caramelized onions and another with Swiss and sauteed mushrooms. Our new favorite is The Southern, a beast of a dog that features a four-ounce, all-natural Niman Ranch frank that’s sliced down the middle and served with a couple of strips of bacon, pimento cheese, fried pickles, lettuce, tomato and ranch dressing on a hoagie-style bun. You won’t need but just one, but we do recommend you pair it with a side of crispy onion rings.

3. Sam’s Super Samwiches

1830 29th Ave. South, Suite 155, Homewood. samssupersamwiches.com.

The late, legendary Sammy Graphos started selling hot dogs in his cozy, little hole-in-the-wall shop on 18th Street South in downtown Homewood in the early 1970s. Now, his son, Ted Graphos — with the help of Sammy’s widow, Sue — carries on the Graphos family tradition at the new, more spacious location of Sam’s Super Samwiches just around the corner in Homewood’s SoHo Square. Our go-to is a couple of grilled dogs with mustard, diced onions, kraut and Sammy’s secret sauce. There’s a little bit of Birmingham hot dog history in every bite.

RELATED: Remembering Homewood hot dog king Sammy Graphos

2. Tony’s Hot Dogs

1922 Montgomery Hwy South, Pelham. www.facebook.com/Tonys1922.

Now in its 30th year in business, Tony’s Hot Dogs in Pelham’s Southgate Shopping Center has been serving classic Birmingham dogs south of town since 1993. The signature Tony’s Hot Dog is a traditional grilled dog with mustard, onions, kraut and sauce, and the Beef Sauce Dog adds a chunky meat sauce to the mix. If you want to venture out and try something different, Tony’s also offers a taco dog, a Chicago dog, a chili dog, a slaw dog and the “everything in the house” Junk Yard Dog. And by all means, order a side of fries, which may be the crispiest crinkle-cut fries we’ve ever tasted.

1. Gus’s Hot Dogs

1915 Fourth Ave. North, Birmingham. https://gusshotdogs.com.

It doesn’t get any more Birmingham than what we lovingly call the “Birmingham Trifecta” – a couple of Gus’s special dogs, all the way, with a cold Grapico and a bag of Golden Flake chips. It is the essential Birmingham lunch. The last of the old-school downtown hot dog joints, Gus’s Hot Dogs has been around since Greek immigrant Gus Alexander opened shop on Fourth Avenue North in 1947. Now, Lee Pantazis, who bought Gus’s from longtime proprietor George Nasiakos in 2017, continues that legacy in the same building where it began. Upon handing over the keys to the shop, Nasiakos also entrusted Pantazis with Gus’s distinctive hot dog sauce — a tart, sweet and spicy concoction that originated with Gus Alexander and that Nasiakos later tweaked and made his own. There are more than 75 years of secrets in that sauce. “Mr. George sat and watched me like a hawk while I made it by myself the first time,” Pantazis said not long after he bought Gus’s. “Did not say a word. And that’s one of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten. Because I know, as a Greek man, not complaining about it is the same as praising it.”

RELATED: Preserving a Birmingham hot dog tradition at Gus’s downtown

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