Natedogs

These were some tasty dogs. It takes a little work to raise the hot dog up a notch, but Nate seems to do it.
Served with a spicy relish and beer mustard. More dog than bun. So good I had to go back for 2 more.

I really really like this stand. I feel like Nate is out and about in places I go less frequently than other trucks, so when I see it, it’s always a priority. I love the no-​ketchup rule, and he definitely backs it up by delivering condiments that are so much better than the old standard. For one, the bacon jam is sweet and salty and makes any simple hot dog worth $ 5, no question about it. My absolute favorite though is so simple. Caramelized onions and spiced honey mustard. It’s sweet and tangy and feels quite light. Not only is it cheaper to eat at Natedogs than other food trucks, the flavors are consistently great. If you haven’t had the opportunity to yet, I would highly recommend giving these dogs a try!

I have not tried all of the good hot dogs in the cities, but I have a hard time believing that there is better than this.
First off, the ever changing beer mustards are always fun. I especially enjoy it when Nate plans ahead before slingin’ dogs at one of the many Nordeast taprooms, and uses one of their beers. The Surly Bender mustard seems to be a regular, and alwayd great. But, the best I have had yet was the Lift Bridge Minnesota Tan Mustard. This guy does not have ketchup, and I applaud the man for not allowing his dogs to be ruined by that horrid stuff. Now, the hot dog themselves are the best I have had yet, perfectly spiced high quality meat with that great snap of the casing.
Beyond the wonderful food, Nate himself is one of the nicest people you will meet. If he is slow, he is happy to talk your ear off and tell you all about his daughters. He seems proud of what he is doing, and worked hard to get it there.

Natedogs, where have you been all of my life! Finally, a hot dog made just for the ethical pescatarian in all of us! (Just me? Really?)
I had never heard of ol’ Natedogs until he planted himself outside of the Minneapolis Craft’za at the Soap Factory. Thanks to their posting, touting their family-​farmed, hormone free, all-​natural heritage pork wieners and brats, I was all ’bout it, ’bout it. Nate did NOT disappoint. All sorts of exciting accoutrements that you would never expect to accompany a dog… and one you won’t find that you WOULD expect: ketchup. Ol’ Nate won’t have it. And I respect him for it.
Nate himself was SUPER friendly. He works hard and fast and always wears a smile. Just seemed like a real nice guy.
I don’t work downtown, so I’m unfamiliar with the food truck or its schedule. Additionally, it’s difficult to discern from Nate’s website. Assumedly, ol’ Nate has a Twitter account and updates his schedule there. But what about those of us that are realistic enough about our lives to appreciate that no one cares? What about us, Nate?
EVERYONE should check this place out. It’s ethical, it’s friendly, it’s local… and it’s a HOT DOG, for cryin’ out loud!

On Tuesdays, a variety food trucks have been invited to stop by our large corporate campus in the SE ‘burbs over the lunch hour.
Today they were accompanied by Natedogs. I nearly missed him in the shadow of two much larger vehicles. As I strolled by, a pair of customers who had each taken a bite of their respective purchases loudly pronounced them the best dogs they’d ever had and virtually demanded that I step up and place an order. Shills or not they steered me right.
Count me now among his many fans. I had the eponymous Natedog ($ 3) with Carolina Slaw and Honey Spiced Mustard, very good! And a «Bacon Explosion» Dog with Bacon Jam ($ 1 extra), caramelized onions and Surly Bender Mustard, yeah baby!
Nate takes obvious pride in his craft. He projects a friendly yet professional air. He also wields his squeeze bottles of mustard (NO ketchup!) with practiced aplomb. Good, cheap eats! Four stars for sure. But Nate’s great vibes impel me to give him five.

Nate (if that’s his real name) is super friendly; sources locally, clearly cares about his product, gets excited when talking about encased meats and makes his own condiments, one of which features surly beer. What’s not to love about that? With all the rockstars of mobile munching we have here in MSP (one reason we rock the culinary faces off other cities) Nate probably gets overlooked a bit. At least for me the only time I really want encased meats is while I’m sitting at home with friends consuming alcoholic libations. Not something I would think of eating while at work. Dogs and brauts just seem wrong without a brew. Thank goodness he was at the Loring Park Art Fair this weekend. I ordered a braut. It didn’t really look like one but it tasted like one and the Surly grain mustard and actual caramelized onions (cuz sometimes you get «caramelized onions» and they are just sauteed into softness) he plopped on there, made me happy. It was a top 5 encased meat on bun experience for me. That mustard is so good you could cover a ceramic plate with it and I might eat the plate.
The only complaint is the size of the braut. Either they are really thin, unlike any braut I’ve ever had, or he gave me a weenie. IT was still delish don’t get me wrong but I’m used to brauts being bigger, which aside from what goes into it, is one of the reasons I like them better. It didn’t taste like any braut I’ve had either. Again it was delicious either way.

For while weeks now, I have been hearing great things about Natedogs. I love a good hot dog, but with my work schedule I rarely get the opportunity to hit any of the food trucks or hot dog stands around Saint Paul. So I was excited when I found out Natedogs would be in Saint Paul on Friday.
The first thing you notice as you approach Nate and his cart is that this guy is not playing around. He is completely committed to his product and brand. This isn’t some greasy cart with a non-​descript dude sitting behind it. Natedogs has a look, from the all orange cart to the necktie on Nate you know he takes his marketing seriously.
But what does marketing mean? There are plenty of places that market an inferior product well and make a killing. Cupcake in Minneapolis is a prime example. There are far better cupcakes in the Twin Cities but people love Cupcake because someone told them they should.
I guess what I’m saying is the proof is in the pudding. Let me tell you readers, the puddin’ at Natedogs is tasty!
Just to clarify, he doesn’t actually sell pudding.
Knowing that Nate uses a high quality, locally– produced wiener, I asked him to make me two dogs however he wanted. On the first he gave me some sauteed onion and his «signature» Honey Spiced Mustard, and on the second he gave me some Carolina Slaw and Black Pepper Mustard.
The dog was great. I took a little nibble of the end to try the dog on its own and I loved the flavor. They ain’t no Oscar Meyers’, and Nate knows how to compliment these quality wieners. Onions are always good, but I was skeptical about the honey mustard. I have never liked honey mustard! I love mustard for the spice, so I’ve never understood adding sweet. Nate may have converted me. His mustard still had some spice and played off the dog and onions nicely. Pleasantly surprised.
I knew I would like the second dog because I love brown mustards, slaw, and anything pickled. It did not disappoint. Really tasty. The black pepper mustard was phenomenal! I want to put it on everything.
There was not one thing that disappointed me about Natedogs. The food was excellent, the price was right, and Nate was extremely friendly. Well done, sir!

If you’re like me you may be skeptical as to how one could be in love with a hot dog food cart. Let me try to explain.
First, let’s start with the hot dogs themselves. They are from pasture raised pigs without all the nasty antibiotics pumped into them. They have natural casing as someone mentioned below which induces that «snap» where juices go squirting into someones eye standing next to you; just great. They’re spiced just right for that great old fashioned sweet and slightly smoky taste. It’s difficult to describe hot dog flavor, I really don’t know what else to say other than they’re stellar.
Second. The hot dogs are great, just covered that, but what really makes Natedogs are the homemade condiments Nate himself keeps on the ready in his holster. If you like Heinz ketchup, especially the HFCS kind, why don’t you just stick to the gas station roller dogs of death. But, if you appreciate finely concocted mustard, sweet or spicy or smoky or maybe you like the idea of beer mustard? Then this food cart is for you.
Lastly, what could not be left off is the fact that you’ll have one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet serving up one of these fantastic wieners. Nate exudes calmness and patience and even though he’ll thank you for your patronage he doesn’t really need to because he gives off these vibes of gratitude and just by standing within 10 ft of him you’ll feel them. You may even spot him donating his dogs to try and raise money for a charity or to help a community that was devastated by a tornado. Wherever you see that bright orange cart make sure and stop by, it’ll make your day.

With all the other food trucks, a hot dog vendor can be overlooked. However Nate shouldn’t be. This guy is very cool and a hell of a cook. Nate makes his own toppings. The slaw, the onions, even the different mustards. He had a beer mustard that was a little over powering as well as an unbelievable honey mustard. For 7.50, I had one brat, one dog, and a bag of chips (fusion flavored… tasty). Both the brat and the dog weren’t as think as I’d like but they filled the bun so I never got a bite of just bread. From a quantity stand point, I bet you get more food here for 7.50 than any of the other food trucks/​carts and it is super fresh tasting with no wait.
As some of the other comments discussed, Nate is very friendly and either will make it your way or his if you ask. I typically like some of the weirder stuff (i.e. tongue sandwich…) but this is darn good food!

Nice hot dog stand. I like that they use quality meats. The dog was pretty good. Worth getting if they’re parked nearby.

I LOVE NATEDOGS! They are awesome. Tasty, with the natural casing, that gives you the nice snap. Nate makes his own condiments, including a delicious mustard made with Surly beer! The Brat Dog is equally great, and I love that I can get the brat taste in a hot dog size, and the carmelized onions that go on it, rather than a sauerkraut is just delicious! When given the chance, go for a Natedog, you won’t regret it. Even my wife, who doesn’t like hot dogs, loves Natedogs!