Ikea's Food Court Has A Hot Dog Item Costco Should Dare To Make

Ikea, the behemoth blue and yellow home goods store, is known for its affordable contemporary assemble-it-yourself furniture, but it's equally well-known for its smorgasbord-style food court that features a lineup of affordable yet tasty Swedish-inspired menu items. Ikea isn't a place for a quick trip and shoppers are bound to work up an appetite while meandering the mega-store, which is exactly why they put in the food court. While going through the food line is easier than navigating the maze-like store, there are Ikea food court rules every shopper should know. Luckily, none involve Ikea's hidden gem on the menu: the double hot dog.

While the one meal you have to order from Ikea's food court menu is arguably the Swedish meatballs, it also offers a hot dog with a sticker price that's even cheaper than Costco's famously cheap $1.50 hot dog meal deal. Ikea's hot dog is just a dollar and its veggie dog and plant dog are even cheaper. Ikea went viral with its over-the-top half-meter long dog, only available in the United Arab Emirates, but stateside, it's making waves with a double dog dare. The double hot dog is just what it sounds like: two hot dog links inside one bun. Available at all U.S.-based in-store Ikea Swedish Bistro locations, the double hot dog also comes with a veggie dog or plant dog option.

Ikea has another menu trick up its sleeve — you can order your hot dog, sometimes called a glizzy, topped in creamy mac and cheese. In contrast, Costco's famed $1.50 dog combo comes topped in your choice of ketchup, mustard, or relish. It doesn't seem like Costco's menu offers the option for a double hot dog meal, but you could order two hot dog combos and either discard one of the buns or ask for both links on one bun, assuming that they both fit. Though Costco's menu features other items like calzones and a hot turkey and provolone sandwich, there's no mac and cheese in sight, so getting it as a hot dog topping isn't an option. Vegans and vegetarians are out of luck at Costco, too, as there are no plant dogs or veggie dogs offered.

Still, when it comes to the heated rivalry of the Costco versus Ikea hot dog wars, one thing can be said about Costco: It's held firm to offering its hot dog and fountain drink special at $1.50 and the price hasn't changed since the 1980s. Another bonus: You can enjoy the taste of Costco's food court hot dogs at any time, because they're made with Kirkland's own all-beef hot dogs. The takeaway is that whether you shop at Ikea or Costco, you won't go hungry.