One Of The Best Restaurant Chain Frozen Appetizers Rivals Costco's Food Court Hot Dog
You don't need a Costco membership for a hotdog experience that rivals the store's iconic $1.50 combo. According to our ranked list of 8 restaurant chain frozen appetizers, the sausage in Nathan's Famous Coney Island Pretzel Dogs is particularly reminiscent of the all-beef star of the Costco food court. Our reviewer found the Nathan's beef franks to be "juicy and extra savory." And you can heat them up right out of your freezer. But these aren't just frozen frankfurters in icy buns. The Coney Island Pretzel Dogs instead appear to be full sized (beef) pigs in a blanket.
The packaging states the beef hot dogs are wrapped in pretzel dough, though our reviewer found the casing to be "more like a cross between a Pillsbury crescent and a dinner roll," which might even be better than how an actual pretzel casing would have gone down. However, here's where the similarity between this dog and the ones at Costco food court ends, as it's really only the taste of the frank that's similar.
Reviews question how much pretzel is actually in the pretzel dogs
On Nathan's Famous' official website, reviews of the frozen pretzel dogs are mostly positive. But they're not universally beloved, with plenty who agree that the pretzel part of the dog isn't very pretzel-y. One unhappy customer wrote, "These wrappings are like rubber, taste nothing like a pretzel." Another noted the distinctly non-pretzel, white color, and several dissatisfied commenters wished for a better product for the price.
However, some positive reviews note that heating the pretzel dogs up in the oven produces far superior results than the microwave. But if you're already going to the trouble of preheating an oven, maybe leave the pretzel dogs in the freezer, and pull out some phyllo dough instead. It gives pigs-in-a-blanket a flaky, buttery upgrade, and you can use whichever brand of frankfurter is your favorite. If you need help deciding, take a look at our list of 13 grocery store hot dog brands, ranked worst to best. And no, Nathan's isn't at the top.