Batter Up Corndog Shop - San Francisco

Some artists choose oil paints as their medium; others, wood or clay. For the owner of Batter Up, it's the corndog.

Should your only association with deep-fried dogs be the flaccid interpretations sold at most carnivals, Batter Up will be a paradigm-buster.

Choose your sausage (all made by Schwarz Sausage Co.) from a dozen options: standard beef hot dogs, naturally, as well as hot links, bratwurst and chicken-apple ($3 each). Stop there, or defy reason and order the Double Play, your choice of two different types of sausage–or a length of sausage and a baton of cheddar, mozzarella or pepper jack–threaded onto a single skewer, then dunked in batter and fried ($3.75).

The cheese becomes molten, the sausage remains juicy, and the batter, with its slight sweetness and crisp exterior, is the perfect foil for the combination. Also consider the Triple Play, at your own risk.

Julia Child may not have had these corndogs in mind when she urged American diners, "Everything in moderation...including moderation," but the advice applies. After all, if you're going to do it, you may as well do it right.

Batter Up, 888 Geneva Ave. (at Mission St.); batterupsf.blogspot.com