Elevate Costco's Food Court Hot Dog With These 5 Ordering Tips

Few grocery stores offer an iconic bite quite like Costco's hot dog. Paired with a soda, it's a long-standing combo that has been priced at $1.50 since the 1980s. Today, the retailer doesn't even make a profit on the duo — the food is a Costco-engrained offering. Sample the delicious-tasting hot dog, and it's easy to understand the dish's revered status. For under $2, you get a ¼-pound beef hot dog plus a fountain drink, which can also be substituted for a 16.9-ounce water.

Like the best hot dog renditions, Costco keeps it simple, but all components come carefully considered. The franks are made in-house, courtesy of Kirkland Signature. Meanwhile, the buns are sourced from regional suppliers, hence some deviations per location; customers report occasionally spotting sesame buns, for example. Costco also offers a straightforward condiment bar, with ketchup, mustard, relish, and individually packaged chopped onions, letting you dress to personal tastes.

If you're after a classic hot dog, there's more than enough to enjoy — especially considering the price. With some ingenuity, though, you can elevate Costco's hot dog to surprising effect. Whether creatively repurposing condiments or even merging with other food court items, keep a handful of hot dog upgrades in mind.

Many dishes could benefit from a bold dash of seasoning — Costco's hot dog included. Creative food court customers took a page from pizza night, dusting packets of parmesan and red pepper flakes onto the hot dog. In purest form, the hack forgoes any additional condiments, sticking exclusively to the dry spices on bread and sausage.

The packets do offer some bold flavors. Red pepper flakes lend a not-all-consuming dash of heat, accompanied by a gentle touch of earthiness. Meanwhile, the processed parmesan delivers a dose of salty-savory flavors, upping the already meaty hot dog with even more umami. A packet of each seasoning enhances the dish without overwhelming, but you're certainly welcome to keep on sprinkling to your heart's content.

Both red pepper flakes and parmesan aren't at the condiment bar; you need to request the seasoning from a cashier. No need to feel nervous inquiring, though. Shoppers are also known to upgrade Costco's food court pizza with diced onions, meaning the Costco garnish swap often goes both ways.

Feeling limited by the condiment bar? Craft a garnish greater than the sum of its parts. Affectionately called the Costco kimchi hack, this unorthodox topping involves grabbing a soda fountain cup and mixing two cups of onions, one part mustard, three parts ketchup, a smidge of relish, and a couple of red pepper flake packets for good measure. Once stirred, the result does oddly resemble the Korean fermented cabbage, in both flavor and appearance.

"Salty, tangy, crunchy, a little spicy. It's perfect," notes a TikTok user, who garnishes a generous portion of the mixture atop a hot dog. The crunchy-saucy combo lends textural advantages, too. "Everything stays together, the onions don't fall off," cites an Instagram poster. Spread across the hot dog, it's hard to believe the concoction is fully DIY. The ordering tip is an especially colorful way to elevate the dish.

Costco regulars are an inventive bunch — no item on the entire food court menu is off-limits. Enter the pizza dog, where you remove the cheese from a slice of pizza, wrap it around the sausage, then serve it in a bun. Admittedly, assembling this modification isn't for everyone. There's something unusual about sliding a cheese layer off a pizza slice, then twisting it around a hot dog.

Still, this unique hot dog topping draws positive reviews, not to mention inspires a wider breadth of mashups. Some roll the hot dog in cheese, then place it back onto the pizza crust, replacing the bread vessel. Others go a simpler route, folding the sausage into the slice itself — no cheese removal necessary. "It's actually shockingly good," notes an Instagram user regarding such a route. Coming in at only $3.50 for both pizza and hot dog, it's a pairing worth trialing at least once, if not just for the novelty.

A Costco hot dog hack doesn't strictly entail creative condiments — modification can be textural, too. Take the chop dog, which entails removing the sausage, slicing it up into tiny bites, covering them in condiments, then placing them back in the bun. "I am obsessed with this chopped sandwich version of a hot dog," notes an Instagram poster.

This ordering tip requires more prep work than the alternatives. You need a surface to slice on, whether that's a preemptively packed cutting board, a board purchased at Costco, or, more feasibly, a paper plate from the food court. Plastic utensils should work well enough for the knife work, and the frank bites and condiments can be melded in the hot dog's included paper bag. The riff calls for equal parts mustard, ketchup, and relish dressed on the sausage, albeit such a mixture can taste too saucy for some, so adjust condiments to preference.

Shaken (not stirred), the hot dog bits go back into the bun, crafting a rendition that's moist and full-flavored. "Every bite is sweet, tangy, mustardy, and meaty," adds the Instagram user, making this a modification to keep in mind.

As Costco's best food court menu item, hot dog modifications simply don't stop. For a truly expansive rework, hit up the free sample stations, holding onto the bites for hot dog garnish. The uncertainty is thrilling; just think what kind of bites might end up on the dish. On Reddit, a poster showcases striking gold, crafting a rendition with a sample of Wendy's bean chili, kimchi, and mozzarella sticks. "The universe made sure I had no choice but to complete this mission," the Reddit user notes regarding the experience.

Free samples enable hot dog riffs without limitation. Maybe you'll enjoy a hot dog with a shrimp or chicken salad, perhaps a crispy chip, or an unusual cheese. Customers report seeing bacon offered as a sample, and who knows, maybe a pickled pepper will pop up, enabling a rendition of a Chicago-style hot dog. Technically, Costco's free samples are unlimited, meaning you could politely inquire for an extra portion (especially if the store's not busy). Otherwise, all the more fun in layering it all on at once, trying out a hot dog you can't find anywhere else.