It’s hard to find a good hot dog restaurant as most places treat it as a gimmick or a second thought. I stumbled across Zach’s Shack (it was actually a shack, or trailer, at the time) six years ago; “Dogs with snap,” is their catch phrase. You have had the soft, grocery store hot dogs. Snap is what makes the good hot dogs stand out.
I was having a crappy birthday five years ago. It was just a few months after my divorce. I had made some plans with friends but the event fell apart due to weather and because I don’t announce my birthday too often I don’t think my friends knew it was my birthday. I was left twiddling my thumbs. Then it hit me, “I’ll go to Zach’s Shack and grab a hot dog with cheddar cheese, onions, and tomatoes.” It had been a while but it was just the right thing to treat myself.
Back then it was just a trailer around 40th and Hawthorne. I cruised over there thinking my birthday might be salvaged but then I arrived to find the Shack closed. Are you kidding me? What else could go wrong?
If I hadn’t been so annoyed at how nothing was going right that day and just driven up the street about 10 blocks I would have seen that Zach’s Shack had just found a large and more stable setting. I stumbled across them again about two years ago. For the sake of my own sanity and hope that I still have some luck, we will assume there was not flyers on the old shack saying that they had just moved up the street.
I really like Zach’s and it’s probably best they aren’t too close to my house. They have build-your-own hot dogs and fries. It isn’t a huge place which adds to their ambiance but they have a few TV’s and you can fit a decent group in there. Oh, and a table top video game.
Of course they have drinks; beer on tap and mixed drinks. They are a few doors down from Por Que No? and a few more doors down from Apizza Scholls.
Terence K. – Zack’s Shack has everything it’s supposed to. And it’s GREAT!
Tami I. – I have been a patron at Zachs Shack since it was down the street in ,well a shack. They never disappoint!
Joshua M. – I liked the ambiance of Zach’s.
Megan O. (Seattle) – I love coming here when I’m in Portland. They have a variety of dogs at very reasonable prices.
Hours
Open everyday until 3AM
4611 Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard
Portland, OR 97215-3168
Map It
503-233-4616