restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
in
Portland, Oregon
Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...
. Opened by chef Benjamin Artaiz and bartender Jeremy Wilson in 2015, Donnie Vegas specializes in hot dogs and cocktails.
restaurant
A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...
on Alberta Street in
northeast Portland
Northeast Portland is one of the six major divisions of Portland, Oregon.
Northeast Portland contains a diverse collection of neighborhoods. For example, while Irvington and the Alameda Ridge feature some of the oldest and most expensive homes i ...
's
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
neighborhood. Danielle Centoni of ''
Eater Portland
''Eater'' is a food website by Vox Media. It was co-founded by Lockhart Steele and Ben Leventhal in 2005, and originally focused on dining and nightlife in New York City. Eater launched a national site in 2009, and covered nearly 20 cities by 2 ...
'' said the business has the "soul of a dive bar" and wrote, "The decor is fun, but minimal, the food and drink menus small and approachable." Ben Waterhouse of ''
The Oregonian
''The Oregonian'' is a daily newspaper based in Portland, Oregon, United States, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 185 ...
'' said Donnie Vegas offers "premixed cocktails served in pint glasses and hot dogs with unusual toppings in a room decorated with images of old Las Vegas". The 860-square-foot space has a bathroom
mural
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...
by Brandon Gomez depicting
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee (; born Lee Jun-fan, ; November 27, 1940 – July 20, 1973) was a Hong Kong and American martial artist and actor. He was the founder of Jeet Kune Do, a hybrid martial arts philosophy drawing from different combat disciplines that ...
and
Mike Tyson
Michael Gerard Tyson (born June 30, 1966) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005. Nicknamed "Iron Mike" and "Kid Dynamite" in his early career, and later known as "The Baddest Man on the Planet", Tyson is cons ...
fighting. Donnie Vegas also has a back patio and a
vending machine
A vending machine is an automated machine that provides items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or otherwise made. The fir ...
"full of oddities, including vintage paperbacks, 'misfortune cookies' and other sundry amusements".
Menu
Hot dog variations on the menu have included chili cheese, the Old German with
sauerkraut
Sauerkraut (; , "sour cabbage") is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferme ...
mayonnaise
Mayonnaise (; ), colloquially referred to as "mayo" , is a thick, cold, and creamy sauce or dressing commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, composed salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various other sauces, such as tartar ...
, and the Tokyo Dog has cream cheese,
scallions
Scallions (also known as spring onions or green onions) are vegetables derived from various species in the genus ''Allium''. Scallions generally have a milder taste than most onions and their close relatives include garlic, shallot, leek, chi ...
, and togarashi seasoning. The Seoul Dog has kimchi, scallions, and sambal
aioli
Aioli, allioli or aïoli ( or ; Provençal oc, alhòli or ''aiòli'' ; ca, allioli ; es, alioli ) is a cold sauce consisting of an emulsion of garlic and olive oil; it is found in the cuisines of the northwest Mediterranean, from Andalusia ...
, and the Tijuana Dog has cream cheese, pico de gallo,
jalapeño
The jalapeño ( , , ) is a medium-sized chili pepper pod type cultivar of the species ''Capsicum annuum''. A mature jalapeño chili is long and hangs down with a round, firm, smooth flesh of wide. It can have a range of pungency, with Scovi ...
, and cilantro. The
currywurst
Currywurst () is a fast food dish of German origin consisting of steamed, fried sausage, usually pork (german: Bratwurst), typically cut into bite-sized chunks and seasoned with curry ketchup, a sauce based on spiced ketchup or tomato paste to ...
has
curry
A curry is a dish with a sauce seasoned with spices, mainly associated with South Asian cuisine. In southern India, leaves from the curry tree may be included.
There are many varieties of curry. The choice of spices for each dish in tradit ...
Frito pie
Frito pie is a dish popular in the Midwestern, Southeastern, and Southwestern United States, whose basic ingredients are chili, cheese, and corn chips (traditionally Fritos). Additions can include salsa, refried beans, sour cream, onion, rice ...
has chili, chips, and lettuce. The restaurant's beef chili has black,
kidney
The kidneys are two reddish-brown bean-shaped organs found in vertebrates. They are located on the left and right in the retroperitoneal space, and in adult humans are about in length. They receive blood from the paired renal arteries; blood ...
, and
pinto beans
The pinto bean () is a variety of Phaseolus vulgaris, common bean (''Phaseolus vulgaris''). In Spanish language, Spanish they are called , literally "painted bean" (compare pinto horse). It is the most popular bean by crop production in Northern M ...
,
chipotle
A chipotle (, ; ), or ''chilpotle'', is a smoking (food), smoke-dried ripe jalapeño chili pepper used for seasoning. It is a chili used primarily in Mexican cuisine, Mexican and Mexican-inspired cuisines, such as Tex-Mex cuisine, Tex-Mex and So ...
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal product—particularly in diet—and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. An individual who follows the diet or philosophy is known as a vegan. Di ...
hot dogs are also on the menu.
The
cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink. Most commonly, cocktails are either a combination of spirits, or one or more spirits mixed with other ingredients such as tonic water, fruit juice, flavored syrup, or cream. Cocktails vary widely across ...
menu has included a
Moscow Mule
A Moscow mule is a cocktail made with vodka, ginger beer and lime juice, garnished with a slice or wedge of lime. The drink is a type of buck and is sometimes called a vodka buck.
The Moscow mule is popularly served in a copper mug, which ta ...
with Volstead Vodka and Rachel's Ginger Beer, a wine spritzer with Pok Pok Som drinking vinegar, and a White Russian-inspired
caffeinated drink
A caffeinated drink, or caffeinated beverage, is a drink that contains caffeine, a stimulant that is legal practically all over the world.
The most common naturally caffeinated beverages are coffee and tea, which in one form or another (usually ...
called The Dude, which has
Stumptown
Stumptown is a name or nickname that has been applied to several places in the United States (listed alphabetically by state):
* Guerneville, California, was the site of an ancient coast redwood forest, much of which was logged for the rebuild ...
cold brew, Cruzan Black Strap rum, allspice dram, and
condensed milk
Condensed milk is cow's milk from which water has been removed (roughly 60% of it). It is most often found with sugar added, in the form of ''sweetened condensed milk'' (SCM), to the extent that the terms "condensed milk" and "sweetened condens ...
. The Marg-a-Weed-a is a purple cannabidiol-infused prickly pear
slushy
A slushy (also spelled slushie and less commonly slushee) is a type of Drink, beverage made of Flavor (taste), flavored ice and a drink, similar to granitas but with a more liquid composition. It is also commonly called a slush, a slurpee, frozen ...
with cranberry and blood orange soda, and a lime wedge on the glass. Beer, champagne,
Jello shot
A jello shot, colloquially, or Jell-O shot, is a gelatin and alcohol mixture consumed as a shot. The shot is commonly made with vodka or other hard liquors. Shots made with non-branded or unflavored gelatin rather than Jell-O are sometimes known ...
s, and wine in a can are also available.
The restaurant's menu says, "Donnie changes the menu whenever he wants, ya dig." Prior to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, Donnie Vegas specialized in cocktails on tap, according to Janey Wong of the '' Portland Mercury''. The business prioritized wine-based drinks during the pandemic to accommodate Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission regulations.
History
Chef Benjamin Artaiz and bartender Jeremy Wilson's opened Donnie Vegas on March 2, 2015.
Reception
In 2015, Ben Waterhouse of ''The Oregonian'' opined, "The cocktails are simple, well-executed standards, many of them featuring ginger beer, and the hot dogs are the kind you find at the grocery store. It's an odd place, but not a pretentious one." Caroline Pardilla included The Dude in ''
Eater
Eater may refer to:
* Eater (band), an English punk rock group
* "Eater" (''Fear Itself''), a 2008 episode of the NBC television horror anthology ''Fear Itself''
* ''Eater'' (novel), a 2000 science fiction novel by Gregory Benford
* ''Eater'' (w ...
'''s 2015 list of "22 Impressive Cold Brew Cocktails". Donnie Vegas was also included in ''Eater Portland'''s 2015 list of the "Ten Portland Bars with Outdoor Games", as well as Nathan Williams' 2022 list of "17 Places Serving Portland's Finest Hot Dogs".
In 2018, Matthew Singer of ''
Willamette Week
''Willamette Week'' (''WW'') is an alternative weekly newspaper and a website published in Portland, Oregon, United States, since 1974. It features reports on local news, politics, sports, business, and culture.
History
Early history
''Willame ...
'' called Donnie Vegas a "lovingly trashy tribute to Old Vegas". The ''Portland Mercury'''s Janey Wong said of the Marg-a-Weed-a in 2021:
Katherine Chew Hamilton and Nick Campigli included Donnie Vegas in '' Portland Monthlys 2021 list of "7 Must-Try Hot Dog Hotspots". Thom Hilton included the restaurant in ''Eater Portland'''s 2022 list of "14 Spots for Late-Night Dining in Portland". He described the bar as a "funky, Americana space". Amanda Tarlton selected Donnie Vegas to represent Oregon in ''Reader Digest'''s 2022 list of "The Best Hot Dog in Every State".
List of hot dog restaurants
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby union ...