Kasper’s Hot Dogs

Spring for some cottdamn AC! Not necessarily for the customers, for the workers. Dude, you have women over 70 years old working at each and every location. Take care of these gems. What the hell? It’s your shtick to hire these ladies. Take care of them. Dogs and chili stays on point though. #OrangeFizzForever

I went Pleasant Hill store. I never go again there. The old lady there was rude and talking behind my back. No wonder it’s parking lot is always almost empty.

Worst hot dogs ever. Chili/​cheese. Chili had NO flavor. Dog was had no flavor either. Oscar Meyer hot dogs have more flavor.
Polish/​kraut was much better. I might go back for that alone. Being as this was my first time, I don’t think I’ll go back.

I have been eating here for over 20 years and is still the best hot dog ever

I have been going to kaspers locations throughout the bay area for years, the past two times I’ve stopped at this one… The first visit they were out of ketchup and the lady was rather rude. I felt rushed like she just wanted us to go away. And honestly theres a freaking Safeway in the same shopping center??? Can’t run your lazy ass to the store. And then last night I stopped by and the lady was helping a customer in front of us, they apparently close at 8 and it was barely 7, she mentioned she only had 2 hot dogs left and wasn’t going to cook anymore and that she was out of cheese. WTF. IF YOU CANT KEEP ITEMS IN STOCK CRUCIAL TO BUSINESS WHY ARE YOU OPEN? My issue is the ladies that work here and their poor attitude along with them always running low on condiments and even hot dogs. I’d understand once, but 2 times within the same week. Come on. I won’t be back and I reccomens steering clear and going to the Hesperian location or the best one in Castro valley.

Went to the Kasper’s in Castro Valley, long line, one person working, no tomato’s or onions cut ready to go, lady behind the counter chatting up the customers, after 5 minutes to make 3 dogs I left to go to the Kasper’s in San Leandro on Lewelling. First bad sign, both doors open with the lady behind the counters other half standing in the doorway smoking, all the smoke blowing into the place, I tell the lady that I was just at another location and had to wait too long so I came over here, I ordered 4 Kasper dogs, get my order and head to work, unwrap the dogs to eat, all four dogs have rock hard buns, look at the dogs and all four are a shade of dark brown on each end, not worth the $ 3.39 per dog, very disappointed, this use to be a nice place that I always visited when I lived in San Lorenzo, seriously need to pick your game up Kasper’s, going to be a while before I visit again.

I love the hotdogs and stopped by for lunch at this location for the first time, after I saw only grandma doing the one-​man show– making hot dogs, collect money and rinsed her fingers for 2 seconds then continues making hot dogs … Ewwww… I didn’t eat my two hotdogs, throw them out and went to C street in Hayward instead.

Haven’t been here in years, but visited earlier this week. Hot dog seemed different. good but not great. Bun was hard and cold, not warmed in the steamer as normal. What’s the worse, the only one woman working here, older lady, cashiers, handles money and then makes your food. Oh wait she «washed» her hands first, however that washing consisted of running her hands under water, NO soap for 5 seconds maximum then drying her hands on an old dirty looking towel that she also wiped the counter with.

Great Service
I disagree with some of the other reviews.
This place is underrated.
As I mention in one of my photo captions, the other San Leandro location is better, but not by much (the other location on Hesperian Blvd. is evidently good too).
I’ve had better hot dogs from Kasper’s.
Still, the one I had on Saturday was very good.
I was joined by my family.
I made sure that my wife stuck around by asking her if she wanted some nachos (in the past, she never gave Kasper’s a chance– she probably still feels that all of the locations look ghetto).
Both employees were female. I’m going to refer to one of them as «Grandma.»
I felt bad because I underestimated «Grandma» (she prepared the order, and the other woman served as the cashier).
She was quicker and more on the ball than I expected (I actually directed a question to the other woman, but «Grandma» answered it without blinking an eye).
I didn’t get a receipt, but our total was $ 11.85.
Our order was ready after about 2 minutes.
I don’t like standing around, and so I always feel awkward when I go to Kasper’s (the layout plays a role– at all locations, you’re very close to the employees while waiting), but only twice in over 20 years have I really encountered a slow employee.
My son Joshua was in his stroller.
A few minutes after we began eating, «Grandma» came over and stared at him (this was just for a moment).
She was impressed at how quiet he was (he was a hit in general).
«You’re such a nice boy.»
I’m truly glad that Joshua didn’t spit up on her, spin his head around like Linda Blair, or move things with his mind.
(I think the pieces of my hot dog bun that I fed him kept the demons away.)
The napkins here are cheap, and I had to ask for some more.
The ambiance is nice, and the seating capacity here is 36 (this is solid for a Kasper’s).
The restaurant is kept clean, and I enjoyed the songs that were playing inside.
Free copies of a local newspaper are in the back for customers who can read (I don’t even assume that the people who read my reviews can).
Note: All prices include tax.
A good number of drinks are served here (ex: Orange Fizz– I’m going to get this next time; Ice Tea; Lemonade; Tea; Hot Chocolate; Coffee; Sprite; Dr. Pepper; Barq’s Root Beer).
Soft Drinks: Small: $ 1.63; Medium: $ 1.74; Large: $ 1.85.
:
Tamale (Beef or Chicken): $ 4.04.
The tamales are clearly pretty big.
I was going to order one, but we also ate somewhere else for lunch.
Some Other Prices:
Chips (the selection here is decent): $ 1.08.
Cookies are also sold here.
Salad: $ 2.17.
Nachos: $ 2.17.
Kaspers Hot Dog: $ 3.38.
Chicken-​Dog: $ 3.49.
Pickle-​Dog: $ 3.81.
Cheese-​Dog: $ 4.03.
Nacho-​Dog: $ 4.03.
:
Nacho Platter ($ 4.02): ⁸⁄₁₀.
We received 2 forks for the nachos (I didn’t need one, but I did help myself to some chips– the chips used here are solid in terms of size and strength).
My wife didn’t want peppers, but she did get beans and onions.
She liked her food (she briefly commented on the beans being good) and pretty much finished everything.
I liked the chips I had overall, but the cheese used here is rather generic.
:
Kaspers Qtr Lb ($ 4.14): 8.5÷10.
My hot dog was big and tasty, just not the best I’ve ever had (the «snap» synonymous with Kasper’s hot dogs was missing– still, I briefly regretted not ordering 2 hot dogs).
As you can tell, I received a good amount of mayo and ketchup.
Our food wasn’t awesome, but it was good.
In addition, everyone who came in, including us, was treated like family.
Kudos to the 2 employees.
«Grandma»:
“Goodbye, ladies, you have a nice day.”

Not bad, but seriously Costco $ 1.50 Hot Dogs are better by comparison. Kasper’s has the toppings… which is why many rave about this place. Often, toppings mask not too good franks. Just like a good steak… adding A1 and BBQ sauce absolutely ruins the true flavor of the meat.
I’d rather have a few simple toppings on a exceptional hot dog, than a ton of MSG laden sauce and toppings. To each his own!

Love going to a place with a lot of history and Kaspers is just it. Stumbled in here on a day of running errands and ordered myself a chili cheese dog.
The four star rating is not only for the food but for the lady serving the hot dogs. When looking at her, I can picture her back to the mad men days and it made me picture her in the 1960s wearing dresses and make up everyday. She striked a conversation about her recent trip to cache creek with her son while making the hot dog and made the time breeze by.

I have been eating Kasper dogs since I was a teenager. I was feeling a little nostalgic. So I jumped into the Speedster Whip and rolled to Kaspers. I hadn’t had a Cheese Dog with the Works in months. I have a ton of good memories tied to Kasper Dogs. So I stashed the Whip in the Parking lot. And Rolled in to Kaspers.
I rolled up to the Counter and ordered 2 Kasper Dogs with the Works and Cheddar Cheese and a Large Orange Fizz. The Counter Girl whipped them up in minutes and my large Orange Fizz. I paid Cash and grabbed a table. As I was eating my Dogs and Sipping on my Fizz, It took me down memory lane. Yummy style.
I guess Ill always have a soft spot for a Good Dog and a Orange Fizz.

Kasper’s/Casper’s are just classic. The best one in my humble opinion is the Casper’s in Hayward on C St. But this one is good too. I love the cheese dog and the tamale. This place is clean and usually not too busy so you can get your grub on quickly when there is a line it kind of sucks because its usually only one person working. Best Hot dogs in the Bay area hands down.

Place is dead, horrible hotdogs, enough said.
Never coming back.

I love Kasper’s and this was very disipointing every thing was stale and gross

Although it’s not the best hot dogs you’ve ever tasted, you’ve gotta give it up for them mom n pop shops for trying to stay afloat in today’s corporate run world.
I got a chili cheese hot dog as well as a tamale. The chili cheese dog was pretty average, regular sized hot dog, with chili and shredded cheese. It was yummy, but nothing I couldn’t have made at home. The tamale, like the hot dog was also just mediocre.
Like the 3 stars say: this place was A-​OK.

The sign in the window caught my eye because I hardly ever see hot dogs and tamales served at the same place. Naturally when I ordered I had to get one of each. It was unfortunate that both were mediocre, but places that offer such a wide spectrum of cuisine won’t be able to do everything great.
The place looks like it hasn’t changed since the 70s, but not a retro 70s rather built in the 70s to look like its from the 60s. The lady working there is very nice, but I can’t help but think of the old lady in «Wedding Singer» and if I hold my hands out, she’d put meatballs in them.
The hot dog was juicy, but not very plump, so when you bite into them, you don’t have that piercing feeling on your teeth when you bite through the skin. That piercing feeling helps generate the anticipation of flavor.
They have two types of tamales, chicken and pork. When I asked them which one is better, the response I got was, «they both taste the same,» that wasn’t a good sign. I went with the chicken because if they tastes the same, I might as well have the «healthier» one, but once it was doused with cheese, it made no difference. I wasn’t able to taste the meat from the cheese from the corn.
They do have a variety of dogs and Kasper’s knows how to keep it simple. If you are in the mood for a quick snack, Kasper’s is a good stop, but don’t over order because you’d rather have you stomach filled with more fulfilling foods.

I’ve never been to this Kaspers before until my friend, Billy S, invited me to come along. I was curious, and decided to try a nacho dog. I got a Kasper dog, drenched in nacho cheese topped. Interesting. I tried it, and to my delight, it was pretty good.
The service was fair, a few older grandmas work in here, so expect it to be a bit slow– hell maybe its the same few broads that have been working here since it opened way back when.
I’ll definitely be back to try something else.

sampled a kaspar’s dogs (2.89) here and wasn’t thrilled. the dog had 2 strands of onions, 3 slices tomatos in a lengthy chewy bun with the usual condiments.
the server didn’t use gloves when making dogs and didn’t wash her hands better making change. service was friendly. dog tasted so so in a bland mixture.
is this how the term «dirty dog» came about?.

Sadly this Kasper’s Hot dog shop does not do it’s namesake any justice. I apologize for not Unilocaling this place sooner, as it may have helped my fellow Unilocaler to know this. I assure you however, that while this Kasper’s is not the greatest, there is one nearby that is awesome. So heed this advice, go to Hayward. Their Kasper’s on Hesperian is awesome. Just watch out for a middle aged blond woman, she can’t make food. The two older women and the guy who work there won’t steer you wrong though.
So why is this one so bad? Well the staff just doesn’t know how to make any of the famous treats that Kasper’s is known for. The hot dogs taste weird, the nachos are lame and nothing here is any good and even on a good day it’s only fair. So do yourself a favor and go to the one in Hayward, or if you can’t get there, try the other one in San leandro it’s better than this one too.
CHAD