This post is by DCist Contributor Eddie Kim

“A hotdog is a hotdog.”

Audacious–if not strange–words coming from Tony Tabdili, co-investor and gourmet hotdog slinger at M’Dawg Haute Dogs in Adams Morgan. Would you walk into the Westminster Dog Show and say a shitzu is the same as a pug? A chihuahua the same as a great dane? Certainly not. And just like the many breeds of dogs in the world, there are just as many ways to produce and prepare “hotdogs.” But judging from the lines inside establishments such as late-night favorite Amsterdam Falafelshop, we’ve learned that DC residents value the variety and condiments that spice up life.

M’Dawg Haute Dogs is the latest addition to the “toppings bar” genre from Scott and Arianne Bennett, who also own the Amsterdam Falafelshop directly across 18th Street, NW. Partnered with Gregory Hill, head chef at David Greggory Restaurant, the trio chose 13 gourmet wieners representing every corner of the country and several foreign locales as well. Chicagoans have their red hots ($4 or 2 for $6), rippers ($4.95) for the New Jerseyites, and the half-smoke ($4.95) for the DCists.

But according to Tabdili, man cannot survive on buns and hotdogs alone, “it’s all about the toppings.” Our meal at M’Dawg was delineated into two experiences: going “downtown” or “uptown.” The downtown option, free with any hotdog, provided the bare minimum of toppings: ketchup, mustard, tomato wedges, chopped onions, and relish. A $1 surcharge per hotdog allows access to the “uptown” homemade toppings bar–a reduction from the much griped about $2 charge when M’Dawg first opened.