Sonoran Dogs Are Rare in Portland, Which Makes the Ones at Red Fox Even More Surprising

A staple of the northwestern Mexican state its named after, it’s distinguished by the spiral of bacon that wraps the meat and a sweet, pillowy, baguette-style bun.

Red Fox Sonoran dog at Red Fox. IMAGE: Aaron Lee. (Aaron Lee)
By Matthew Singer

Hot dogs are thought of as the quintessential American food—but once you’ve had a Sonoran dog, it’s hard to go back to the sports stadium frankfurter you’re probably used to.

A staple of the northwestern Mexican state its named after and the bordering state of Arizona, it’s distinguished by the spiral of bacon that wraps the meat, toppings that can include (but are not limited to) jalapeños, pinto beans and tomatoes, and a sweet, pillowy, baguette-style bun.

Somewhat surprisingly, given how thoroughly other Latin American street foods, such as birria, have infiltrated the city, it’s hard to find Sonoran dogs in Portland—making it even more surprising that one of the places you can get them is a neighborhood bar in the Humboldt area.

They’ve been on the menu at Red Fox, the friendly watering hole across from Mississippi Records and behind the Cherry Sprout co-op, for years but now make even more delicious sense since the bar expanded its seating into the tiny adjoining green space (where it normally holds its annual New Year’s Day fish-tossing contest).

Do the dogs, which come dressed in mayo and crema and dusted with cotija cheese, measure up to those you’ll find most plentifully in Tucson? Close enough. And for the totally uninitiated, it’s downright revelatory.

5128 N Albina Ave., 971-279-2635, redfoxpdx.com. 3-11 pm daily.

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