Mustard, onions, sauerkraut, cheese, chili — all stuff that livens up hot dogs. In the interest of inclusivity, I’ll add sweet relish and ketchup, both of which I consider borderline criminal.

Some restaurants, however, go beyond the basics and get creative with how they dress their dogs. I went looking for specialty weiners online, and found a few. Two stood out: Alesia, a French-Vietnamese restaurant that has exactly one hot dog on its menu; and Pacific Counter, which is known for its healthy bowls and bubble teas, but somehow offers four custom tubesteaks.

We set out on Tuesday, bent on hitting both on an stunningly beautiful afternoon — 70-or-so degrees, sunny, blue skies painted with pillowy clouds.

ALESIA

Located on the far western end of Central Avenue in St. Pete, Alesia has a lovely courtyard, which, on this lovely day, was nearly full at 1:45. The inside dining room was empty.

We bantered with our server, Taylor, who I appreciated ’cause she could take a joke. We ordered the Parisian Hot Dog with a side of House-Made Potato Crisps ($18.50) to split, and a seasonal Green Citrus Ice Tea ($3.50).

Appearance

The Parisian Hot Dog made its not-so-secret weapon evident at first sight: The sausage nessled in a French baguette. Furthermore, it was slathered with melted cheese. The potato crisps looked like basic potato chips minus the salt.

Texture and Taste

The hot dog — standard size, boiled — played a supporting role. As expected, the bread took the sandwich to the next level. In all, it was a messy two-hander. I didn’t mind.

The weiner was dressed haute couture: gruyère cheese, carmelized onions and mornay sauce, one of the five foundational French sauces, made with flour, milk, eggs and butter (I looked it up). The onion provided a sweetness, the blend of cheese and sauce was uber-savory, and the meat served up that familiar flavor.

The chips were fine. They had a hint of salt, but needed several vigorous sprinkings from the shaker.

PACIFIC COUNTER

“Aloha,” the young woman greeted us as we walked through the door at 3:15. I issued a hearty “Aloha,” in return.

The restaurant occupies a pink sliver of storefront in the 600 block of downtown St. Pete. The long, narrow space is well-lit with white walls and a counter on the left side. We had already targeted the Banh Mi Dog, but — having exchanged “Alohas” — we added a Hawaiian Dog to our order, figuring we’d focus on which one we liked the best. Both cost $5.99.

Appearance

The Banh Mi Dog (photo at top) was the prettiest of the specialty weiners we tried, with jalapeno and cucumber peaking out, and something that looked like coleslaw, all topped with leafy cilantro.

The Hawaiian Dog wasn’t exactly ugly, but … hey, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

Texture and Taste

After alternating bites, it became clear that we prefered the Banh Mi Dog. The Hawaiian Dog, while tasty and somewhat spicy-hot, was a tad too pineapple-forward.

Both were encased in buns that felt as if they’d just been pulled from the fridge. The bread definitely could’ve used some warming up.

Like Alesia, the hot dog itself was basic/boiled. The Banh Mi toppings provided a refreshing burst of complementary flavors, headlined by the Daikon salad (which we mistook for coleslaw) — wet and tangy and crunchy. A subtle Avocado Lime Sauce added further punch.

This was a worthy specialty weiner, but it could’ve used more of the sweetness that adds to the charm of a traditional Banh Mi sandwich.

And the Winner of the Specialty Weiner Roast Is …

Alesia.

A close decision. In fact, I vascillated between the two while tallying up the scorecards. Utlimately the bread was the difference-maker.