I have a weakness for a good hot dog. When I was seven years old, eating Sabrett’s spicy hot dogs from street carts was one of the highlights of visiting relatives in New York City. And I’ve “cheated” after a year of vegetarianism for an all-beef hot dog.
But not all hot dogs are created equal. Happy Dog’s version at the time of our last review was middling, a light pink version that was decent but saved by the toppings. They’ve started custom-ordering their own hearty, meatier all-beef version, though, and now they definitely serve the best dogs in town (or maybe anywhere).
The dog pictured below had bourbon baked beans, hot pepper relish, smoked Gouda cheese, a fried egg and cucumbers:
This was generally really good, but the hot pepper relish wasn’t at all hot. I should have ordered the habanero hot sauce, the one thing on the menu I’ve found that has a genuine kick (although I’ve yet to order the habanero pickled onions).
Jonathan had his dog with froot loops, baked beans, and nacho cheese. The beans were a mistake. While I really enjoyed them, Jonathan asked, “Is there beer in these beans? I hate them!” The bourbon really comes through. He loved the tater tots, though (which he mostly polished off by himself) and the grape and chili sauce (which I enjoyed too, along with salsa verde).
Happy Dog’s draft beer list is continually improving. I had a Bell’s Lager of the Lakes, which was crisp, mildly bitter and refreshing. The music there is also great. They were playing a whole Clash album (which sounded live) and even Jonathan was getting into it.
Our only complaint was that, due to a new cash register system, our order wasn’t put in for 25 minutes. Our waiter was profusely apologetic, though. He even offered to buy me a beer, which I think he actually would have done had I not refused because I was driving home.
Happy Dog is also celebrating hot dog month in July with $2.50 hot dogs from 4-7pm M-F. So the grand total for mine and Jonathan’s dinner was $12.50 including tax.
Oh, one other complaint: I’m still waiting for Happy Dog to book my band. We can definitely bring people as the hot dogs will be an extra selling point.
Do you know when they switched hot dog products?
I’m pretty sure it was when they updated their menu in late March. Their March 25 “Updated Menu” Facebook note states, “Our hot dogs are quarter pound dogs — our own recipe produced for us by Blue Ribbon Meats.” And I’m pretty sure I heard before that (maybe from wait staff) that they were waiting on getting the custom blend. They changed the brand of veggie dog they used at that point as well.
I kind of thought I should research / clarify this in the post but was too lazy at the time to double-check my memory. I’m glad I did, though, because it’s good to know for anyone wanting to do a true before / after comparison.
I love happydog. Its such a interesting and fun place to go to. And depending on your toppings; you can have as fancy/tasty of a meal as you wish. Big props on their tater tots too, soooo good!
Great post, and I love your blog; gives me ideas on where to go for food; and for my next review! Thanks for keeping us informed on the great cleveland eats!!