Saturday, April 30, 2011

Happy Dog Made Me a Happy Girl

It's been on my "To Dine" list since it opened (It finally made its way onto my 2011 New Year's Resolution list), and it's been a bone of contention between "R" and I on a frequent basis. Yup, I'm talking about Eric Williams' Happy Dog. Ode to the glorious hot dog.

You see, it wasn't that I didn't want to try it. I mean, come on, if you've ever dined at Momocho then you know that Williams is a master in the kitchen and this will probably be a pretty darn good dog. But hot dogs, like Chinese food for me, I need to be "in the mood" for. That mood usually strikes when I'm at a ballpark, cooking over a bonfire, or grilling out (Is it summer yet?!). But in the spirit of completing my 2011 Resolution, a couple of us headed there the other night in search of a good hot dog.

I decided to play it safe and try one of their "suggestive wieners", because the hot dog toppings list includes over 50 options. Very overwhelming for a first-time diner. With my tots and selecting dipping sauces for them, I took a little more liberty. So my hot dog selection included: cucumber, caramelized onions, warm pineapple-ginger-currant chutney, sriracha hot chile sauce, smoked gouda cheese, and a fried egg. Viola!
You know what? It was a pretty darn good dog. I won't say that it blew me away, but I can't imagine that ANY hot dog could do that for me. The combo that they had suggested had great contrast in texture and flavor, balancing cool and fresh with sweet and spicy. Although I may have enjoyed the crispy, crunchy tots and the large assortment of dipping sauces at our table a little bit more than the dog. It brought back so many school cafeteria memories!

The atmosphere is laid back with quite the "hipster" vibe and a great bar area, easily somewhere that you can settle in for some dogs and beers. We'll be back, and maybe this time I'll actually bring "R" and try to create a hot dog combo on my own! I hear that the chunky peanut butter is worth the risk.

Happy Dog
5801 Detroit Road
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216)651-9474

Happy Dog on Urbanspoon

1 comments:

Heather said...

We drove by here today and I was sad I missed dinner with you girls.
And are those the cookies "R" got instead of me that I see in the background?? No fair.