Home          
     
 

Dog House (Hot Dogs cuisine)  $

 7
JaT Rating

80 S 1st Street, San Jose, 95113  (Directions)


408.995.0924


Website  Menu  vCard

            
        
Gourmet hot dogs with regional specialties around the world


Reviewer: Jason
Total Reviews: 992
Reviewed: 5/31/2006
Rating: 7
My photo gallery 		Bob, one of our loyal users pointed out a new hot dog location in downtown San Jose. It's the 1st time of me hearing this and since Terry was off on a team lunch I dragged my coworker for a trek to downtown. It's on a 1 way street so you know the drill. I made the mistake of parking in the stucture down the street from Dog House, it was a flippin rippoff at $1.25 for every 15 mins.

I'm impressed with the layout of Dog House. I consider myself a hot dog fanatic and been to many hot dog shacks in my life and never seen a hot dog place as nice as Dog House. It's almost too nice I had to take a double look at the restaurant name. They had plasma screens, tables spaced out for plenty of privacy, wooden floors, outdoor seating, the works.

The menu boasts one of the best selections of hot dogs ever. They had all the standards and exotic ones from Venezuela, Maui, LA Street dog, etc. I figured I would start out with the standards and based on those would determine a repeat visit to try the rest.

Prices are higher than normal and I can't blame them if they are paying high rent for the place they have. I ordered the classic dog grilled ($2.95, picture #5, 6), Old-Fashioned Chili Dog ($3.95, picture #8, 9, 10), and Root Beer for a little under $10.

It was a short wait and sat outside to bask in the sun. My classic dog was a lot longer than I was expecting. Since it was classic, I put spicy mustard and that's all. When I eat a hot dog, I'm always anticipating that snap. In order to get the snap, the hot dog needs to be cooked properly and last but not least, the casing. The classic did not have the snap and maybe it was a skinless casing. For a grilled dog, the temperature was lukewarm. It should have been cooked longer and I should have returned it. The menu said all beef dog but I could swear it tasted like mixture of chicken/pork/beef. Who knows? Bun was ok and tasted like the ones you get at the market. For $2.95, I would be reluctant to order it.

The chili dog was much better but not by much. The texture of the dog was soft like one the ones you pick up at the market or when you overcook them. The only thing that saved this hot dog was the chili. Chili was ok but I'm more of a fan of LA chili (kinda a puree). And what's the deal with temperature? These hot dogs need to be served at a higher temperature. Take a look at the cheese, it wasn't even melted? And where are the ONIONS? Bun was different than the classic and much better.

It's a grand opening and there are going to be growing pains. The restaurant looks great, the people behind the counter are friendly, the selection is impressive, even the late night hours are awesome (Mon-Wed until 9PM, Thu-Sat until 12:30AM, menu says they will open late in the future). If I were to make some suggestions,

- serve food at a higher temperature
- swap out the hot dogs for Boar's head or Sabretts, natural casing, all beef.

Dog House has a lot of potential in my book and would make a return visit since Drew said his Boss Hogg was tasty (picture #7, $5.95)
 
Disclaimer
User submitted quickies (help)

Login to write a quickie.

haineux ate...

CLOSED

“Alas”

11/20/2007 6:34:11 PM