By BlueZero
29 Apr 2012 18:47
I visited Alhambra earlier this month as part of my trip to the Irwindale Renaissance Faire with a group of friends from the area. We had stayed up late the night before and we were craving some good American breakfast food. After lazily searching for a place to eat online, one of my friends stumbled upon the Dog Haus website. Could a brand-new hot dog restaurant capture our hearts?
Hot Dog Background:
I still haven't been to Pinks in LA or been to the mystical hot dog carts of New York . The last few times I've had hot dogs have been from Costco's food court. I really don't make or order hot dogs very often anymore. I used to eat a ton of them when I was younger. So it's rare for me to order a hot dog since I'll usually choose a cheeseburger or similar option when available.
Ambiance:
My group of friends piled into a mini-van and drove over to the Alhambra Dog Haus location. There was plenty of parking off to the side of the building. This is the third location opened up, with the other two being in nearby Pasadena. The Alhambra Dog Haus opened on Friday, April 13, also known as Friday the 13th, with rainy weather. We went on Sunday, it's third day open, where the weather was really sunny.
We entered the restaurant and I noticed the dark wood, raised seating. The best way to describe them is imagine high class picnic benches. The walls have slogans and a cool word cloud of hotdog toppings above their hot dog topping bar. The wall paint and interior was brand new without any scuff marks or wear-and-tear.
Ordering:
The Dog Haus is one of those eateries where you order at the counter and the staff bring your food to your table. There were a good number of people inside for it only being the third day open. The wait in line wasn't too long and it wasn't a problem to find a table for four around noon on a Sunday.
I looked over the menu closely and choose to order the $6.50 Abe Froman premium hot dog (BEST OF THE WÜRST) on a Hawaiian roll. The Abe Froman has a tri-pepper kielbasa (Polish sausage) covered with white American cheese, a fried egg, grilled jalapeños and onions.
The Abe Froman Hot Dog:
The Abe Froman dog arrived with outstanding presentation. The egg was sitting gracefully over the sausage like a bed cover. There were so many onions and jalapeños on top of the Hawaiian roll that initially it was difficult to find the sausage with my eyes.
One of my first challenges was deciding if I should use a knife/fork or go with my hands as is traditional. I chose utensils because the egg yolk would be too runny and the hot dog is too big to easily eat.
Spicy Flare (not for wimps)
Upon taking the first bite, I got a good kick of spice from the jalapeños/onion mix. As you can see in the photos, the seeds have been left in the jalapeños. This brings the spice factor up so it will be too spicy for some people, though not for me since I love spice. The egg mixed into my bites helped cool down the spice factor a little bit. The tri-pepper sausage had its own spicy kick. As a package, there were definitely some moments where I had to slow down and savor the flavor.
I'm making special note here to praise Dog Haus' choice of using high-quality, fresh ingredients. The jalapeños and the seeds were delicious; so much flavor would have been lost if they just used the industry standard jalapeños found in their topping bar. The onions had a good crunch without being too overpowering. The sunnyside egg alone would have made my day; I could easily detect the egg flavor amongst the ensemble.
Conclusion:
I was completely satisfied with the Abe Froman dog. I got the perfect mix of breakfast eggs and sausage, a high level of spice and chopped tomatoes. The meal was surprisingly filling, so I can easily justify the ~$7 meal. I could tell every single ingredient was prepared with care and this is one of the main reasons why the Dog Haus is extremely successful in creating a hot dog powerhouse. I'll be going back, it was worth it.