The menu at House of Dog was over ten pages, with hundreds of hotdog possibilities! They had over a
dozen types of dogs and burgers, and chicken wings; along with all of the appetizers, and a build-your-own dog or burger section. Essentially each page of the menu as the same list of burger and dog options at the bottom, but has a bunch of different topping combinations they've created. Again, this is all on top of the "build your own dog" topping section. With so many choices, it was hard to decide; after going through the ENTIRE menu, I decided to dive into the "Disoriented Mushroom". The Disoriented Mushroom is a dog on a pretzel bun with guacamole, portabella mushrooms, sautéed mushrooms, sour cream, and teriyaki sauce. The House of Dog was pretty empty so we only had to wait a few minutes to receive our food. My hot dog was MONSTER! Overflowing with delicious ingredients atop a soft pretzel bun, this dog was worth the seven dollar price tag. Wait, what?
The culinary scene in Florida enables chefs to turn any common food into a high-end product. And that is what House of Dog has done. And while I will admit that seven dollars for a hotdog is pretty absurd, when you have beer-infused dogs with potato chips as a topping and premium ingredients, the taste covers for the price tag. Most of the time. There is such an extensive list of topping combinations, that some of them reach the price of 15 dollars! Along with our hotdogs, we ordered a basket of potato wedges; their version of fries, for the table. I have to say, the presentation was on point. The wedges were "Belgian style", and were served in a dog bowl. It was a nice change from the traditional bowl, even if the wedges were so hot they burned my mouth. House of Dog had good food, but it was easily seen that they were trying to get the most profit possible. Instead of regular cups
and utensils, You were given a paper plate, plastic utensils and a paper cup. I guess it works in someway because the theme is somewhat grunge.
All in all, House of Dog was good, but not one of the best things I've ever eaten. The food was good and the restaurant really showed another side to traditional street food. I'm not rushing back for another dog, but I can confidently say that at some point in the future, I will be returning to the "House of Dog".
As always, I will be rating the places I go on my Cookie Counter Scale of Cookieness, with ten cookies being the perfect, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie, and one cookie being a burnt, old, stale oatmeal raisin cookie. My Cookie Counter ratings for House of Dog are:
Food: 6 1/2
Atmosphere: 7
Service: 6
