A new favourite for Mel

Let me start this by saying this. I LOVE HOT DOGS....there I said it.

I would certainly class myself as a hot dog connoisseur, having devoured wieners across several continents from Nathan’s in Coney Island, NY to a rather tasty foot long in the Arctic settings of Northern Norway. The good people of Tromsø certainly know how to party.

It’s my guilty pleasure and one which I am always remorseful about. Why? Well basically I have a very strong regime of fitness so eating dogs made from all sorts of animals’ bodies is pretty unhealthy. Until now.

Since Dogs n Dough opened in August I've been intrigued, especially as they tweet their weekly specials with such great photography. So when I dropped by yesterday I was very excited.

Set on Bow Lane, you could easily walk past here not knowing about this hot dog haven. Luckily I saw the neon lights and popped down the stairs like a moth to a flame. Its city centre basement bar really did remind me of Cheers, all that was missing was Sam Malone.

I found it quite hard to pick a hot dog. There is such a great range, I wanted it all. Maybe they could do a taster menu where you get to try all sorts....maybe I’m just being greedy.

We ordered some Dog Bites (£2) to start with which reminded me of an American biscuit/scone but richer with cheddar cheese and lovely bits of jalapeños throughout. They were stunning and I think I could have had eaten a dozen without thinking twice.

Hot dogs decided, we went for the New Yorker (£6) which came with chopped pastrami, Swiss cheese, horseradish mayonnaise and a big fat pickle, and the No Way Jose (£6) which was topped with salsa, guacamole and Doritos (yes, forget that diet Mel).

Naturally, being a pig, this wasn't enough so ordered some chilli cheese fries to go with it.

The hot dogs were outstanding. A high quality dog heavily smoked in beech wood, the skin had a real crack to it. Once you got into it, it was so juicy – like I said, they were outstanding. Although the No Way Jose fell apart with the wet toppings too much for the brioche bun, it was worth looking like the cookie monster had eaten it because it was incredibly tasty. The Doritos had that crunch you get with crispy onions, a real treat.

The New Yorker held it together a lot better, with the Swiss cheese holding everything in place allowing you to get a bit of everything with each bite. I think that’s really important.

I’d be interested in just having a naked dog next time, just allowing you to really savour the frank without the other ingredients taking over.

Another element of this lovely bar which we didn't touch on was the dough side of things. I did see several go out to some of the other diners which looked really nice and served in a pizza box too maintaining that US feel. I will try those out next week (along with that dog).

I really liked it here, and could easily see myself becoming the Norm of the Cheers bunch. If you like hot dogs, this is your heaven.

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Posted: Thursday 24th October 2013
ID: 10745 - 1058