Dog Haus, a West Coast brand known for its gourmet hot dogs, sausages, burgers and one-of-a-kind creations, has opened its first Chicago location. This new restaurant is located in Chicago’s Lincoln Park neighborhood at 2464 N. Lincoln Ave, The brand was founded in 2010 by Partners Hagop Giragossian, Quasim Riaz, and André Vener with the goal of recapturing that nostalgic childhood experience of eating a hot dog.
“I am ecstatic to be bringing the first-ever Dog Haus location to the City of Chicago,” said Koontz. “This restaurant has been in the works for months and we can’t wait to become part of the Lincoln Park community. Dog Haus is not the typical kind of hot dog you find here in Chicago. Our West Coast take on gourmet hot dogs and sausages and our all-natural clean meats bring a completely new style of hot dog to the Chicago marketplace. We are incredibly excited to bring Dog Haus’ unique California flavors to the heart of the Midwest.”
Dog Haus has partnered with No Kid Hungry for a year-long chef collaboration series to roll out a new menu item every two months throughout 2018 with a portion of proceeds benefitting the national charity in their mission to end childhood hunger in America.
At an opening event, my guest and I were able to sample a wide array of offerings on the Dog Haus menu and we were universally impressed. And don’t be fooled by the name of the restaurant. They offer far more than hot dogs on their extensive menu. But let’s talk “dog” for a minute.
Dog Haus has seven special hot dot creations, all featuring all beef, hormone-free, antibiotic-free, no nitrate dogs served on grilled King’s Hawaiian Rolls. The dogs are casing-free as well, so whether you bite into them or cut through them, there’s no resistance so there’s little chance of squeezing the hot dog too hard and creating a gigantic mess. They also divulged a little secret to us. They never dress the buns – just the dogs themselves. That means the buns never get soggy, which also helps cut down on messy hot dog accidents.
Some of the inventive creations include like Sooo Cali, with wild arugula, avocado, tomato, crispy onions and spicy basil aioli; Downtown Dog, featuring a smoked bacon wrapped dog topped with caramelized onions, pickled peppers, mayo, mustard and ketchup; and Chili Idol an all-beef dog topped with chili, cheddar cheese sauce and onions.
In addition to Haus Dogs, Dog Haus’ full menu includes gourmet sausages, burgers, corn dogs, a fried chicken sandwich, sides, beer, cocktails and shakes. Sausage favorites include The Fonz, which partners a spicy Italian sausage with pastrami and cheddar cheese sauce; and Das Brat, which features a bratwurst topped with caramelized onions, sauerkraut and spicy brown mustard. All sausages are nitrate-free and made with hormone- and antibiotic-free meat. Haus Burgers feature 100% genetically tested, humanely raised Black Angus beef using no hormones and no antibiotics – never ever – in one-of-a-kind creations like The Freiburger®, with white American cheese, fries, slaw, a fried egg and mayo; and Holy Aioli, with white American cheese, smoked bacon, caramelized onions and garlic aioli. The Bad Mutha Clucka rounds out the menu offering guests a crispy fried or grilled chicken sandwich served with lettuce, pickles and miso ranch.
Lighter eaters and kids can indulge in smaller-sized portions – the hot dog slider is made with an all-beef mini dog, house-made cheddar cheese sauce, and smoked bacon; the cheeseburger slider has just the right amount of caramelized onions, white American cheese and mayo; and the corn dog slider features an all-beef mini dog dipped in house-made root beer batter.
Yes . . . you read that correctly . . . root beer batter. You must try this one out, and pair it with the astonishingly tasty cheese tots. The cheese sauce is made fresh, in-house, and it just thin enough that it coats all the tots (without clumping up on top), but also is not runny. Frankly, I could just eat this sauce alone and be happy.
The tap program deserves special mention. All Dog Haus locations pride themselves on their extensive craft beer tap program. Each restaurant has freedom, however, to craft their own list (yes . . . that pun was intended). The general formula is to have 50% of the offerings from local breweries, 25% from regional breweries, and the remaining 25% from other American breweries. For beer lovers, this is a must-try restaurant.
Dog Haus, located at 2464 N. Lincoln Ave., will be open for lunch and dinner Sunday through Thursday from 11 a.m. – 10 p.m., and Friday-Saturday from 11 a.m. – Midnight. For more information call 773-935-DOGS or visit lincolnpark.doghaus.com. You can also find information on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
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