Houston had a cupcake truck, a hand-pie truck and an Asian fusion taco truck before it had a hot dog truck. Considering how the hot dog is one of the ultimate mobile foods, consumed easily with one hand and long sold out of sidewalk stands, it’s a little surprising. But the folks at Good Dog Hot Dogs are making up for lost time.
The premium dogs are made with a combination of beef and pork (although all-beef is available upon request) and nestled into a Slow Dough Bread Co. bun. Hot dog lovers – and we should all consider ourselves among them – would be happy with this simple yet tasty combination, but the toppings are where things get exciting.
The Chi-town dog has the traditional tomato slices, pickles, relish and mustard. As someone who fell in love with these in Chicago, it’s nice to see them get some air time on a local menu. The Sunshine dog gets pickled red onions, cream cheese, dill relish and mayo, and the Chillin’ dog is topped with beef and chorizo chili. Or you can create your own behemoth by mixing and matching the various condiments including sriracha ketchup and jalapeño relish.
A tofu dog is on its way, but the piping hot house-made corndog was where Good Dog really shone. Dunked into “Short Bus” mustard and paired with a cold Abita at the Boneyard, it made the perfect warm weather meal.The truck is most often parked at Buchanan’s Native Plants (611 E. 11th) during the day and the Boneyard Drinkery and Dog Park in The Heights at night. Is there a literary term for eating hot dogs in a dog park? Either way, the truck rolled into town just in time for the dog days of summer.
Note: Good Dog Hot Dogs is among the many food trucks scheduled to be at this weekend’s first-ever Haute Wheels food truck festival at the HCC Southwest campus at 5609 West Loop South. Purchase tickets online and find a complete list of food trucks at www.hautewheelshouston.com.