Happy Dog

After countless visits, Happy Dog firmly sits at a 4.5 star review, if we could review that. It's very close to the perfect score, but like previous visits some small items prevented the five star review.

This visit was a Monday night around 7:00pm. We walked in and easily found a seat at the spacious and walk around bar. There were also a couple tables and a booth open, but I really enjoy the bar. We worked through our typical orders: one hot dog for each of us, a side of tater tots with sauces, and some drinks. I went with a couple different craft brews and my wife enjoyed a couple cocktails. Great beer selection and well made drinks.

Our dogs this time: one with the pimento mac & cheese, momocho habanero hot sauce, and the garlic aioli. Wow, it was terrific. One of my favorite orders. It hung together wonderfully - I for a second wondered if the buns were knew because it was so firm. The mac & cheese is flavorful but not overly oozy, which is important on sandwiches. The hot sauce is hot. But oh so good. The other dog was with pork & beans and nacho cheese. This dog, although delicious, had some serious issues staying together. By the time it was delivered to us, the bun had already been soaked through and could not be picked up. Perhaps if it hadn't been loaded so heavily, or if the bun was thicker... either way, this is an issue that has plagued us in the past at Happy Dog and can be avoided by ordering cautiously, but shouldn't have to be approached that way.

The tots sauces we got were the chipotle ketchup, the secret fry sauce, and the coffee bbq sauce. All were good, especially the fry sauce. I prefer the housemade ketchup, but the chipotle is fine too.

Can't wait to come back.

Happy Dog makes me a happy lady!

Okay, I'm sorry for the bad pun, but it's the truth!

Like all the other reviewers mentioned, you can get a regular hot dog or a veggie dog with a large variety of toppings, all for $5. You can't get more bang for your buck! You can go for something light or heavy, traditional or wacky (hot fries or fruit loops, what?), whatever suits your mood. I have tried many different combinations here. I would recommend the dog Michael Symon mentioned on the Food Network show, "The Best Thing I Ever Ate:" regular hot dog with alien relish, sriracha, peanut butter (it sounds seriously weird, but it is fantastic)! Last time I was here, I tried the veggie dog for the first time, and I was pleasantly surprised at how much I liked it! It has a "meaty" texture and a spicy flavor, and I think I may even like it more than the normal hot dog (gasp!).

Happy Dog also offers fries or tater tots as sides. Both are average, and I consider them as more of a vessel to sample all their tasty dipping sauces (chimichurri and special fry sauce, oo la la!). When my friends and I get the fries, we usually get sloppy joe meat and melted cheese to make chili cheese fries.

Monday nights, Happy Dog has trivia. My team and I always fail miserably, but we keep coming out to try! Make sure you come early enough to find a place to sit, because space fills up pretty quickly.

On most other nights, the Happy Dog has live music. And even though some bands are definitely better than others, hanging out and listening to the music is always a fun way to spend the night, and a great way to find out about new bands.

Happy Dog is a Cleveland gem that's for sure worth checking out!

Tots

truffle honey mustard - yum!