it’s one of the most interesting and lovely restaurant interiors in the city. the space is hip and elegant, stylish and classy, with assertive wall paper, high ceilings, and cement as a decorative feature. but classiness is only fun for so long. especially when the goal is salty, filling late night food for cheap. and what do you know? this restaurant serves hot dogs.
it’s po dog, the new hot dog centric restaurant on a capitol hill street (e union) that is, though quiet (not for long? rumor has it that a kell’s and their ugg boot and pink polo clad clientele may be coming to that big long-empty purple building so many people sleep in the doorway of?), an easy walk from so many bars.
and it is, at least on weekends, open late. the place was packed last saturday at three am. what will make the place truly excellent is the opening of the bar next door, by the same owners, some time in the near future. po dog may have cool decor and quirky toppings, but when every bar these days seems to have a hot dog stand parked out front, it will be the ability to have a drink in one hand and a hot dog in the other that will make it a destination. crif dogs (and by all means, check out the dancing wiener on their website) in nyc may or may not be the inspiration for po dog, but it sure shows how great the concept can be.
and the dogs? much has been made of buns, but my hot dog didn’t have one. it was the wasabi egg-roll dog, a dog wrapped in an wonton wrapper and deep fried. sounds wonky, i know, but what it was was delicious. the focus was on the dog, not a sleeping bag of bread. it was fried with skill, crispy, and a creamy wasabi sauce went along like a dream. while everyone at the table (with their chicago, seattle, or texas dogs) agreed the egg-roll dog superior, i’ll need to try a be-bunned dog on my next late night run.
wasabi egg-roll was so weird it worked – might the peanut butter banana dog (it’s exactly what it sounds like) be successful with this same formula, we couldn’t help but wonder? well, no, as it turned out $6.25 later. two sweet, too sticky, too weird.
the verdict? more research is needed and i’ll be happy to do it.
