Haunt Dawgz Food Truck

Haunt Dawgs Food Truck

Simi Valley and Environs

I was excited today, ready to knock back a cup of joe at Latte 101, one of my favorite places to have coffee. And as I walked up, Latte 101 was gone! Something called "HealthQuake Nutrition" was in it's place. They have a full range of Herbalife goods, for whatever that's worth, but no coffee. Since at that point I'd already swam, and I had just walked 3/4 of a mile to get there, I was already feeling pretty healthy, and didn't need a zillion calorie health shake to improve. Off to Peet's.

Latte 101, by the way, has gone fully mobile, so if I happen to be where they are, I'll still have a cup. I'm just not going out of my way to find them.

Which brings me back to the title, Haunt Dawgs. A food truck advertising gourmet chili dogs, I was stoked when they showed up and have been thinking about a good hot dog for a few weeks-to the point where I made a somewhat unnecessary trip to Cosco. They talk about their chili, but I knew immediately what I wanted when I read the menu-The Frankenstein Dog, sauerkraut infused with bacon and garlic on top of a hot dog. What could be better?

I was at the window before it opened, and talked to others waiting. The one person ahead of me got the Werewolf Dog, their chili dog, and walking away it looked pretty good.

I ordered the meal, which was the Dog, a can of Coke and some pretzels, which came out to $8 ($7 would have just got me the dog). A touch high, but a price I was willing to pay for a fix of bacon, garlic and sauerkraut.

Service was quick, which I liked, but the dog....well, I dunno. I thought the wiener was a bit small and ordinary, and the bun pretty plain. The kraut wasn't very sour,  I could barely notice the bacon, and the garlic not at all. Pretzels are pretzels. The Coke was cold, so that was good. 

I talked to a few people who went with the chili dog, and they had the same impression I did-it wasn't all that special. I wouldn't avoid it, but it wouldn't be my first choice. I've whipped up an equally good kraut dog at home with minimal effort.

I wouldn't avoid them, but wouldn't race to their location either.