snack: bark dog
drink: foxon park iron brew
today, on the 56th anniversary of the date when the one-and-only oscar mayer met his maker, i'd like to take a moment to meditate with you on the topic of the gourmet hot dog. it's no secret that here in nyc, if you want to grab a hot dog topped with all sorts of crazy shizz, you have a plethora of choices. PLETHORA! there's crif dogs down in the village. there are f&b güdtfood locales on 23rd & 52nd. there's the traveling hot dog circus known as asiadog. the UWS fatty crab has a pork hot dog called the "fatty dog" on their snack menu. it's topped with pickled chili, pickled radish, cucumber & aioli and will set you back $12. yes. you read that correctly...$12 for a hot dog. therein lies my issue with gourmet hot dogs...they're so damn expensive. sure they're usually tasty & i'll sporadically buy a few, but i'd prefer that my hot dog doesn't cost more than a gallon of gas.
this is one of the reasons why until a few weeks back, i'd never stepped foot inside brooklyn's bark, even though as far as i can tell, it's THE place in brooklyn for gourmet hot dogs these days. it's all eco-friendly & has communal tables & a "food & beverage source menu," so you can see where your food comes from. basically, the joint's made for park slope. after avoiding it for a while, i convinced myself (using the rationale that two gourmet hot dogs from bark are just as expensive as a single gourmet burger from anywhere else) that i should just suck it up, hop the train to park slope & pick up a few dogs. it didn't hurt that such a trip put me in close proximity to bierkraft. after that first experience, i ended up returning again this past monday eve to meet my brooklyn flea companion, ms jessica, for a snack & a drink.
the bark menu features ten differently-topped hot dogs made from a combo of beef & pork, but if you don't dig on swine, you can ask them to make your dogs all-beef. if you don't dig on animal, they have a veggie dog topped with roasted mushroom-chickpea & pickled garlic mayo. i tried it on my first visit & it totally tastes like a veggie dog. if you're cool with the consistency of a veggie dog, you'll love it...just be willing to fork over $7 for the pleasure of consuming it. on this particular night, i opted for their signature dog, the bark dog, a hot dog topped with sweet pepper relish, mustard & onions.
it's nothing all that out of the ordinary, but it's a well-done dog. the hot dog itself is clean tasting & has sufficient snap to it. the bun is buttery but not too much so & to my delight, the bottom of the bun stayed intact through the entire length of the dog. a lot of the time, buns just end up tearing apart at the seams. i hate that crap. the toppings were aight. mustard & onion = whatever, but as a rule you can't ever go wrong with sweet pepper relish. as toppings they did their job, as they enhanced the flavor of the hot dog as a whole. i guess it's a hot dog worth forking over $5 for...but i'm not happy about it.
their drink menu is pretty impressive. in addition to pints of beers (including sixpoint) & a half-dozen shakes, they've got a dozen or so sodas from foxon park, whose slogan is "all-ways in good taste!" foxon park's a family-owned company that's been making sodas out of east haven, CT since way back in 1922. i chose their iron brew, mostly because i wasn't quite sure what the hell flavor "iron brew" would turn out to be. i DO love surprises, after all. after drinking it, i'm still not sure what the hell flavor "iron brew" is. here's what i do know: it apparently "has its roots in scotland." it's part cream soda & part cola and with every swig i took, my mouth was left with a hint of bubble gum flavor swimming around it. that was kinda cool. it's definitely one of the more unique sodas i've tried in some time. i liked it a ton, but i wish it didn't come from CT. in case you're just tuning in, i LOATHE that state.
since a single dog & a soda isn't enough to fill me up, i had to add on a second dog (the nyc dog) to at least curb the hunger for a little while. all told, i paid $13.61 for two hot dogs & a soda. INSANITY i tell you! so yeah, i'll probably wait a while before going there again, because paying so much for hot dogs severely hurts both my tortured soul & my reputation as a cheapskate. y'know what they should do? open up another place just down the street on the other side of flatbush avenue & call it "bark's basement." it'll be a cheaper, affordable version of bark. sure the dogs might have a teeny bit of snout in them, you'll usually get an irregular-shaped bun & all they have to drink is grape soda, but it's basically the same thing as the regular bark...just cheaper...& slightly-less healthy...& not as park slopey.
bark, 474 bergen st, brooklyn, 718-789-1939