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FOODIE
The Best Kind Of Bad Dawgs
By The Foodies/ foodie@longislandernews.com
Long a staple of summer
barbecue and a slice of fire-grilled Americana, the humble
hot dog is probably enjoying its best business of the year
with the Fourth of July on the way. Despite this annual surge
in popularity, the wiener is often viewed as the low man on
the barbecue food chain.
That’s where Bad Dawgs steps in. They’re here to
show you new ways to dress your dog, much like former President
Franklin Roosevelt did during a famous picnic with the King
of England. Social critics screamed, but the main course?
Hot dogs, of course!
Huntington’s gregarious dawg-trainer, Coram’s Tino
Negri, found out about Bad Dawgs – a New England institution
– 3 years ago and decided to bring the concept to New
York.
“It was a Bad Dawgs truck [to start],” he said.
“We tried to test the waters in New York to see if it
would take. We hit all the major shows in Long Island [and]
we made a name for ourselves.”
During their trucking days, many customers would ask, “Where’s
your Bad Dawgs restaurant?” There wasn’t one, but
when Negri opted for more permanent digs, he said he “couldn’t
think of a better place to open one but in Huntington.”
“I’ve been in Huntington my whole life, and I thought
it was a great idea back then,” said the owner, who grew
up in West Islip. “There are not a lot of hot dog ventures
[in town,] and I thought it’d be a great location. Hopefully,
this is the flagship to many more on Long Island.”
The worst damage you can do to your wallet with a single item
on this menu is $5.49, and that’s for an order of chicken
wings. All of the 24 different dawgs, less the jumbo-sized
Mastiff Bad Dawg ($4.49), are less than four bucks –
the super-loaded Border Collie, Chow-Chow, Labrador and Pit
Bull Dawgs are a reasonable $3.75.
The Italian Greyhound Dawg ($3.49) is loaded with pepperoni,
sauce and mozzarella cheese, marrying a little bit of Italy
with your slice of Americana. It’s also one of the tidiest
packages on the menu, so slop-averse noshers can rejoice.
Check out the Chihuahua Dawg ($3.49) if you’re looking
for a little kick. Dressed in nacho cheese, real bacon, raw
white onion and jalapeno peppers, it dresses up the hot dog
with spice and flair.
Fans of Chicago-style dogs should check out the Bassett Hound
with its six toppings. German Shepherds and Pugs represent
New York City’s traditional love of mustard on its wiener
warriors.
Call for a Litter of Puppies ($4.99 for six) and they’ll
hand you a tray of flash-fried pigs in a blanket. The fried
treatment gives them a certain decadent flair, but the dough
remains light and fluffy. When we arrived, Tino was finishing
off a bowl of tantalizing-looking French fries ($2.89; $4.99
“loaded” with chili, cheese, bacon and onions);
he also serves up knishes, baked potatoes and sweet potato
fries.
Have another idea for dressing up? Order a Bad Dawg for $3.49
and pick your four favorite toppings out of a generous list
of 28. Bad Dawgs offers 100-percent, all-beef hot dogs, kosher,
gluten-free Hebrew National wieners, veggie, turkey and organic
hot dogs. From there, you can put your selection on a soft,
traditional white bun or go healthier and pick wheat.
Bad
Dawgs
44 Gerard St., Huntington village
631-923-1201, www.baddawgsli.com
Atmosphere: Retro walk-up dining
Cuisine: Well-dressed hot dogs with friends
Cost: Inexpensive
Hours: Sun - Thurs: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Fri & Sat: 11 a.m. – midnight
Main
Menu
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