The summer is nearly over but not so for our love of two summer favorites: hot dogs and hamburgers. This month we discovered three restaurants we had not yet tried to give us a last feel of summer.

New restaurant: Oh K-Dog

This was definitely a unique experience for us. We reached the address in Richardson where the restaurant was supposed to be but couldn’t find it. After calling we found that it was in a food court within a large Korean market. Looking at the menu above the food counter, the dogs looked like nothing we’d seen before. We opted for the Sweet Potato Mozz Dog but there was no one cooking in the restaurant. It turned out there is one large ordering counter where you placed your order, and it wasn’t until then that someone came and started cooking it. Then when it was ready it was broadcast over a loudspeaker. The cook gave us an option of dipping the coating in a mixture of cinnamon and sugar, which of course we took. It was huge and quite delicious, but what we didn’t realize was that we should have specified a dog with sweet potato and mozzarella added because the way we ordered, we received a “dog” made up of melted mozzarella, coated with sweet potatoes. Delicious, but we still hadn’t really had an actual hot dog!

So now we were on the hunt for a traditional hot dog…

New restaurant: TJ’S DAWG HOUSE

TJ’s is a food truck that at lunch time stations itself for now in the Lowe’s parking lot in Richardson. We were guided there by the 70s music coming out of his loudspeaker. TJ himself was very friendly and looks like he has a lot of fun in his job. Per his website, “Everybody that comes to this window gets my family and friend’s discount. I’ve watched kids grow up here—kids who came at five years old are now driving themselves to the truck. They tell me, ‘I used to come here with my dad.’ That hits you, you know?” He admits that it’s no easy feat to run a food truck and “it taught me how fine the line is between work and life, and how important it is not to cross it. So, if I don’t show up tomorrow, it’s probably kiddo Sunday. Don’t get mad at me.”

TJ’s truck was as fun lovin’ as the man who cooks in it. The music set the tone and the many signs on his truck were fun to read: “Never argue with a woman. If you win, things might get worse”, “No ketchup unless under the age of 17” (that one rings a bell with hot dog purists!), and many others.   The hot dog choices were many. Barbara chose the Beantown Dog which had cheddar cheese and baked beans on a ¼ pound hot dog and bun. Laura opted for the New Yorker, which came with that same dog covered with sauerkraut. The prices are extremely reasonable and we loved our hot dogs but TJ himself is what brings people back time and again and will for us as well.

FUN FACT:

“The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council estimates that Americans eat about seven billion hot dogs between Memorial Day and Labor Day. This averages to about 20.6 hot dogs per American per summer.” We’re just doing our part!

New restaurant: HAT CREEK BURGER

We went into this establishment thinking their burgers would just taste like any other fast-food burger, but we were pleasantly surprised to find that none of their burgers are frozen and are made from Nolan Ryan beef, which is a high quality beef sourced from Black Angus cattle. The burger was very juicy. We both ordered the Pretzel Jack, which is made with pepper jack cheese, pickles, avocado and honey mustard all on a pretzel bun and can even be ordered gluten-free. Loved it!