By Samantha Fournier
The hot dogs at New Britain’s infamous Dawg House attract CCSU students and locals alike. New rival Chef’s Dog House is located on Willard Avenue in Newington and offers more than just hot dogs. At this hot-dog joint, Chef’s also serves soups made daily, fresh salads, and hand-packed burgers.
This past Friday the spicy long hot peppers in the Italian burger on the specialty menu kept me reaching for my cup of Chef’s fresh lemonade, which was the perfect combination of sweet and tartness to cool down my burning tongue.
The Italian burger is piled high with sauteed onions and peppers, long hot peppers, tomatoes, fried potatoes, melted provolone cheese, garlic mayo set over a fresh beef patty and shredded lettuce, all between a fresh toasted bun.
All of the toppings made the Italian burger a delicious variation on the burger you encounter at the typical burger joint. The burger came out steaming hot, but the somewhat skimpy patty itself left something to be desired.
Overall the Italian burger was a pleasure to devour, and at $4.50 it wasn’t out of my budget either. The perfectly crisp and golden brown wedge fries completed my meal at $2.90.
The Gorgonzola burger and the pastrami cheese burger are a few other tempting choices on the burger menu.
Besides the regular beef dogs Chef’s also offers chili-cheese dogs and the spicy red hummus hot dog. And as if you weren’t already having enough trouble deciding what to order, Chef’s also has sandwiches on the menu. A customer a table in front of me raved about the Italian chicken sandwich, adding that it had a “little kick.”
When your order is ready one of the friendly staff will bring it to your table for you to dine in or take out. After your entree arrives there are some tough decisions to be made.Chef’s condiment heaven is set against a burnt orange wall; the station is set up like a salad bar and has more than 30 condiments to choose from including jalapeno mustard, pesto mayo and fresh salsa.
Stop in at Chef’s for some deliciously unhealthy burgers and hot dogs that you can pile high with as many condiments as you desire. Chef’s Dog House is open Tuesday to Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
