The Dog House

I’ve been going to the Dog House for years, literally since the first one opened back when I was about 9 years old. I should have featured the Dog House sooner; better late than never.

It’s a cute theme. The building looks like Snoopy’s dog house. Trash cans are fire hydrants and mailboxes. And the hot dogs have names like Collie, Puppy, Ol’ Yallow, Boxer, German Shepherd, and my favorite, the Bull Dog. They used to have a Chiahuahua, my second favorite, but I haven’t see those in a while. 

I grew up in Bahama, and on Friday nights, it was a big deal for us to “go to town.” Lots of times, we’d visit family or shop in downtown Durham before Belk, Thalhimer’s, and all the other stores moved from the center of the city to the malls in suburbia.

On these trips, we’d “eat out,” and that usually meant grabbing a hot dog at King’s Sandwich Shop or the newcomer, the Dog House. I loved the Dog House back then. And I’ve loved it throughout the years.

When I was a kid, the only location was the Miami Boulevard spot. 

When I was in working in a grocery store on weekends in college, the Guess Road location was my favorite. Back then their employees stuck around, and I remember watching several familiar faces age through the years--always delivering awesome Bull Dogs, my dog of choice.

For a while, my grocery store transferred me, and I lunched on Miami Boulevard, at the location of my childhood.

Later, when I worked at a software company in Morrisville, I’d grab a satisfying lunch at the now-departed Dog House on Airtech Drive. After that closed, I’d sometimes make the trek to the one closer to the intersection of NC54 and NC55 on Allendown Drive.

I even remember when one Dog House sat near where the Durham Farmers’ Market stands now. 

According to their website, now they have locations in Hillsborough and Kinston. There’s even one in North Durham, near where I went to high school.

The most convenient Dog House for me is the one on Hillsborough Road. I like that it has a drive-thru window. Sadly, it's not my favorite.

Hillsborough Road, Durham

For most of my life, I found their hot dogs to be near the best one could get.

As time goes on, things, change. That’s true for the Dog House, as well. 

I noticed that sometime in the last 10-15 years, their dogs changed. Gone were the older ladies who served me great dogs over the years. And along with them, some of the magic also disappeared.

It’s hard to put my finger on just what changed. 

Until the past decade or so, I never got a wrong order, but I’ve gotten my dogs home upon occasion to find poor hot dogs smothered in a nasty cheese sauce with fake bacon bits—something I’d never order. Other times, I’d pay for a quart of slaw and find I received a pint.

It’s not just the accuracy, the look and taste seem to have changed, as well. 

I think it’s mainly the care. It all seems to have happened when they stopped wrapping the hot dogs in the white tissue paper and started using an unbleached, thicker paper, but I doubt it was the paper that caused the change. The slaw doesn’t seem as fresh—and I really loved their slaw. 

Maybe it’s just because I’m older and have romanticized my earlier experiences. But I’m not so sure.

Despite all that, I still find myself hankering for a couple of Bull Dogs. And sometimes, I give in. I gave in a couple of weeks ago—and I decided to go back to where I first experienced the Dog House: Miami Boulevard.

I ordered two Bulls and a large fry. 

Two Bull Dogs

Despite being wrapped in the new, unbleached paper, my dogs were pretty darn good. I wouldn’t say they were as good as my memory, but they were pretty decent. And the fries were delightful. These fries are beautiful crinkle-cut fries. The salt sparkles on them, and they’re best when they slightly burn your fingers. The slaw isn’t quite as delightful as I remember, but it was homemade, and that’s the key to a good Carolina dog.

Crinkle cut fries

I think the original location is the closest to what I remember as the Dog House I grew up with.

My verdict: 4 weenies

L & D Grill

I first heard of L & D Grill at an impromptu family gathering on Boxing Day last year. My cousin’s cousin makes deliveries and gets the chance to grab lunch at a wide variety of eateries, and when he discovered my love for Carolina-style hot dogs, he said I had to try L & D’s dogs.

Not Abandoned!

Locating the business was a challenge, but finding them was a bit easier than finding them open.  My first attempt was New Year’s Day. I really didn’t think they would be open, and they weren’t. In fact, I really wasn’t sure I had found the place, at all. I drove southwest on Angier Avenue from Driver Street to Ellis Road, looking for something that looked like a hot dog stand.

I passed many old commercial buildings, some abandoned, some being used, a few rather impressive specimens of by-gone architecture. I couldn’t remember the name, but it wouldn’t have helped. The name is only clearly displayed INSIDE the building.

On New Year’s Day, most of Angier Avenue was deserted, and I noted what appeared to be an old abandoned gas station on the right. It really looked boarded up and out of business, but a sign off to the side caught my eye: “You’re in hot dog country.”

Order and Pick-up Here

I really did think the building was abandoned, and I was sad that I had missed this “Hot Dog Country.” But I thought I’d continue searching for the legendary eatery my cousin’s cousin had mentioned.

This abandoned place haunted me throughout the spring. I also did some research and found that it probably was the right place. And I tried to find out when it had gone out of business.

On Memorial Day, I decided to venture back down Angier Avenue. Maybe it just looked abandoned in the dead of winter. It still looked long deserted late that Monday afternoon.

A couple of weeks later, I had taken the morning off work. What the heck, I’d give it one more try--this time in the morning. I wasn’t expecting it to be open, and as I drove past, I noticed the window looked fresher. I could have sworn the windows had been boarded up… but these were real windows. And wait, an OPEN sign flashed!

Ambiance

Thrilled and excited, I hit the empty cement slab of a parking lot and pondered where and how folks parked there and went for it. Someone else parked close behind, and I followed him in.

Bingo!

Inside, there’s not much fancy ambiance. Two rooms: the grill and a room with a soft drink case and a bench where customers can “dine in.”

I’ve read glowing reviews of the fried chicken and chicken-fried steak, and the chicken looked amazing. But I was there for the dogs. I ordered two with mustard, slaw, chili, and onions and quicker than most other hot doggeries, my food was ready.

While I can’t say they are my favorite dogs in the Triangle, they are quite respectable. Their chili is tasty. It reminds me more of chili with tomatoes or tomato paste than the chili I grew up on at King’s Sandwich Shop and the Dog House. It has a definite chili-powder flavor. The slaw was very sweet. In fact, at first, I thought it might have been a very sweet chili, but I’m pretty sure it was the slaw. The onions were mild and tasty.

Yum!

I enjoyed the hot dogs, and I’m thrilled I finally found this place isn’t just a legend. Their service is friendly and inviting, and if I can make it back when they are open, I’d love to have a dog or two again and explore other offerings on their menu. They have chuckwagon sandwiches, and I haven’t seen those since the Bavarian Inn at AppState.

My verdict: 4 weenies