Good to Go
M'Dawg Haute Dogs
Wednesday, March 28, 2007; Page F03
If what the average sidewalk vendor sells is akin to a junkyard mutt, M'Dawg Haute Dogs is dishing out pedigrees. Scott and Arianne Bennett, owners of Amsterdam Falafelshop right across 18th Street in Adams Morgan, have teamed with chef Greggory Hill to sell gourmet and regional hot dogs with a fixings bar loaded with hot and cold condiments.
The ketchup-, mustard- and relish-colored walls hint at three of the five fixings that come with a dog ordered "downtown"; the others are onion and tomato. Take it "uptown," and your dog can visit the bar for an extra buck. Customers can also choose a whole-wheat, potato or poppy seed bun.
  All the offerings in the M'Dawg lineup are made to order. (By Kevin Clark -- The Washington Post) |
With their regional hot dogs, the owners say they are trying for authenticity. For instance, Chicago transplants require sweet pickle relish, yellow mustard, a dill pickle spear, chopped onion, tomato wedges, sport peppers (whole, green, medium-heat peppers), celery salt and a poppy seed bun for the all-beef Cheap Trick ($4 each; two for $6).
If that seems ridiculously specific, it's the reason Scott Bennett refers to Chicago dog fans as the "hot dog Hezbollah."
Other regional dogs include the Wonderbrat, a Wisconsin-style bratwurst ($5.23); the Split Beefer, a deep-fried and grilled beef-and-pork New Jersey-style dog ($4.95); and the French Made, a spicy New Orleans-style andouille sausage ($6.73).
The gourmet dogs include the flavorful BJ ($6.36) -- a French-inspired garlic sausage -- and a Kobe beef dog ($20). But the Glove takes best in show. The all-beef hot dog wrapped in black pepper bacon ($6.73) tastes fantastic topped with lettuce, harissa remoulade (hot Middle Eastern relish tempered with mayonnaise, red onion and gherkins) and frites sauce (mayo, Dijon-style mustard and horseradish).
What's Bennett's favorite? The Chubby ($4.95), M'Dawg's take on a D.C. classic. "Mild or hot, the half-smoke is still the one," he says.
-- Rina Rapuano
· M'Dawg Haute Dogs, 2418 18th St. NW.; 202-328-8284;http:/
