Fab(ulous) Hot Dogs

One Sunday after church, some friends wanted to grab a quick bite and demanded that we go to Fab Hot Dogs.  One of my friends was getting his wisdom teeth pulled the following week and wanted Fab Dogs to be the last solid food he could eat for a while.  I was excited to see what all the fuss was about.

Fab Hot Dogs might be a tiny store hidden near the intersection of Tampa and Vanowen, but it’s gaining in popularity everywhere with its appearance on  “Diners, Drive-in’s, and Dives,” a popular show on the Food Network.  The show is hosted by Guy Fieri, who travels around the U.S. finding the best of every kind of food.  Fab Dogs had been chosen to be on the show, making it the only restaurant in the SFV to get that honor.

Fab Dogs started when Joe Faborcini, who use to own Italian restaurants, started traveling around the U.S.  He discovered that different parts of the country had different styles of hot dogs, and he wanted to bring these different dogs to the same place.  Also, he was shocked to find that nowhere in SoCal could he find the hot dog of his home state of New Jersey, “the Ripper.”  The Ripper is a “hot dog fried in vegetable oil creating a charred dog with an extra crunchy texture,” according to the Fab Dogs Web site.  The menu includes hot dogs for $3-$5 from places as varied as Kansas, Carolina, Coney Island, Chicago and L.A. (For full menu click here.)

Suitably, the L.A. Street Dog is its most popular dog.

Carolina Slaw Dog

I ordered the Carolina Slaw Dog, and it came with a hot dog drizzled with chili and mustard and covered in cole slaw.  The slaw seemed pretty random at first, but after tasting it on the dog, I marveled at why I hadn’t tried a dog like this before.

OK, so let me now tell you about my love at first bite with Fab Dogs (I started a new paragraph for emphasis, it really was that amazing.)  What sets Fab Dogs apart in my book is the dog itself – the casing around the dog is tight so when you bite into it, the dog snaps and there is an explosion of flavor and meat inside your mouth.  Add to that the soft hot dog bun, chili dripping everywhere, and tangy, crunchy slaw and you got a hot dog to die for.

Coney Island

My friend got a Coney Island dog which comes with melted cheese and carmelized onions (as you can see!)  We also ordered tater tots which seemed to be covered in salt, instead I prefer the garlic fries although it really makes your breath stink the rest of the day!

Writing this post makes me want to go back there again…seriously the best dogs I’ve had in the Valley

Location: 6747 Tampa Ave, Reseda, CA