Unleashed Gourmet Hot Dog

8.12.13:

Stars: 4.4 out of 5.0

Pros: Toppings, Fresh Made, Quality, Portion

Cons: Parking, Pricey

     As you all are aware by now, I think hot dogs are one of the greatest foods ever. If you weren't aware, enjoy that bit of knowledge. Moving on... DM had been telling me for weeks about Unleashed Gourmet Hot Dogs (Unleashed Gourmet Hot Dog) for quite some time now. Every conversation about hot dogs eventually ended up there. Finally, we found time to go. After all this talk, I had better not be disappointed.

     Unleashed is located on North Harrison St. in the heart of the sprawl that is VCU. If you weren't looking for it, you might not see it. The biggest issue with its location is parking. Between the City of Richmond's boundless love for construction and VCU's hateful parking policies, finding a spot is a monster. We both had to park at the Kroger (illegally, if one had to put a word to it) and hike over. I can understand why they like that spot though. VCU foot traffic is a money maker I'm sure. While it's only 50% Unleashed fault, I still deducted stars. Sorry...

     Unleashed is in a nice little building. I personally felt it was a trim and clean looking building. It appeared well maintained and I thought they made very nice use of the space on the inside. The colors were pleasant & it didn't feel crowded. It gave off very good vibes, which I sometimes find lacking in places. It was more then I expected, to be honest.

     We were greeted by a very large, yet very pleasant man upon our arrival. He allowed us plenty of time to examine the menu and discuss our choices with each other. He even made sure to point out the meal deals. When we were ready, he took our orders and then set about right away making our dogs. I appreciated that visible made to order aspect of it. You watched him steam the buns, select the perfect dog and go about his craft. It wasn't just something he unwrapped and slapped together. He really took pride in his work. To me, that brings a whole new level. I will say, the prices seemed a little high to me, even in reflection. I guess I just feel that hot dogs should never cost more then $2.50 or $3 a dog, regardless. We aren't at a sports stadium or an airport...

     As far as the menu goes, it is certainly interesting. All of their hot dogs are named and kinda based on different dog breeds. I was sad there was no Doberman on there, but I suppose I'm biased. After careful consideration I went with two "dogs" that I hate as breeds, but love as hot dog concepts. I got the Chihuahua (hot dog, chili, onions and asiego cheese) and the Pekingese (hot dog with Chinese stir fried veggies in hoisin sauce). One of these I got as a combo which included a drink and a side. I went with the corn muffin that had sausage and onions in it. DM went with an Italian Mastiff (Italian sausage, peppers & onions topped with marinara and Parmesan cheese). All sounded like good choices and we left plenty up on the board for a future trip.

     After our dogs were prepared, he brought them out to us. To say they are big may not be accurate. These are good solid dogs. They sit nestled in these buns that I find hard to describe. They are almost like a loaf of Italian bread, a French baguette and a package of hot dog rolls had a weird drunken night together in a fancy bakery and this is the guilty, delicious result. These are some excellent rolls. They are flavorful with just the right density to be able to hold a hefty amount of toppings without falling apart like Tim Tebow's football career (quickly and with no hope of recovery). The dogs themselves were very good too. The beef hot dog on the Chihuahua had a nice snappy natural casing. The chili had nice flavor, but lacked that subtle heat I like in mine. The cheese and onions were a wonderful touch. I then went with a palette cleanser and had the corn muffin. It was good, if not slightly odd. Maybe warmed up with butter I would have been a bigger fan. But for me, the real winner was the Pekingese. The vegetables had a wonderful crunch to them. I know some will say that this dog was heavy on the sauce, but I disagree. I thought there was a great amount, enough for every bite. The flavor that it added was fantastic. I thought this was a great great dog. DM raved about his Italian Mastiff. He said the sausage had great flavor as did the sauce. All in all I think we were both very pleased with our meals. And full too. Like I said, these aren't wimpy portions. These were big hefty dogs. One and a side is a filling meal.

     Unleashed Gourmet Hot Dogs is well worth fighting shitty parking and VCU jay-walking students to visit. They take obvious pride in their product and deliver wonderfully. With so many dogs left to try, I will certainly be back myself.