Hot dogs, like suspected bank robbers, should be placed in strong casings, grilled until they crack, then liberally topped with yellow mustard. Relish frankfurters and freedom with today’s Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of hot dogs, hamburgers, sausages, and more at Dog Haus in Pasadena.

A neighborhood purveyor of gourmet fast food, Dog Haus specializes in speedily prepared and creatively topped hot dogs, sausages, and hamburgers. Forklift a top-heavy freiburger, outfitted with a 1/3 pound angus patty mounded with cheese, fries, coleslaw, and a fried egg atop sweet King’s Hawaiian bread ($6.25), into mouth loading docks. Quarter-pound specialty all-beef hot dogs ($5.95) run the flavor gamut with offerings such as the Sooo Cali, a vegetable-rich cylinder of beef piled with mixed greens, tomato, tempura onions, spicy basil aioli, and avocado, or the Little Leaguer, a feisty frankfurter nestled beneath chili con carne, Fritos, onion, and cheddar cheese.

Take a tour of Dog Haus’s Best of the Würst tubular sausages ($5.50) from around the world, including german bratwurst, polish kielbasa, spicy italian sausage, and chicken fiesta links inspired by Mexico, each served on a french roll and stamped by a surly customs agent. Add a side of freshly cut french fries ($1.75), golden-brown tater tots ($1.75), or blue-cheese sweet-potato fries ($3.50) to transform savory sandwiches into starchy masterpieces.

Reviews

Eating L.A. and Restaurant News.com raved about the titular menu item at Dog Haus, and LA Weekly featured the restaurant's opening. More than 120 Yelpers give the hot-dog joint a four-star average.

• Dog Haus is a fun stop for students, families and Pasadena workers, with just enough variety to keep people coming back. – Pat, Eating L.A.
• Cheap, delicious, and stupidly addictive. Basically, its [sic] perfect. – Marcus S., Yelp, 2/7/11