Bark Hot Dogs (CLOSED)

Chefs have taken to revising America’s favorite eats with an artisan’s approach—which is one reason for today’s renaissance of foods like burgers, pizza and fried chicken. At Bark Hot Dogs, chefs Brandon Gillis (Franny’s) and Joshua Sharkey (Caf Gray) cast their gaze at the lowly wiener, more often associated with dirty water than the German-sausage tradition from which it descends. Already, Bark has become a favorite neighborhood spot with apparent universal appeal. Families pack the stools and high communal tables during the day, workmen stop in for hearty lunches, and groups of friends linger in the evening to drink the excellent craft beers on tap. There’s little mystery to why the place has caught on: The headlining menu item—a proprietary pork-and-beef blend made at Hartmann’s Old World Sausage in Rochester, New York—is a resounding success. Take one bite and the taut casing cleanly snaps, revealing a light and creamy filling with just a hint of smoke—everything a hot dog should be. The restaurant offers a long list of toppings, but aside from the simplest, such as a heap of tangy oak-barrel--aged sauerkraut, we found the dog to be best plain (baked beans with pork and raw onion, for instance, obliterated the frank’s flavor). Alternatives to the standard link were less reliable. While a mushroom-topped vegetarian option should sate most non--meat eaters, the all-beef hot dog was a dense and mealy disappointment. Sides like crisp fries and onion rings, and desserts such as thick milk shakes made from Il Laboratorio del Gelato, play their accompanying roles admirably, while the establishment’s eco-friendly ambitions (biodegradable packaging, wind-powered electricity) help make this kind of eating seem less unhealthy...for the environment. If you’re going to clog your arteries, though, this is one of the better ways to do it.