Eatsie Boys chef Matt Marcus is the latest participant in James Coney Island's Chefs And Show Dogs series. As part of the company's 90th anniversary, the hot dog chain invites high-profile Houston chefs to create a dog that's sold at Coney Islands across Houston.
The "Mutt Barkus" features a Nolan Ryan smoked beef sausage topped with barbecue sauce, pickled jalapenos, coleslaw and crispy onion strings. It's served on a Slow Dough jalapeno cheese bun.
To encourage people to try the dog, the Eatsie Boys are offering a free small ice cream at their cafe on Montrose to anyone who brings in a receipt for a Mutt Barkus. Considering the dog only sells for $6.29 and ice cream consumption is mandatory during a Houston summer, that's a pretty sweet deal.
The overall taste reminds of the Texas BBQ burger at Hubcap Grill, which is my favorite item.
I drove to the JCI closest to CultureMap's offices downtown to check out the dog. As with Marcus' signature Frank the Pretzel, a chicken/poblano sausage that helped the Eatsie Boys establish their reputation, the Mutt Barkus packs a lot of flavor into each bite. The smokiness of the sausage combines with the crunch of the coleslaw, the sweetness of the barbecue sauce and the mild spiciness of the jalapenos to deliver something that pleases every part of the palate. The onion strings get a little lost in the sheer quantity of sauce, but that wasn't a big deal.
The overall taste reminds of the Texas BBQ burger at Hubcap Grill, which is my personal favorite item on that menu.
Although I usually take my Coney dogs to-go, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience of eating in the dining room.
The staff was super friendly, offering to bring me extra napkins, refills, whatever I needed. It was definitely more "fast-casual" than "fast-food."
There are three more chefs in the show dogs series: Mockingbird Bistro's John Sheely, Hugo's Hugo Ortega and Sparrow Bar + Cookshop's Monica Pope are still on tap.
Eatsie Boys chef Matt Marcus poses with the Mutt Barkus, which is his creation for the James Coney Island Chefs and Show Dogs series
