Happy Belly Dogs in San Francisco, California: A Review

Not only does Happy Belly Dog cook up some great dogs from their cart located in Golden Gate Park, they use local and organic products in their preparation, and all of their utensils, plates and cups are made of biodegradable substances (either corn or potato starch for the most part.)

You'll usually find this dog cart near the De Young museum around Kennedy Drive in Golden Gate Park, catching the usual heavy influx of visitors with their delicious sizzling hot dog aromas. The cart will be out there every day that the weather is suitable for it. The menu is a mixture of the traditional hot dog types, with some unique Korean influences. Aside from the standard all beef frankfurter, Polish sausage and bratwurst, you'll encounter such exotic dogs here as the lemon chicken dog, or a dog topped with kimchee and Japanese mayonnaise. There's also a spicy Louisiana hot link, which is supposedly great when topped with kimchee, but I wasn't brave enough to personally try that experiment.

The proprietors of the cart are also the owners and managers of Namu, a more upscale restaurant that offers a similarly unusual fusion of Japanese and Korean foods in a tapas serving style. Namu has made a reputation in the Inner Richmond for tangy, spicy flavor combinations and you can see the obvious influence on Happy Belly's dogs. Fortunately, Happy Belly is much more moderately priced that Namu, running you about $4 per hot dog. Toppings like the kimchee and sweet mayo weigh in at about an extra dollar to a dollar fifty per dog.

Beyond the dogs, there are some other choices on the menu. Korean sandwiches are on offer for about $6, as well as tamales of all things. There's a range of bottled sodas and fruit juices for beverages, and they also sell Haagen Daaz ice cream bars for dessert.

Though perhaps just a touch on the pricey side for a dog, they do make up for it with quality weenies and some unique flavor combinations. If you are up for something a little more adventurous than the usual chili or kraut toppings, and the 7-11 cheapo Big Bite specials just aren't cutting it for you anymore, take a stroll out in Golden Gate Park on a nice day and give these Korean dogs a try. I certainly haven't tried every hot dog in San Francisco, but thus far, these ones are my clear favorite.

Happy Belly Dogs
Golden Gate Park @ Kennedy & Concourse Drive
San Francisco, CA 94101
http://www.happybellyfoods.com/