My dining out group recently ate at a great little place called the Happy Dog. I had heard about it from other food bloggers, and definitely wanted to give it a try. It seemed like a cheap and fun place to eat, so I scheduled our dinner in early January after the holidays when money is tight for most people.
There are only three things on the menu at the Happy Dog – a quarter pound hot dog
($5), tater tots ($2.50) and french fries ($2.50). They also offer vegetarian options, including a vegetarian hot dog, for the vegetarians in the group. The thing that makes it fun is that they offer 50 toppings to top your food with, from vodka sauerkraut, blue cheese cole slaw, kim chee, Bourbon baked beans, Cheese Whiz, pineapple-ginger-currant 
chutney, and homemade ketchup to rainbow sprinkles and chunky peanut butter. There are also a ton of toppings and dipping sauces available for the tots and fries. You select your toppings on a check list using a putt-putt pencil (I don’t know the technical term for it) and the sky’s the limit. There is no extra price for each topping. The servers were very attentive and brought out lots of sauces for us 
to try.
One of my friends went old-school, choosing just mustard and onion on his dog. I went for the blue cheese cole slaw, stone ground mustard, homemade ketchup, and dill pickle. Yet another of my friends loaded his hot dog up with 7 toppings. I don’t know how he ate it, but it was definitely a feat. I think a knife and fork were 
involved. I know I used a knife and a fork for mine and I only had 4 toppings.
The dogs were delicious and the tater tots were just as awesome as I thought they would be. The hot dog had a nice bite to it, and the various toppings allowed everyone to customize their dog as they wanted. Only one person was unhappy with her meal, but we suspect she was not given what she ordered. With all the toppings it was hard to tell…
And the best part was the price tag. Dinner for two (a hot dog, a veggie dog and two orders of tots plus 3 Czech lagers and a raspberry martini) ran us $37.76. We had a wonderful time and can’t wait to go back. I hear they have a Polka Happy Hour on Friday nights…
Contact info:
The Happy Dog
5801 Detroit Avenue
Cleveland, OH 44102
(216) 651-9474
But I stopped at 
She sells lots of baked goods there, including chocolate chip cookies, rice krispie treats, fudge and homemade pies (I saw pumpkin, apple walnut, mixed berry and blueberry when I was there), as well as apple cider, apples, homemade jelly and preserves, pumpkins, and several kinds of candy for the kids. Not to mention the homemade wreaths, crafts, decorative corn stalks, and gourds. The pumpkins are gorgeous and are available in all sizes and colors (I’d never heard or seen cotton candy white pumpkins before). The variety is amazing.
Clam bakes (or as we in Cleveland spell it – “clambakes”) originated in New England, but Cleveland has taken the clambake and embraced it as its own fall tradition. Many restaurants advertise their clambakes in the Plain Dealer and online, but if you ask me the best clambakes are the ones thrown in someone’s backyard. A clambake is a traditional method of cooking seafood over an open fire pit on the beach. The seafood is often supplemented by sausages, chicken, potatoes, onions, carrots, corn on the cob, etc. The food is layered, with lots of vegetables like celery, parsnips, onions, peppers, corn husks, etc. and herbs as flavoring.
My best friend and her family have a clambake every year, and my parents and I really look forward to it. Invitations go out in early September, and payment is due about a week ahead of the clambake (so that they can order the right amount from one of the many Cleveland catering companies that sell clambakes). The company they use is 
They also offer a “chicken bake” alternative, because several people don’t like the taste of clams and two of the attendees are extremely allergic to shellfish. Since everything is boiled together in a pot, that means everything might be potentially life-threatening. As a result, they grill chicken breasts and make separate corn and sweet potatoes for the “chicken bakes.” It’s a lot more work, but it does work out in the end. They also try hard to keep the chicken bakes and clambakes separate.
Once it was determined that the pot contents were ready, the pot was removed from the burner and deconstructed. First, the seasoning vegetables were removed and set aside. Then the chickens were removed and browned in a large skillet over the same burner. In the meantime, the sweet potatoes and corn were transferred to serving platters and the clams were kept in the pot to stay warm. Everyone was encouraged to line up and help themselves.
There is always a bonfire roaring in the backyard, and folks congregate around the fire. There are also rousing games of corn hole and baseball in the backyard – and some years they blow off a cannon.
I had a craving for a root beer float this afternoon after taking my dog to Bow Wow Beach in Stow. I haven’t had a root beer float in about twenty years and really enjoyed it. I was hoping it would be served in the big glass mug the root beer is served in, but unfortunately it came in a “to go” cup.
Feeling a little peckish, I decided to try something different and tried their Mozza Burger, which features mozzarella cheese, bacon and a Thousand Island dressing. The patties were a little overcooked, but the mozzarella cheese and bacon really went well together. I’m going to have to try to recreate this burger at home. The crinkle fries were perfectly done, and my dog enjoyed her plain beef hotdog. It was a pleasant afternoon, and I was sad that I had finished my root beer float so quickly.
Probably the thing I was most looking forward to when I moved back to Cleveland after living in Germany for six years was spending the evening at Blossom Music Center listening to the world famous Cleveland Orchestra or the Blossom Festival Orchestra.
Cleveland Rocks, Cleveland Eats 