FOOTHILL FLAVORS

Putting on the Dawg

By Antoinette May Herndon

Is it fair to play favourites? Probably not. The thing is, I’m so human. Sometimes I can’t help it.

You just cannot beat Plymouth’s Taste, Murphys’s V, or Jamestown’s National Hotel for elegant, splurgy occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, or promotions. When I think of sheer, romantic venues for special, “just the two of us,” evenings, Christopher’s in Sonora and Amador’s Imperial Hotel spring quickly to mind.

I love dining in the dungeon at the Hotel Leger but also long for the weather to warm up so that we can have dinner again on the hotel’s balcony. You really cannot beat the view of hills and valleys—true Mother Lode ambience

When it comes to fish, I look no farther than Pelican’s Roost in Jackson; and for a special treat there’s also tea at TeaEras in Sutter Creek.

Everybody knows I favor Frank’s for breakfast, but I also enjoy Mel & Fay’s, the Country Kitchen and Thomi’s in Sutter Creek.

With so many great restaurants to choose from, Giannini’s remains my favourite dinner house and the Amador Café my lunch time fave. Now, that being said, people still ask: “Where do you go when you when you just want to kick back and eat?” “Where do you go for just plain great food?”

No doubt about it, the answer to those two questions has to be Hawg Dawgs in Valley Springs. After more than three years of reviewing, I can say without hesitation that there is no place that

fills the bill better. After five years in business that jazzy bistro just gets better and better. Call Hawk Dawk a legend in its time.

The dawgs are to die for, but the décor transforms the bistro into a happening place. Think hot orange walls decorated with great old posters—Marilyn Monroe with her skirt blowing up, Peter and Dennis Hopper on their motorcycles and Frank Sinatra and his Rat Pack shooting pool—think shiny grill and bar. With vibes like that, you can expect Hawg Dawgs to rock and it does.

Thank owner-hosts Anna and Jeff Solari, who do it all and do it well. Now for some exciting news: is there’s a greatly expanded new menu at Hawg Dawgs. Recently Charles and I rendezvoused with Stocktonites, Lou Gonzalez and Jennifer Hoffman. Upon settling ourselves at a comfy view table, we discovered to our delight that Anna and Jeff had really let the dawgs out.

There all kinds of electrifying new choices. Naturally the menu boasts dawgs, dawgs, dawgs, but there are also burgers, pastas, sandwiches and fried fish. We started the evening off with a round of Steak House Onion rings with Chilli and nacho cheese at $5.75 and discovered that Hawg Dawg’s Pale Ale is the perfect accompaniment.

With the appetizer tucked away, Charles opted for the Blue Cheese Wedge. This salad was gorgeous. Like something you might enjoy at Cliff House or Top of the Mark. Imagine a wedge of ice berg lettuce with blues cheese dressing and crumbles of cheese, croutons and bacon. ($9.50)

Lou immediately selected a gouda burger—one-third of a pound of burger with smoked gouda, caramelized onions, tomato and lettuce. It was $10.75. Had Lou been a bit hungrier, he might have had a two-thirds of a pound burger for $12.

Jennifer chose a chicken Fajita Wrap for the main event. It consisted of grilled skinless breast wrapped in a flour tortilla with lettuce, salsa, sour cream, ack cheese and grilled onions, All that for $9.99.

Traditionalist that I am, I just had to have a dawg. I was there for my monthly fix and this time chose the Coney Island T Bone ($3.99), a 12- inch dawg wrapped in honey sweet corn. Yum!

On an other where quiet Wednesday night, Hawg Dawg’s was doing a very brisk business The place was filled people of all ages. The place is biker-friendly, but it wouldn’t surprise me either to see a senior citizen tour bus pull up there and feel equally welcome. You just want a good dawg in a lively, inviting setting? Hawg Dawg’s the place. The Solaris make their own sausages from scratch and are they ever yummy!

VITALS: Hawg Dawg’s is in the Valley Oaks Shopping Center at 200 Hwy 12, in Valley Springs. They are open from 11 a.m. until 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 4 p.m. to 9 on Sunday. Closed Monday. Phone: 772-1987. Credit cards accepted.

amherndon@sierralodestar.com

PICTURES

Fish and chips are new additions to the menu at Hawg Dawgs in Valley Springs.

The vibes at Hawg Dawgs in Valley Springs are warm and inviting.