Five fancy hot dogs for when you want a gourmet glizzy

Hot dogs are egalitarian, quick and affordable, but every so often the siren song of a gilded glizzy is too alluring to ignore. Local chefs are topping hot dogs and sausages with caviar, crème fraîche, hours-simmered onions, pickled vegetables and fresh, bright herbs. For some, it’s an excuse to push the balance of high and low. For others, it’s a play on nostalgia.

“You’re sitting down at an upscale restaurant having something that feels comfortable and familiar, but also feels elevated,” said Coucou co-owner Hayley Feldman, whose own gourmet dog is smothered in Emmental cheese sauce. “I think that’s a nice balance.”

Here are five decadent dogs to try in L.A. this summer.

House-made hot dog with caviar at Pawn Shop, $64-$74, or $16 without caviar

Plenty of local restaurants serve hot dogs. Almost none make their own. But new Hollywood sports bar Pawn Shop does.

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“We wanted to make it the way we wanted to make it,” executive chef Tony Messina said. “Would it be cheaper, more cost-effective and much easier for us to buy it? Yeah.” Messina and his team grind and emulsify a blend of Australian and U.S. Wagyu beef, case it into 6-inch links and smoke them. The hot dogs are steamed and placed in a house-made potato brioche bun, then adorned with house-made Japanese-style mayonnaise and 15 grams of caviar, with varieties rotating. The hot dogs can also be ordered sans caviar and with any standard toppings — Messina suggests his favorite combo of sauerkraut and mustard — but going big is part of the appeal.

5901 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles, pawnshopla.com

A caviar-topped hot dog, tuna crudo and a warm lobster roll from Broad Street Oyster Co.’s original Malibu location.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

Caviar Dog at Broad St. Oyster Co., $35

Broad Street Oyster Co. usually spoons caviar onto lobster rolls or potato chips with crème fraîche, but a few years ago founder Christopher Tompkins found another use for the luxury item: topping an all-beef Nathan’s hot dog with 10 grams of it. During a backyard barbecue he remembered the large tin of caviar sitting in his fridge; he loaded a glizzy with “a stupid amount” of the stuff and downed the dog. Tompkins realized he already had the building blocks for what would become a viral Broad Street dish. Now he briefly fries the Nathan’s dog for a crispy outer layer, adds a bright aioli, chives and little rings of pickled shallot to cut through the richness of the caviar and the meat. Tompkins loves the variance in texture: an iconic snap followed by a creaminess and gentle, briny pops from the caviar.

Malibu: 23359 Pacific Coast Highway, Malibu; downtown: 317 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, (424) 309-0936; Huntington Beach: 1 Main St., Huntington Beach, (714) 369-8938; broadstreetoyster.com

L’Haute Dog can be found at all three Coucou locations.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

L’Haute Dog at Coucou, $27

L’Haute Dog became an instant classic when Coucou launched in Venice in 2023, and it’s now available in all three locations of the Cali-French bistro. Owners Jesse and Hayley Feldman and chef Jacob Wetherington wanted to infuse American nostalgia into their menu of French classics, so they crafted a unique take on a hot dog. Wetherington opted for a heritage-breed pork sausage from California farm Peads & Barnetts. Then he got decadent. “There’s a lot of little French ingredients that we use to zhuzh it up,” said Hayley Feldman. The sausage is served on a grilled brioche bun slicked with Dijon, and nestled into Cognac-caramelized onions. A thick, drippy blanket of Emmental cheese sauce oozes over the sides of the bun and onto the plate, punctuated by bright pops of pepperoncini and chives. Coucou staff recommend tackling it with a fork and steak knife.

Venice: 218 Main St., Venice, (310) 314-1314; West Hollywood: 9045 Santa Monica Blvd., West Hollywood, (424) 249-3109; Manhattan Beach: 1131 Manhattan Ave., Manhattan Beach, (424) 237-2024; coucou.la

An Argentinian street hot dog with caviar at Fuegos LA.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

The Panchito at Fuegos LA, $16

Owners Maximilian Pizzi and Federico Laboureau riff on a pancho Argentino, or Argentinian street dog, by serving a miniature version that carries all the hallmarks — such as salsa creolla, salsa golf and potato sticks — but slides the imported salchicha parrillera sausage into a mini potato bun and buries it all under osetra caviar and crème fraîche. Laboureau and Pizzi began offering the Panchito on their catering menu, then added caviar as a collab item with reservation service Blackbird. They soon realized the caviar-topped street dog should be available to all. Starting July 20, it’s joining the regular happy hour menu and includes a glass of wine, beer or other beverage for $16. Fuegos LA’s happy hour runs 5 to 7 p.m. from Tuesday to Sunday.

3957 S. Western Ave., Los Angeles, (323) 403-2133, fuegosla.com

Daisy Margarita Bar’s secret-menu item is the Daisy Dog.

(Stephanie Breijo / Los Angeles Times)

The Daisy Dog at Daisy, $15

The spicy margaritas are hot at Sherman Oaks’ lauded tequila bar, but the Daisy Dog is hotter. This off-menu special loads an all-beef dog with thick slices of jalapeños and a generous dose of salsa macha. Executive chef Alan Sanz calls it “a reflection of Norteño cantina identity,” inspired by the bold flavors of Sonoran hot dogs. He cooks onions for four hours until they’re caramelized and deep brown, and adds a hit of acid with apple cider vinegar and lemon zest, and also cooks a long-simmered bacon jam involving coffee and piloncillo for a sweet, savory edge. Spicy, salty, rich and earthy, it’s the perfect accompaniment to the dozen-plus varieties of margaritas and other agave-based cocktails. The Daisy Dog is available at the bar all week at all times, and throughout the dining room on Mondays from 5 to 7 p.m.

14633 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks, ‭(818) 450-3994‬, daisyla.com