The Dog House
David Rabinovitz likes firm buns. He requires them, actually, for the fat, juicy hot dogs he’ll be serving at the new joint he’s opening this month in Westport. The 30-seat dog-o-teria, called Relish, is taking over the long-vacant venue at 4116 Broadway that for many years housed Tivoli Video and, after that, the ill-fated Bavarian Corner and Fishing Hole restaurants.
It’s just a block or so away from the space where Rabinovitz ran the sleek, upscale Metropolis American Grill for 14 years. That location is now home to Bistro 303, which attracts a crowd of sausage seekers much different from the wiener-loving clientele Rabinovitz plans to lure with Vienna Beef dogs from Chicago, Shofar Kosher franks from New York and Big City Reds, Polish sausage and spicy Italian sausage. He’ll grill all the dogs. “A boiled hot dog just doesn’t have the taste of a great grilled frankfurter,” he says.
Nor does one with mushy buns. Rabinovitz thinks they spoil the hot dog experience, particularly if one wants to heap one’s sandwich with relish, chopped onion, peppers, mustard and ketchup. The classic Chicago dog that he plans to serve will be a bulky arrangement of traditional Windy City toppings, including cucumber, tomato, mustard, celery salt and mildly hot sport peppers. Even sloppier is a Southern-style dog, which comes laden with a heap of cole slaw.
Rabinovitz realizes that over the past year, two strictly hot-dog-serving places in Johnson County have folded. “But I think I have a superior product and a much better location,” he says, noting Westport’s busy foot traffic, a predominantly youthful demographic and the easy-to-swallow prices. Still, it sounds strange to hear Rabinovitz talking about making potato salad and baked beans after the fussy formality and haute cuisine of Metropolis.
“The change in the neighborhood’s demographics was one of the reasons I closed the restaurant,” Rabinovitz says. “That and the increased competition. So when I was looking for a new concept, I realized that everyone loves a hot dog — it has a universal audience. I think I have a reputation for serving excellent food, and now I’ll be serving the best hot dogs.”
Rabinovitz says he loves Westport’s vibrant energy. He’ll try to capture some of it from the honky-tonkin’ crowd by staying open seven nights a week until 11 — maybe even later, he says, if the after-hours crowd relishes that idea.
