Celia Soudry“It's impossible to eat more than one,” says Hagop Giragossian of the beefy dogs served at his newest restaurant Dog Haus (pronounced dog house), which opened October 20th in Pasadena, about a block away from Pasadena City College. Maybe. There's certainly enough to chose from at Giragossian's second eatery: burgers, fries, tater tots, hot dogs, hot dogs topped with tater tots and about six kinds of sausage.
It doesn't sound much like his first restaurant Neomeze, a 4-year-old Mediterranean cafe and lounge (also in Pasadena), which he co-owns with business partner Quasim Riaz. “It's fast-food but you can sit down and hang out with 80s music playing,” Giragossian says of Dog Haus. Located in a brand new building, everything was designed from scratch. There is powder-coated metal, stained wood floors, and black and white walls.
But the main attraction at the 1,400 square foot, 42-seat restaurant, which Giragossian owns with Riaz and Andre Vener (of red white + bluezz in Old Pasadena), is the Freiburger. The three business partners got together one night and collaborated on menu names. The Freiburger, which rests on Hawaiian bread and is stuffed with french fries, cole slaw, fried egg and cheese was named after Vener's hometown in Freiburg, Germany. Dog Haus is the “best of the wurst” according to its website and you can bring any order to “a whole new level” with a fried egg for an extra buck.
the Freiburger at Dog Haus; Credit: A. Scattergood
interior of Dog Haus; Credit: A. Scattergood
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