Location: 474 Bergen St., Park SlopeWebsite: www.barkhotdogs.comOpen: August 2009Seats: 32Cuisine: hot dogsBest-selling item: classic hot dogLeast-popular item: slaw dogMenu makers: Josh Sharkey and Brandon Gillis
Josh Sharkey spent most of his formative culinary years working in fine-dining kitchens, cooking with quality ingredients. He and partner Brandon Gillis wanted to bring quality ingredients to the forefront of Bark Hot Dogs, a one-unit quick-service concept in Brooklyn, N.Y. And they want to make sure their customers know about it.
“You know, the ultimate goal here is to make fast food transparent,” Sharkey says. “Having fast food that you know where your food comes from.”
The co-chef-owners of Barks have a menu that features a variety of hot dogs, plates of fries with chili cheese, gravy and a host of toppings and craft beers. And each table in the 32-seat restaurant also has a cardboard table tent that lists suppliers of meat, dairy products, fruits, vegetables and dry goods.
“You know where your meat is coming from, you know where your vegetables come from, you know where your oil comes from,” Sharkey says.
The menu is printed on recycled paper. And it has a section called operational resources that highlights, among other things, where the restaurant recycles its cooking oil and how it gets regional wind power and low-impact hydropower from New York’s municipal power company.
Customer reaction has been positive. Sharkey also thinks pointing out such efforts helps guests get over the sticker shock of paying four bucks a dog.
“We are trying to show you where the meat comes from, how it is handled. And it kind of gives them a relationship to what the cost is,” he says.
Because many of the ingredients are expensive, Sharkey says making a profit is a similar challenge to what he experienced at a fine-dining place.
“It is definitely not easier,” he says. “Especially with what we are doing, because there is a high cost that goes into being environmentally responsible. In reality, I have the same costs of some restaurants that are doing much higher-end food.”
Bark has been open since August 2009. Sharkey says the top-selling hot dog has been the classic, which is no surprise; neither is the lowest seller, the slaw dog, which is topped with house-made cole slaw.
“It is very Southern,” Sharkey says. “It’s my favorite. But I don’t think many people here up north associate cole slaw with hot dogs.”
Still, Sharkey hopes to help change more than just regional tastes. With the resource menu detailing supply lines and power sources, he hopes to educate customers about where the food comes from and how it is produced.
“I think Americans, in general, associate fast food with something that is very cheap, that is mass produced, that is good for you,” he says. “If we can get 10 percent of the people that would normally go to McDonald’s to come here, to change their minds, that is a big step.”
-- Mike Dempsey
Menu sampler Classic Plain Griddle Roasted Dog $4 NYC Classic Sweet + Sour Onions, Mustard $4.75 Bark Dog Sweet Pepper Relish, Mustard + Onion $4.75 Bacon Cheddar Dog Cheddar, Bacon + Onion $5.50 Chili Cheese Chili, Cheddar + Onion $6 Beans + Frank Baked Heirloom Beans, Smoky Pork, Onion + Mustard $5.50 Kraut Dog Oak Barrel Aged Sauerkraut + Mustard $4.50 Pickle Dog House Pickles, Mustard + Mayo $5.50 Slaw Dog Cole Slaw $5 Veggie Dog with Roasted Mushroom-Chickpea Topping and Pickled Garlic Mayo $7 Side of Brisket Chili $2 Bowl of Brisket Chili $4 Salt + Pepper Fries $2.75 Chili Cheddar Fries $5 Gravy Fries $3.75
