Buldogis Café
Monte Cristo French Toast – Turkey, Ham, Cheddar, Fried Egg, Raspberry Jelly, Fire & Ice Spring Salad
Soy Caramel Chicken Wings and Waffle
Chili Cheese Dog – Beef Chili, Cheddar, Green Onions
Gang-nam Dog – Roasted Pork Belly, Cucumber, Nori, Sesame Seed
Euro Special Fries – Pork Belly Bacon, Cheddar, Herb Blend, Garlic Mayo
From a small storefront and food trucks peddling Korean inspired hotdogs to a proper restaurant serving up breakfast, lunch, and dinner one could best describe Boyzie Milner’s new Buldogis Café an expansion on concept; all the familiar faces accounted for and joined by a few new friends in a homey little space on Spring Mountain Road. Originally opened as early as 7am but since trimming its hours to an eleven o’clock start it was just after 1:15 on a Saturday afternoon when my family and I entered the lightly decorated space and without another patron present as Biggie Hypnotize’d us a bit too loudly from overhead the menu was perused – a quintet of items both time-tested and trendy ordered and paid for at the counter even though full table service was provided by the lone waitress/server/busser/hostess from beginning to end. Beginning first with three Buldogi classics, two all-beef hotdogs and one order of fries, it should go without saying that both the franks and the house-made toppings were excellent and although fries proved a bit limp the combination of garlic and pork proved surprisingly light, the later gracing the briny Gang-nam for a smoky sapor that I only wish would have been present in the watery ham atop the underwhelming, bready, and overcooked Monte Cristo that arrived alongside an equally doughy waffle thankfully rescued by reference standard Korean Fried Chicken, crispy and lacquered with briny soy-caramel – by far the best bite of the afternoon and the best Korean Fried Chicken I’ve found in town. Obviously a work in progress and still looking to find its footing amongst the staunch competition of Spring Mountain suffice it to say that sticking to the classics is a safe bet at Buldogis café while wandering to more Americanized novelties is a risk; one Milner and team might better approach by being as creative as they are with the dogs – the pork belly and a quick trip to the deep fryer could do wonders for that sandwich.
TWO AND A HALF STARS: Clearly not yet garnering the traffic to justify their original early mornings and proving largely unpopulated throughout the course of our sixty minute Saturday lunch it would seem to me that Buldogi’s Café suffers largely in its lack of differentiation from the original; the hot dogs and wings expectedly well made but neither of the brunch options particularly novel nor nearly on par with versions elsewhere in The Valley.
RECOMMENDED: Gang-nam dog and soy-caramel chicken wings.
AVOID: Pairing an over-fried egg with simple griddled bread plus deli-meat no better than your local Von’s the “Monte Cristo” was entirely forgettable while both the waffle was only memorable as a lightly crisped sponge for the remaining soy-caramel, neither of them benefitted by chilly artificial maple syrup in any way at all.
TIP: While not personally offended by such things it warrants mention that uncensored rap plays prominently over the restaurants speakers; those with kids or strong opinions on the matter may wish to look elsewhere as even the casinos see it fit to omit F-bombs and racial slurs.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor
