It's the Dog House You Want to Be In: Johnny's Dawg House in Montgomery

MONTGOMERY, TX -- In driving down FM 2854 you wouldn’t expect a New Yorker from Long Island selling Hot Dogs at reasonable prices, but it’s true. Empire State transplant John Elkin, came to Montgomery County four years ago, and couldn’t find a ‘dawg,’ as it eventually came to be spelled, that matched his memories. So John did what any fresh Texan with a verifiable New York accent would do; he went into business for himself, providing the hot dogs of his past, that even those visiting from New York City would classify as authentic.

John’s previous life on Long Island in the food distribution business, gave him an advantage over other hot dog sellers, in that John was invited into the kitchens of chefs his company supplied, and was privy to some of their special recipes, several he actually uses in the food trailer. Nathan’s Hot Dogs was but one of the thousands of products that were sold in Elkin’s business, and still today ‘Johnny’s Dawg House’ is an authorized Nathan’s reseller.

From day-one seven-months ago, Elkin was welcomed by his customers, even helping him expand his name from John to Johnny, and Dog to Dawg. Coming from New York, John is always thinking about his customers, their cost of living, plus their financial ability to afford and enjoy his dawgs. In New York, the cost of everything is absurd, which prompted Elkin’s move to Texas, and even his philosophy of opening a brick-and-mortar store factors into keeping his hot dawg trailer alive to prevent having to raise prices on his menu.

Johnny’s Dawg House uses Nathan’s all premium beef from the company’s original Coney Island recipe from 110 years ago, and Elkin’s creations are everything you want in a hot dog, and a little bit extra. You’ll even discover the hot dog rolls taste different, because they are actually sausage rolls, which allows most of the contents to remain securely in the bun. Hallelujah.

The Hot Dawgs at Johnny’s are named after family members. So for instance, the Jason Dawg, comes with a weiner, cheese sauce, bacon, and fried onions; while the Millie Dawg is named after Elkin’s actual pet rescue, Millie, who by the way is actually, a dog. John also has other things on the menu such as his macaroni salad, and cole slaw, which can go on the dawgs themselves or as separate condiments.

“I make about forty-pounds of macaroni salad per week, so it’s very popular,” said the personable Elkin.

John prides himself in using a hot dog that is made with 100% premium beef, with the least amount of ingredients, things that shouldn’t be in an authentic New York dawg.

“I won’t serve it if I hadn’t tasted it myself,” said John, which also makes him the chief of quality control, along with chef cook and bottle washer. His hot dog sauce, or chili, he makes himself, like the coleslaw and mac salad, which is another point of pride, and rightfully so.

Johnny’s Dawg House is located at 14650 FM 2854, in Montgomery, in the front of the Routine-Exxon strip center, at the intersection with the McCaleb Road/Fishcreek Thoroughfare Bridge.