The Father-Son Team
Over by River Road, the quiet launch of Pugels had local foodies abuzz this summer. What was the joint? How do you pronounce it? What were they serving?
Turns out the cloak of suspense was intentional as John and Brandon Pugel are trying to gain attention for more than just their awesome hot dogs.
We'll get to the full menu in a minute, but even the Pugels have to acknowledge their superior product.
"Brandon staffed really good people that are focused on service first, good quality and cleanliness," John said. The elder Pugel knows his way around quality product, though. He's director of sales at Vistar, a national vending distributor that supplies product to big-time sporting and concert venues. Clients include the San Antonio Missions, Spurs, Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants and the Yankees.
"I've been around food service so we know the hot dog business because our company sells them to everyone under the sun," John said. His connections with high-caliber vendors has helped him connect them to their first venture, the Original San Antonio Hot Dog House, which opened in 2012 at 1218 W. Bitters Rd., Suite 107 – and now Pugels. Wieners are sourced out of Chicago through the Eisenberg Sausage Co., while their Polish sausage comes via Usinger's, Wisconsin's oldest sausage makers who've been handling meat since the 1880s. The pillowy buns are shipped in daily out of New World Bakery in Kyle, Texas.
The younger Pugel isn't by any means a slacker. At 29, Brandon has held his fair share of management-level positions. He moved to San Antonio in 2005 to work at Red Robin, working at all four locations in town before spending time at Champps Kitchen and Bar and Fuddrucker's. He rejoined Red Robin in 2011 as one of the company's youngest general managers in the region.
It was in these corporate kitchens that he developed his eye for a great product. Since opening the Original San Antonio Hot Dog House and bringing chef Michael Bashford on board, Brandon has focused on making the joints as addicting as possible. All sauces are homemade, corn dogs are hand-dipped and fried, and there's no limit on toppings you can add to your dog.
Visits to Pugels should include staples such as the S.A. Dog, a bacon-wrapped frank with creamy blue cheese sauce and a dose of fresh-grilled bacon bites, which was a highlight of the last two San Antonio Cocktail Conferences. The LA Dog is a subdued version of the Cali favorite where a bacon-wrapped hot dog meets avocado slices, jalapeños, mustard and cheese. Daily specials have turned into menu must-haves such as the Reuben dog, where Brandon and co. have really outdone themselves. It comes with house-smoked corned beef (they smoke at least six 12- to 15-pound briskets a week), sauerkraut, Swiss cheese and a house-made Thousand Island dressing, a creamy aioli with ketchup, julienned onions and a hint of neon relish.
"I'm actually addicted to that stuff, I use it for my fries, everything," Brandon said.
Moving to the area was a no-brainer. The Mulberry and St. Mary's intersection is already plenty popular with Augie's Barbedwire Smokehouse and SA Pops down the way and Trinity favorite Bombay's next door, but the area will see an influx of foodie joints with the opening of Pizza Classics and The Fairview Coffee Bar & Grub this summer.
"We're still figuring out the neighborhood," Brandon said as John added: "We want to be a destination area so people stay for hours. A little foodie area."
Differences abound between Pugels and the original location. For starters, sales of the store's vegetarian-friendly garden dog have tripled, while the Reuben dog and sandwich have doubled. The growth comes albeit with a smaller kitchen.
"We condensed the menu down a little bit; we lost a couple of items," Brandon said, though with 25 dogs available, there's still plenty to choose from. "We use up every inch."
Stopping by for lunch might mean squeezing into the small former filling station during peak hours. If hot dogs aren't your jam, you don't have to skip out on the upcoming happy hour at Pugels.
Named so that folks wouldn't immediately associate the shop with hot dogs, Pugels' line of cold-cut sandwiches, burgers and nachos are also gaining traction even deep into peak hot dog season. Handmade patties, sweet buns, grilled onions and signature pickle-based mayonnaise house sauce probably helps in that regard.
As the school year approaches, the tiny corner shop is gearing up to beef up their specials — Brandon teased a drool-worthy Elvis Presley dog, with caramelized peanut butter, honey, grilled banana and bacon-wrapped wiener along with a balsamic dog with homemade vinaigrette, and a Boston baked bean dog.
"We've got so much more to offer," Brandon said.
For those unfamiliar with Frank, the eatery opened in 2006 at 407 Colorado St. in downtown Austin. Six years later, Frank (Northcutt often speaks of the eatery as a living, breathing organism) is known for its cross-cultural take on dogs, waffle fries and laid-back cocktails.
"I always say there are only two people who open a restaurant: It's in your blood or you're stupid. It's been in my blood since I was 13 and Geoff is stupid," he joked.
Frank is modeled after all the Southern joints Northcutt and Peveto visited in their early days growing up in Texas and Oklahoma.
"We opened up a joint we wanted to hang out in. It's definitely a clubhouse, hangout type of feel," Northcutt said.
Hanging onto a high-end, low-brow mantra, the pair and their staff are now synonymous with crazy sausage-creations. Their five best-selling items include the Jackalope (custom-made smoked antelope, rabbit, pork sausage with cranberry compote, Sriracha aioli, and cheddar on a Frank bun); the Texalina (pork and beef sausage dressed with grilled horseradish coleslaw, Carolina mustard barbecue sauce and white cheddar on a Frank bun); the Notorious P.I.G (smoked pork, bacon, jalapeño, sage sausage dressed with mac 'n' cheese, and Dr. Doppelganger barbecue sauce on a Frank bun); Chicago dog; and chili cheese dog.
Sausages are made in house or by Hudson Sausage Co., and the proteins aren't limited to the usual. The most recent additions to the menu include sausages made with kangaroo, duck and alligator.
"What's synonymous for me in all of that is creativity. It's obvious when you step back and take a look at it. Especially with food and beverage these days. You have to have a good product and dip into nostalgia and take people to another place," Northcutt said.
The creativity needed to create these dogs, fries, insane brunch items (which they hope to start soon after opening) and drinks runs the gamut from drinking sessions with the guys to long text message threads where the staff, Peveto and Northcutt bounce ideas off one another.
"No one gets their feelings hurt ... they're super receptive, [the process] is super creative. You can turn any sandwich, entree, fare, into a dog, or a fry or sausage concept. That was one of the biggest draws about opening Frank," Northcutt said. "I love the fact that you can take something so classic and so simple and do whatever you want with it."
As construction continues inside the church, you can see more of Northcutt, his family (which has relocated to the neighborhood from Austin) and Frank partaking in upcoming events. The kismet isn't lost on Northcutt.
"We got lucky. This was at one point a German settlement and this was known as Sauerkraut Bend. We knew a guy involved in it, decided to take a road trip, drink a few beers," he says. "It turned into a long Friday night ramble and the start of a beautiful friendship. 'Holy shit, these are my people in San Antonio!"
