Colombian Hot Dogs & Fries at Los Perros Locos – NYC

Back when I used to live on Allen, I used to stop by Sunshine Cafe on the way to work for a Chinese hot dog bun for breakfast. The hot dogs were wrinkly and pale with the occasional, questionable hard bit, but it was cheap and convenient. Sunshine Cafe is no more, but you can still get hot dogs in the same location. Early this year, Los Perros Locos took over Sunshine’s old spot, and I’m happy to report their Colombian-style hot dogs and fries are far better than anything I’ve ever had at Sunshine.

The food at Los Perros Locos is probably the opposite of diet food. It’s food you eat if you want to gain a few pounds in one sitting, but that’s why it’s so good. On my visit, I had the Amerro-Perro ($7; pictured at top), an all beef hot dog with beer and cocoa infused beef chili, shredded Vermont cheddar, chipotle kraut, crushed Fritos, and ChipZana sauce (the house apple-chipotle sauce). Basically it was the happy love child of a Frito pie and a hot dog. I wouldn’t have minded a bit more heat, but it was crazy delicious. And extra points for the snappy hot dog and the chipotle kraut which took the edge off the fat.

David had the Pablo Escobar ($6), an all beef hot dog with pineapple salsa, apple chipotle slaw, crushed potato chips, kewpie mayo, and cotija cheese which they call “perico” (slang for cocaine). Playful for sure, but that’s the nature of Los Perros Locos. Pineapples and chips on a hot dog? Why not? And it turns out it works. The pineapple salsa added a bit of sweetness, a little acid, and the potato chips some added crunch.

On the side, we shared the Salchipas with the works ($5.50), waffles fries with sliced hot dogs, salsa rosada, salsa verde, tri-color marble potatoes, chorizo, fried pork belly, ChipZana sauce, quail eggs, and chicharones. In retrospect, it probably wasn’t very smart to order the works considering we’d ordered a hot dog each, but I’m glad we did, even with the subsequent heartburn later that day. The fries were super crisp, the sauce was generous, and the ridiculous amount of meat was gluttonously over the top. Why have one protein when you can have five? Especially when one of those proteins are cubes of crisp fried pork belly.

No more hot dogs for breakfast, but much better hot dogs loaded with chips, cheese, and sauce can now be found at Los Perros Locos later in the day. Sunshine will not be missed.

Los Perros Locos
201 Allen St (b/n Stanton & Houston St; map)
New York, NY 10002
212-473-1200