Whether a mouth watering Baja Dog wrapped in bacon and then topped with your typical “TJ Style” toppings is your thing; or a dog smothered in cream cheese and Sriracha…. Dharma Dogs has proven that not all dogs are created equal. With their belief in preparing food fresh to order; Dharma Dogs has become a favorite to many Hillcrest locals and food junkies. In this exclusive Dharma Dogs interview, James Freeman sat down with owner Steven Zatarain to uncover more about these 6 inch dogs from heaven.


Why the name Dharma Dogs?

When my girlfriend and I were in the first few steps of creating the company we thought that because we were such huge fans of the show “Lost”, we should name the company Dharma Dogs.

What’s with the pink truck?

When I was thinking of colors to paint my truck. I thought pink would be the greatest color because even if you hate the color pink; you’re going to want to come check out what he have to offer and see what the truck is all about.

Anything crazy planned as far as new additions to the menu?

We are going to start making some corn dogs (Dharma Dogs Style) and add a bit more to our donut menu. We will also be creating a secret menu. Which is going to be separate from Dharma Dogs; which only certain people will receive and will rarely be talked about.

What’s your most popular item on the menu?

The Baja dog is definitely the most popular but the 206 is one of my favorites. The combination of flavors on both these dogs go very well together. You got our homemade Dharma Sauce on the Baja, but then on the 206 you have cream cheese and Sriracha.

What makes Dharma Dogs different than the others?

First off, we make everything fresh from scratch the second you order it. We put love into all of our food and we just basically make the hot dogs the way they should be made. We grill them so they get a nice tasty char to them… and build them layer by layer with lots of love.

Article/Photos: James Freeman

Dharma Dogs can be found on Facebook and Twitter.