It’s Michelada Time at Barrio Dogg

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The summer months may come and go, but it is always michelada season in San Diego.
But while many watering holes and hangouts around town keep their micheladas basic — limiting themselves to beer, clamato, and lime as ingredients — Logan Avenue’s Barrio Dogg is shaking things up in a big way with the arrival of their fresh takes on the perennially favored Mexican cocktail.
“When you go to most restaurants, you can only get a typical michelada, so we wanted to play with the michelada because we do things differently here,’ said Barrio Dogg proprietor Pablo Rios.
For the uninitiated, Barrio Dogg slings baja-style, bacon-wrapped hot dogs and garnishes these with an assortment of toppings such as a blend of ghost and trinidad peppers in their extra-spicy Llorona dog, or a fresh assortment of pickled daikon, serranos, and cilantro in a delicious homage to Vietnamese banh mi sandwiches.
With the acquisition of a beer and wine license after their move into their current home, Rios and company went straight to work on taste testing and creating their michelada recipes.
“We had a night for the team and we brought out salsas and tajin and spice combinations and collectively decided what micheladas were what we were going forward with,” Rios shared, adding that the base beer for the michelada menu is Modelo, an all-time Mexican classic with the right profile for cocktails.
During our interview, Rios brought out Barrio Dogg’s latest creations to sample. 
A homage to the classic mix, La Sangrona michelada adds a new dimension to the familiar flavors of this drink by adding chamoy, different lime varieties, and salsa roja into the blend. The result is standard, yet pushes some sweetness into the forefront with the chamoy and spiciness with the salsa roja.
La Rancherita michelada, which uses a cactus fruit puree as a base, is a bright, eye-catching tone of pink and tugs you back and forth between sweet, tart, and sour sensations. Rimmed with Miguelito, an orange-flavored candy powder, this michelada is as complex as it is refreshing.
Mexican lime, key lime, and cucumbers get pureed for La Fresca, a green michelada that is perfect for for any day of our year-round michelada season. Saladito prunes floating in the mix and the chamoy rim add sweet and salty sensations that make you feel like you’re eating a plate of pepinos through a straw.
Rounding out the new drink offerings is La Tomasa, a unique michelada that uses Negra Modelo as a base and is bold as it is dark in color.
“A lot of people like Negra Modelo so we made a dark-color michelada with Jugo Maggi, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, valencia limes, and even some habaneros for a little bite,” Rios mentioned.
This item is straight umami and spice. Negra Modelo’s toasty grain sets the stage for the one-two punch of savory condiments and chili pepper that set it apart from a regular michelada not just in flavor, but in attitude as well.
With the addition of these drinks to their menu, Rios also teased that there will be upcoming special pairing events matching hot dogs with local craft brews and micheladas.
Barrio Dogg is located at 2234 Logan Avenue in Barrio Logan and is open seven days a week from noon through 9 p.m.