“There comes a time when every restaurateur or caterer says, ‘I’d like to just give this up and open a hot dog stand.’”

That was Daniel Raffel, owner, chief cook and bottle washer of the Haute Dog Carte, at Falls Road just below Lake Ave., speaking with me on a recent lunchtime visit.

“I did it as a lark last summer. I would never have expected all this to happen,” he said, gesturing to the crowd gathered at the stand, “but I am so glad it did. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Raffel has a pretty classy culinary pedigree: starting out as a prep cook, he became chef at The Brass Elephant, head of catering at Sasha’s for six years, and owner of his own catering company, a La Carte Baltimore and currently, Haute Dog Caterers. He’s been a member of National Association of Catering Executives (NACE) and was its president for three years.

Still, a hot dog stand? He says simply, “Everybody leaves happy.”

I asked how he handles the crowd. “I can serve 300-plus dogs in 210 minutes because I was a prep cook when I started,” Raffel said. “Also, I grew up on a farm that my family still owns in western Howard County. We all did everything.”

His dad is a tech professional who wanted his family to have the same kind of hands-on experience he had had on his brother’s farm. Raffel’s uncle, Daniel Raffel, was one of the few Jewish dairy farmers in Baltimore County.

Raffel always has a sous chef working with him at the Carte, and his longtime friend Tabrina Hughes has shared some of the lunchtime service since the first day. Hughes, a free-lance film editor, tells me her Carte qualifications are: “I’m Norwegian, I’m impervious to cold, I can lift heavy objects and I am fast.”

The menu has three items that are the same daily: the HD Signature, the Spicy Italian and the Veggie Pup. Each day there are three specials. The recommended accompaniments are all Raffel’s recipes and very tasty. If you wish you can have any of the dogs naked, or with ketchup, yellow mustard and various Dijon mustards and onions.

The HD Signature is a quarter-pound Angus beef hot dog with tomato/onion jam and onion/bacon marmalade. The Spicy Italian comes with a Dijon red wine mustard. I find that the vegan tomato/onion jam is a winner on the Veggie Pup, though I like it with the ginger miso as well.

The ginger miso is the topping meant for the Maharlika sausage, which is sort of sweet and spicy. The Polish sausage is authentic style, simply ground pork and spices, and a mouthful with the Beer Butter Kraut. At the moment my favorite is the Duck Breast Dog with apple, pear and onion confit. I haven’t tried them all but I plan to. Andouille sausage, kielbasa and deli dogs (with salami) appear from time to time. Some are one-day specials, such as the British-style Cumberland wedding sausage that was served the day Katherine and William tied the knot.

If you are not accustomed to eating al fresco you may be surprised at the activity.

It is not only entertaining to people-watch but I find it mesmerizing to see the rapidity with which the torpedo rolls are skewered onto the European Spike Toaster. And Raffel tells me that every dog has its own best method of cooking – steam, roller grill, fire grill or a combination. Who knew?

The dogs average $5.00 a pup, with the fixings. An assortment of cold drinks such as bottled water, Perrier, green tea, and canned soda is available. You can also buy small bags of Utz chips.

The owners of the adjacent Bonjour Bakery are very good friends, so permission is granted to sit at a table on their porch and eat your dog. (Of course if you want a bit of dessert, they have a sweet selection. More about that another time.)

Haute Dog is open for business at 6070 Falls Road, seven days a week, rain or shine, 11:00 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.

In a few weeks, Haute Dog is opening another location on the grounds of the Colonnade, 4 West University Parkway. Haute Dog’s website http://www.hautedogcarte.com is currently out of date. Better to email Daniel@HauteDogCarte.com or call 410-608-3500 to get news of the opening.