Japa Dog
Japa Dog
North-West corner of Burrard and Smithe
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A hot dog is a hot dog is a hot dog, right? I mean, how different can a hot dog from one stand be from a hot dog from another stand? After all, when the sausage is usually from the same couple of providers, it must be something else that makes one stand from the other. So, here we have JapaDog, a hot dog stand in the north-west corner of Burrard and Smithe, in Downtown Vancouver. Doesn’t the name alone suggest something? Yup, a Japanese motif… |
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 The menu. |
Since I seldom have hot dogs, hey, I might as well go for broke; in this case, their “special”: the kuro-buta ($5.50): black pig pork sausage. According to the sign for the kurobuta, this is the pork equivalent of the wagyu (a “special” Japanese beef). Unlike the other hot dogs, it does not have any “special” dressing: just the sausage, friend onions and the bread. I added mustard (and ONLY mustard!) to the hot dog. After the first bite, I almost dropped the hot dog… I could not believe it. It really stood out compared to other hot dogs I had in the past. And, as mentioned above, I already settled for just an average dog but this one proved me completely wrong…
I planned for only one hot dog; but after finishing the kuro-buta, I could not help to think, what about the “regular” dogs? So, I couldn’t help myself and order a second hot dog, in this case the teri-mayo ($4.25). This one has, as the name might suggest, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo and Japanese seaweed. After the first bite, I found out it didn’t taste the same as the kuro-buta, but it proved me something: Toppings do make a difference! Sure, it might be a fad but, until I start seeing more hot dog stands with this unusual toppings, next time I crave for hot dog, I will be here!
