Japadog (Robson)
530 Robson Street
Vancouver, BC

Unless you have been living under a rock, the most popular “restaurant” in Vancouver is Japadog, which isn’t a sit-down restaurant at all but a hot dog cart. Giving some twist in the form of Japanese toppings to the regular hot dog, it has appeared in TV shows like Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, which have propelled it to the world. Given its popularity, it was only a matter of time it would open a proper sit down restaurant/front store. After months in the making, Japadog, the store, finally opened…

Japadog “restaurant” located in the 500 block of Robson Street, sharing the same general area as Gyuu Don Ya, Falafel Maison, Kushi Box, Viet Sub and Beard Papa’s. Good eats galore???

It is needless to say there are some high expectations; after all, pretty much every food blogger have liked Japadog hot dogs. In my case, that was true when I visited originally; however… When it something becomes to commonplace, it also turns lackluster. I mean, there was the novelty originally but, after all this time, that started to wore off. After all, since almost all ingredients are at arms reach, you can even make it yourself at home, like JS of [eatingclub]Vancouver did in this post. So, given that now there was that infrastructure, the question was what they will be able to bring out… For that purpose, I chose to go this last Sunday at noon sharp. After queueing up…

The store menu (as of May 31st, 2010.

The grill where the sausages/wurst are “grilled”.

Condiments anybody?

Here is one pet peeve: it took ~30 minutes from queueing up to getting my order. I thought that was a bit ridiculous considering that most of the food can be halfway prepared in advance. Of course, it does not help much that the people in the queue couldn’t decide what to order… But, having said that, here is what I ordered, starting with…

Yakiniku Rice which novelty lies in its bun or, rather, instead of a hot dog bun it is made of rice and then topped with some beef. The rice as a bun was somewhat of a fail. It was good in the sense it did soak some of the sauce/juice from the steak but, at the same time, it was a fail because it was problematic to eat (it kept falling off). The problem with this hot dog is that it is mostly sweet due to the teriyaki-like sauce in the beef. That would work for most people; however, if I had to compare a really similar dog, it would be mostly OK. Which similar dog? That would be DougieDog’s Seoul dog, which I tried in my visit. In that case, in addition to the beef, there was also that crunchiness and somewhat contrasting of the pickle.

In addition to the Yakiniku Rice, I also had the Love Meat, which has meat sauce and cheese. While I haven’t tried it in long time, I couldn’t help draw comparisons with Dairy Queen’s chilli dog. In the case of Japadog’s, I thought it had some sweet overtones in the meat sauce. It was OK but not something that would excite me much.

I ordered the hot dogs above in a combo which includes shaken fries, i.e., fries with some “interesting” toppings. Here, aonori, or some green seaweed. I think the best way to compare it would be fries with some dill in it. OK, not necessarily with that unique dill taste but it had a lot of savoury overtones. But, alas, the fries were a fail: neither crispy nor fluffy. In fact, it felt like old fries. Not good, in my opinion.

At that point, under normal conditions, I would have written my post based on the two dogs I had. But, I am sure that a lot of people would call shenanigans. So, I decided to visit Japadog again, this time bringing work colleague PO with me. In this case, he ordered the tonkatsu “hot dog”. Technically, it is not a hot dog, as in the middle is not a sausage or a wurst but a pork cutlet. I forgot completely to *ahem*question*ahem* check with him about it but suffice to say he found it average, though made notes the pork was tender and well fried…

As for myself, I decided to check how the store manage to prepare the well known ones. In this case, to the left, terimayo, while, to the right, there is the okonomi. However, there was something really strange: where is the bonito flakes? I asked the staff if that was the okonomi and they repeated, yup, that was it. In that case, I thought they weren’t that different from each other so the lack of that critical component made that a complete fail. As for the terimayo, if you have had it before then you know what you should expect: some sweet sauce and some savoury tones. So, in a way, if you had it before, expect more of the same.

Both of us ordered our dogs in a combo; in PO’s case, he chose japa shio while I went for the butter and shoyu. In the picture above, the japa shio, which is basically Japanese sea salt. The truth is that it didn’t taste that much different from any seasoned fries you could get from a chain restaurant, hell, maybe even McCain’s fries! But, PO joked it contains “pure crack” added to get customers coming back for more! As for me, the butter and shoyu (not picture; it looked the same as the fries above but without any seasoning). I will summarize this version as the fries version of pop corn. It had *that* taste…

Overall, I had some mixed feelings but, for the most part, it falls into these not-like it category. The good includes the fact there are new options. The bad… Well, that’s a long one, among them how slow the food was prepared and the somewhat cramped place (had they made it into something similar to Dogfather, I won’t have said anything). That aside one of the biggest issues for me (and I could partially blame my imagination here) is related to the size of the offerings – for some odd reason, I thought the Love Meat and the terimayo were smaller. Could it be they were using regular sausages instead of wursts? The other issue is that the new location is nothing new (i.e., something other than hot dogs) but just a continuation what has worked for them. While that is all good, given their narrow menu, I thought that gave them a chance to reinvent themselves – to stretch further. Alas, it ended up being a case of “been there, done that”… But, hey, if you like Japadog for what it is, then you will like it.

Feel free to call me a !@#$%!@#$ teaser bastard. Go ahead, I have really thick skin!

As mentioned yesterday, DougieDog offers some interesting mix of hot dogs. Kimchi in a hot dog? Guacamole? Oh, wait, we sort had fun about similar ideas in the past, it was matter of a place actually offering it here in Vancouver – something that DougieDog has in a way achieved. However, the question is whether they have one that goes head to head against the #1 dog (pun intended) in hot dog terms in Vancouver: JapaDog. And, yes, they do: Tokyo Dog - Japanese Mayo, Okonomiyaki Sauce, Bonito Flakes, Nori Flakes.. So, here goes it goes, JapaDog Terimayo vs. DougieDog Tokyo Dog!

Now, some partial explanation on how this “experiment” was conducted: After work, I rushed to DougieDog and got the Tokyo Dog and the LA Mexicana (as described in yesterday’s post). They were store in a nifty box container they usually have for take outs. After that, I went to the original JapaDog stand, i.e., Burrard and Smithe. There, I ordered my terimayo. From there, I walked across the street to a “neutral ground”, i.e., Starbucks where I got a cup of Earl Grey tea. Reality is, I ordered the tea just as a token (almost cheapest item in the menu?) so I could sit in one of the tables outside. The key detail here is that, because there is that small chance the wait for the terimayo might have had an impact in the Tokyo Dog…

In the end, nothing happened. All the toppings were there and there was just a small drop in the temperature of the hot dog. The sauce hold tight, the bun was still crisp and the bonito flakes and the seaweed where as if just served. As described in yesterday’s post, the sausage had that “snappy” texture when bitten into it, while the bonito flakes provided some slightly fishy savouriness to it. Don’t get me wrong, it is not a rotten fish like smell; instead, it was more on the lines of smoked smell. And, of course, the seaweed, which provided another layer of savouriness. For some reason, both sauces were there but did not really shine. In fact, the amount of bonito flakes made the hot dog slightly dry.

And now, back to the champion… Or is it? The problem was that terimayo is the concept, not necessarily the hot dog itself. Because of it being a “concept”, there were different variations, depending on the sausage (kurobuta, pork sausage, et al) or additional toppings (like spicy cheese). Since I wanted a head to head comparison, going for the most exotic combination might be unfair so I went back to basics and ordered their beef terimayo. Now, I am not sure if it is because I haven’t been there in a while but, for some reason, I thought it was a bit… small. Probably my eyes were playing a trick on me or it seems they were stingy with some of the toppings, namely there were any onions.

Now, some comparison!

Bun: Mostly a draw. Both were slightly crispy and neither had grill mark, though I am sure JapaDog’s could have been grilled a bit more.
Sausage: DougieDog’s is steamed and JapaDog’s is boiled and then finished by griling. Because of the last factor, I will give JapaDog’s an edge. Size-wise, JapaDog was more on the lines of a wurst than a sausage but it could also be because JapaDog slit theirs, whether DougieDog is whole.
Sauces: I found JapaDog’s to be sweeter and DougieDog’s slightly muted. It was there, just that I had to try a bit harder.
Other toppings: Both were good in their own ways and it falls in the category of personal preference, i.e., if you like onions (JapaDog) or not; or whether you think bonito flakes is a good addition. Both work for me so it ends up being a draw.

Overall, I personally prefer JapaDog’s terimayo; however, I believe that there are qualities in DougieDog’s Tokyo Dog of its own. Furthermore, there is something on DougieDog’s side: their hours. While JapaDog closes at 5:00/8:00 p.m. (depending on location and at times, weather), DougieDog is open until wee hours in the morning. Of course, that could change once JapaDog open their shop but, until then… Then there is one other factor in favour of DougieDog: if you just want a break from the usual hot dogs, DougieDog has a lot to offer.

All related posts again:

DougieDog
JapaDog (Burrard and Smithe)
JapaDog (Burrard and Pender)
JapaDog (Coal Harbour – closed)

DougieDog
1011 Granville Street
Vancouver, BC

Usually, by Sunday night, I have already decided which posts will be up in the upcoming week. In an odd coincidence, on Sunday night, I receive an email regarding the opening of a new hot dog shop – DougieDog – in Granville Entertainment District. The “coincidence” is that this new place is just around the corner of The DogFather Hot Dogs which was scheduled for Tuesday. With Japadog taking already the crown of “best hot dog” in Vancouver, the question is how well will this new kid on the block fare… (For my posts of Japadog, check here, here and here)

On this visit, I wasn’t by myself. I had agreed to meet frequent reader/commenter Holly and, in the end, I convinced her to try this place. Let’s just say she was more than interested to see how I “work”, hehehehehe. Anyway, in the before mentioned email, there was an URL with their site so that gave me some heads up chance to check their menu. Unfortunately, I got distracted and did not narrow down the list of possible hot dogs to order. In the end, I went for the item #1 “rule” and, along with Holly, we made our order.

Now, aside from hot dogs, they do have another claim of fame: root beer! While I do drink pop/soda once in a while, I tend to go for colas. Sure, I have had root beer in the past, specially the float version but, other than that, I am not that enthusiastic about root beer mainly because of that medicine-like taste. Of course, there are some better than others and I am more than willing to give it a try, if somebody points me to the “right” one. And here is something that surprised me: they suggests “pairing” the hot dogs with the root beers! Now, I won’t go into details as to how these tasted. This is a case where it might be more fun for you to give it a try. What I can say is that the one to the left was better than the Boylan’s. But, enough soda/pop, let’s go to the dogs!

Hot dog #1 (as the first one listed in their menu) is their dougiedog, Dougie’s signature dog, which has Italian pastrami, grey poupon mustard, horseradish and cheddar cheese. Most of the combination work except what makes it unique, i.e., the Italian Pastrami. The reason it did not work for me was that it was a layer of savoury on another layer of savoury. Don’t get me wrong, it was OK by itself; instead, it ended up being where the end result is not as good as its parts. On that note, I must mention something unique about their sausage: they “snap” even after you have started biting into it. Some people might not like this “bite”, thought you should know…

Now, some of you might say WTF is that! OK, there is a pickle but… Is that kimchi??? Yup, you got that right, this is their Seoul Dog, which has Korean BBQ Beef, Kimchi, Pickled Cucumber and sesame.. Unlike the dougiedog which is piling up the same “taste”, here things are more contrasting: the crunchiness from the pickle, the acidity and slight sourness from the kimchi, some sweetness from the beef (which was minimal but still there) and the same sausage characteristic as mentioned above.

Knowing that two hot dogs do not give you a full view of what the restaurant can offer, yesterday, I went there again and picked the one seen above: LA Mexicana – Guacamole salsa, bacon strip, jalapeño peppers and cheddar cheese.. At first, I was wondering… Isn’t there something missing? As I kept on eating it is then that it hit: The guacamole is in the middle and not evenly distributed. OK, I am being too picky now!

The bacon was meh, I could have easily lived without it in this hot dog (heresy!), specially considering there was already a share of fat in the form of cheese. The fact the bacon did not have a crispy feeling did not help at all. The jalapeño was there but did not add much either (remember, I tend to sweat easily when I eat spicy food). However, the guacamole, while not as smooth as fresh made one, did provide some contrasting flavours, in the form of creaminess and acidity – something that the pastrami in the dougiedog failed to accomplish.

Overall, I believe that Dougie Dog provide some good offerings, including some unique ethnic type mix/combinations, but at the same time there is some room for improvement. If I choose to come back, chances are I will stick with those that I know works for me. That brings a wacky question: given their hours, i.e., they close at 4:00 a.m., part of their target is that of people looking for something to eat after clubbing. If that is the case, it might be a good option, specially when you keep in mind the other option is pizza. The question is whether you want to fork $7 for one of these fancy hot dogs (regular costs ~$5) rather than two pizza slices and pop for ~5. And then there is the question of how does it fare against The Dogfather. In my opinion, their offerings are different enough; however, The Dogfather has a better price range. Still, they are unique enough so, in a way, there is room for both. Finally, one more picture…

Please come back tomorrow to find out more about this one!

The Dogfather Hot Dogs
700 Nelson Street
Vancouver, BC

So, here we go again. On one night, I was in the Downtown area and was looking for street-like food. In its own way, it sucks that Vancouver does not have the likes I found in NYC, hell, even Panama City has its good share of street food! You can blame the Canadian winter, you can blame the culture (which is odd considering the amount of immigrants), you can blame the politicians. The fact the experiment in Toronto failed does not bode well. That leaves the only hot dog. Yeah, regular hot dog stands vs. Japadog vs other ethnic hot dogs. And, just to check, I went to the location of the new Japadog restaurant but, alas, not open yet. So, I remembered one other hot dog shop not far away: The Dogfather Hot Dogs – obviously a pun of The Godfather…

When I arrived, the owner (I will make the assumption) was just starting to make some prep work for the day. It just happens they have some wacky hours: open at 6:00 p.m. and close at 5:00/6:00 a.m. (on weekdays/weekends), which explains why I never noticed it on my lunch/afternoon walks. After quickly looking around, I noticed something missing: no grill. Well, given it is a really cramped space, it would be somewhat unsafe for a gas grill. Instead, there was sort of convection grill in the front. The question is whether it would grill the sausage/wurst/bread the same way as the usual gas grills…

I started off with a Doggy Dog, their signature hot dog – cream cheese, pickle, cucumber, tomato, onion and relish. All that for… $5. I was not given the option of white or whole wheat bread but, otherwise, the usual assortment suspects are there. As for what was served, I will have to admit that the fresh sliced vegetables (did I mention he was still doing prep work?) are a good departure from the unusual condiments. While the tomatoes could have been ripper, I will give him some slack as it is winter. The cucumber and the pickle gave an interesting crunch and, in the case of the pickle, some slight acidity. And the spices on top (which happens to be store bought) worked OK but I am not sure if it did that much of a difference.

The one ingredient that might be controversial might be the cream cheese. You must wonder how it will work considering that it is really soft and not that much of a taste. I will have to say it worked quite well because it provided something different to all the other ingredients: a soft texture. The one part that went sideways, oddly, was the sausage. Since it wasn’t grilled in the same way it is grilled in carts, it did not have charring so, from that perspective, it was average. It is odd considering it did toast the broad fine.

Me being me, I went for round 2! In this case, I went for their Zen dog, aka, their “with everything” version – chili, cheese, tomato, onion, cucumber, cream cheese and hot sauce, again, for $5. While it says it has hot sauce, it wasn’t a bit spicy. And remember I am quite sensitive to spicy food! As for the tomato, cucumber and cream cheese, it had the same effect here. As for the regular (cheddar?) cheese, it disappeared behind the chili, as they were layered next to each other. And that brings the chili itself. Unfortunately, it did not work very well in the hot dog. Don’t get me wrong, by itself it was good, just that it did not work in this case. That is because the beans gave it a chalky texture, which contradicts the rest of the ingredients.

Despite the Zen went sideways, I found out that is not necessarily their best selling ones, which happens to be the Doggy Dog and Chicago Dog. OK, 1 out of 2 isn’t that bad.

While eating my hot dogs, the owner was curious as to why I was taking pictures. Of course, I used up my usual wacky answers. Dont’ get me wrong, he was quite friendly and showed some passion. As for the end result, it is a nice change from all the ethnic hot dogs we have had all these time and shows you can take the basic hot dog and make twists to it without going ethnic. As for me, I will certainly be back when I want to go back to basics.

Aree’s Dawg House
1740 W Broadway
Vancouver, BC

I usually try to avoid taking one-off days off because, more often than not, when I go back from that one day, a lot has happened, which translates into having to take some time to catch up. As a result, if I take days off, I take them in a one-week block – if not two weeks block. However, since my work requires me to travel, I have days in-lieu in the case I have to fly on a weekend/late night. After my trip to Scottsdale, I had one such day and, given the opportunity, I tried to go to a place that, otherwise, I normally won’t have an opportunity to. However, by some odd twists of destiny, I had to drive around and ended up getting a hot dog. Was I pissed? You betcha! But, why a hot dog out of all possibilities? Considering all the hype given to Japadog (check here, here and here, not to mention Tandoori Tikka Dog and Mexidog), I wanted to try a “normal” dog. Not any “normal” hot dog, though. Rather, it was the one some periodicals hyped/voted as best hot dogs in Vancouver, even above Japadog: Aree’s Dawg House

Of course, I won’t let you hanging on which was the other place and why I had to turn around (not to mention why I was pissed). Where? Moderne Burger. Why I had to go around? Because the place was closed due to filming! I don’t really know what was being filmed but the picture below should be my evidence. What are the chances it had to be the day I took off… >_< My annoyance was multiplied due to the fact I do NOT like to go to that area of town. Yes, you got that right. Despite I have no love for Richmond, Kitsilano and Vancouver West Side are even in a lower rank. Those a personal reason and I won’t delve into it, just keep that in mind for a post I have in the queue…

Completely disappointed, I started to drive back. I wasn’t in mood for sushi (so that cut out Temaki Sushi and other nearby sushi spots), nor “fine” dining (which cut out over half a dozen places nearby). Then, I drove by past Burrard Street and when I was close to Future Shop, I recalled about Aree’s Dawg House. Was it destiny? In fact, was it destiny the fact there was an open parking spot nearby? I don’t really believe in coincidences so I just parked and walked towards the cart.

To a certain extent, if you have seen a hot dog stand, you have pretty much seen all of them. What really matters is what is being produced. With the ethnic specialties (i.e., Japanese toppings in the case of Japadog; tandoori sauces in the case of Tandoori Tikka Dog; Mexican-type toppings in the case of Mexidog), one should wonder how this one has stayed as the top dog  (no pun intended?). While I was waiting for my order, I think this explain somewhat the why. They sure have some interesting sauces! In fact, I taste the roasted cranberry chipotle BBQ sauce one (with the hot dog, of course) and I will have to say it had a quite interesting taste to it! As for the rest (yellow mustard, catsup, etc. etc.), they are the same as you average hot dog stand so I won’t comment on that part.

When I got my hot dog, I was slightly disappointed. Could it be that after a couple of rounds of all the ethnic dogs, I have become so attracted to these odd toppings that I am now expecting them by default? Regardless if that is the case or not, nobody can deny it looks plain. Actually, there was something different at the same time. Notice the bun? At least it does not look like your average mass produced ones. It was light and fluffy which makes me think a bit too much yeast was used to prepare it. And, for good or for bad, it did not develop any crust-y type texture. As for the sausage… I don’t know, it just looks average…

I added my favourite hot dog condiment: mustard and took one munch. Add some of the sauces showned above and another munch. Again, for some reason, the sausage of the hot dog did not really excite me. Sure, the bread was light but nothing else. The sauces, again, were actually quite interesting but I wasn’t there for sauces, I was there for the dog! While it wasn’t your average dog, there wasn’t anything else to differentiate them from the rest. Could it be I ordered the “wrong item”? And that brings my overall thought: Was it worth it/was it as good as people say? In my opinion, no. When a hot dog will cost me $7, it better have something that separate them from the rest. In this case, they did not provide with much so, as a result, the answer for me will be “pass”.

Mexidog
1000 West Georgia Street
Vancouver, BC

It was doomed to happen… Two weeks ago, I was reading the Georgia Straight, a local weekly newspaper, and they mentioned a new hot dog stand in town: Mexidog. At this point, I am not sure if I should be surprised anymore, considering the “success” of Japadog (their three locations blogged here, here and here) and the expansion of ethnic type hot dogs – the first one being Tandoori Tikka Dog (blogged here). So, for completeness sake of this blog (Ha!), I thought I should visit them as well…

Before I continue, I must mention that I had some déjà vu… Why I have the odd feeling I have heard of Mexican style hot dogs before? After a quick search in the comments left by readers, I ran into one from reader Koji (in Tandoori Tikka Dog’s post), who wrote:

when i was in mexico 10 years ago, i loved the street vendor’s hot dog, basically, the dog was wrapped with bacon, mayo squirted on and crumbled ripple chips to top it off…..it was great

So, I guess I should expect something similar… But, first, the menu:

The noticeable items from this menu are, of course, their “ethnic” ones:

• Sonora Dog: Fresh + sauteed onions, diced tomato, mayo, turkey, bacon.
• Cabo Dog: Cabo style Mexican coleslaw + chipotle mayo.
• The Mexi: Salsa, guacamole + homemade flour tortilla chips

I was debating between the Sonora Dog and The Mexi and, in the end, I chose The Mexi. Don’t ask why, it just happened!

Condiments available

Chili Chipotle Mayo, Garlic Mayo and Creamy Japaleño.

The Mexi with Chile Chipotle Mayo (the orange coloured sauce) and Creamy Japaleño (the white sauce)

The best way to describe this hot dog will be sloppy. The salsa had a bit too much liquid in it and, as a result, made the the rest mushy. The guacamole was, OK, nothing extraordinary. The tortilla chips, unfortunately, was soggy due to, again the salsa. Unfortunately, I couldn’t really taste much of the spicy-ness from the two mayos, though, my tolerance (or lack of) towards hot peppers has a lot to do.

In the end, I won’t pass any judgment on Mexidog. Unlike Tandoori Tikka Dog, what is offered is at least unique and different. Guacamole? Tortilla Chips? Bacon??? At this rate, the question is rather… What is next? Or should I try one of the “basic” hot dogs? After all, all the ethnic dogs are nothing but your basic dog with “interesting”/”odd” topings, right?

Tandoori Tikka Dog
Waterfront Skytrain Station
601 West Cordova Street
Vancouver, BC

Thanks to Anthony Bourdain’s No Reservations, almost everybody has heard about Japadog – I myself have blogged their three locations in Vancouver, here, here and here. Last week, some local news sources wrote articles on the new kid on the block (hot dog-wise): Tandoori Tikka Dog. You can find these articles here (24 Hours Vancouver) and here (The Province). While I am not a news source, it does not mean I can’t eat some dogs so, here I go!

I am not sure if it was a bad decision I went on one of the sunniest and warmest day in summer so far in Vancouver. In my case, a long walk from the West End to Burrard Skytrain Skytation and then a quick hop to Waterfront Station. I could have walked the last part but, hey. When I was walking out of Waterfront, I was a bit hesitant: would there be a long queue similar to the ones in Japadog during lunch time? Fortunately, there was a small queue and had to wait 5 minutes at most. I initially ordered the Chicken Tandoori but then he mentioned there was also had the all-beef version. OK, that sounds good so that was what I ended up getting.

According to the articles above, these dogs are basted in a tandoori sauce so I was not sure what I would get. When I got mine after a couple of minutes, I was a bit unimpressed, specially after my experiences with Japadog. In a way, it was naked, i.e., aside from the wurst/smokie and some onions, there was nothing else. Could it be that this place is trying to keep it simple and letting their tandoori sauce (which, according to the articles above, used to baste these dogs) do all the talking? Well, I wasn’t that sure so I added some mustard myself (by default, yellow mustard, otherwise, dijon – never catsup!).

After my first bite, I was not really convinced. I did not taste anything special. In fact, if I compare it to the other hot dog shops in Metro Vancouver, it would be pretty average. And I am not talking about the dog/tandoori sauce itself, I am talking about the overall dog. For example, in other stands, they would usually “toast” the bun a bit along with the wurst/smokie. Here, that was not the case (or at least that was not done with mine).

From this picture, I am sure you would notice that reddish/orange-y colour in the wurst so I will assume that was the result of the tandoori sauce. If that was the case, it worked in the colour side, not on the taste side. Could it be it was such a hot day that I couldn’t really “taste” the tandoori sauce? Hmmmmm….

Overall, I must say I was dissatisfied with the hot dog. I am sure there would be lots of potential but I did not feel it delivered. As mentioned in my posts on Japadog, it is about the toppings that make Japadog different, not to mention they manage to create a contrast between taste (savoury vs. sweet) and texture. Here, there was no such effect. As a result, unless somebody points me where/what I missed, if I am looking for a hot dog, there are a lot of other stands nearby/in-between.

I guess I am starting to make this into a trend, hehehehe. As part of the on-going summer (food-related) events in Vancouver, yesterday, I went to the Pacific National Exhibition for an event called CityTv’s Taste of the City. And what is this event? Organized by CityTV, one of the local television system, it is all about food, as the name suggests. In this case, over 20 restaurants would showcase some of their dishes and the samples would cost between $1 to $4.

I must admit I have some type of hesitation about these events, hesitation I mentioned when I blogged about EAT! Vancouver earlier this year. While at first $1 to $4 sounds cheap, it sort of depends on the portion it will be given to you, not to mention how much you would be able to eat anyway. Fortunately, unlike EAT! Vancouver, there are no food exhibitors (OK, actually there was one, but they were part of the organizing group) so no gong-show or long queues for free samples. However, that did not stop people from lining up some of the vendors.

Did I mention something about long queues to *one* tent/vendor?

Lots of people, alright!

Just like in EAT! Vancouver, rather than paying at the tents, you need to buy tickets. Here, $10 gives you 20 tickets. (You could also buy 10 tickets for $5). Unfortunately, that creates an odd problem: What if you just want to sample something that “costs” 8 tickets? What would you do with the remaining two tickets??? Hmmmmm….

Now all that aside, to the food! Here are the pictures of dishes I did not order but, instead, grabbed it from people walking by with their loot! ^_^

Tacos from Doña Cata, previously blogged here.

Some Indian food, not sure if this was from Maurya.

Tempura from Toyotomi. On the note of Japanese food, there was also Sushi Zero One.

Crab cakes and ahi tuna with caesar salad. Two of the best deals (4 and 5 tickets each). However, the lines for this stand was ridiculous so I skipped this one completely.

And, now, to the dishes I did order.

Hot dog from Big Dawgz. Actually, it was half a dog but they had tons of toppings. Unfortunately, being only half a dog, there was only that much you could put. In my case, I added some pepperoni, sautéed mushroom and cherry tomato. And, of course, mustard! The dog was not too different from what you would be able to get in a regular hot dog stand. Well, probably with the exception the first bite of the dog had a bit more bite but, otherwise, not that different. However, just like Japadog, toppings matter and in this case, the ones I added were quite good, if I can say so myself! ^_^ The shake, on the other hand, was a real winner. Unlike mango lassi from a lot of Indian restaurants, where the taste is quite homogeneous (regardless of which restaurant – here in Vancouver or in the US), here, it had a hint of acidity, which I considered quite good and interesting. Could it be they used real mangoes? Hmmmmmm…

Here is what I considered the best deal of the day, white spring salmon with cranberry coleslaw. This was for 8 tickets. As you see, it was not a small plate, it was almost a regular size serving in some restaurants. While the salmon was lighter than the regular salmon, it was still good (some lemon juice would have helped, though) and the coleslaw was tart while maintaining a bit of its crunchiness.

I also had some grilled steak with a salad (which has goat cheese), also for 8 tickets. However, obviously, it was not as a better deal as the salmon. It was just OK I will have to say. The goat cheese was quite good – creamy and pungent which balances with the salad. Hmmmmmmm….

Finally, some dessert in the form of Hazelnut ganache (3 tickets). Small portion but quite decent, nonetheless. The interesting part was the yellow-syrup: it was mango, which gave an interesting contrast between sweet, acidic and bitter. Yummmmm!

Finally, for one ticket, a small snack pack, here the “cran-blueberry” crunch.

Also, in the main stand there were cooking presentation from some of the restaurants with the presenters of the different CityTV’s local shows: Dawn Chubai, Riaz Meghji, Michel McDermott, Kyle Donaldson (from Breakfast Television and Lunch Television, the later two), Erica Sigurdson, Graham Clark and Paul Bae (from The List – absent, though, was Charlie Demers who was on a trip/gig out of town). Despite the bunch from The List were the comedians, the real act was that of Michelle and Kyle. Sorry, there are some lines I can’t repeat here (as this is supposed to be a PG site)! One thing that I should mention is that the local celebrities were quite approachable. In fact, a lot of people wanted autographs and pictures from them and they were more than happy to do so – A real class act.

Overall, I must say I enjoyed this event more than I thought I would, probably because one show was noticeably absent: the gong show. And, unlike EAT! Vancouver, there was no entry fee and the dishes here were better proportioned (and I am not talking about the ones I sample but the ones I observed). Unfortunately, have to wait for one year for next time… -_-;;;

Edit/Update: Jenny of My Secret Garden blogged about this event as well. Check it here.

Japadog
480 Broughton Street
Coal Harbour Community Centre
Vancouver, BC

Well, hell has frozen over. As if their second location in Burrard & Pender was not enough, Japadog has opened a third location, this time in Coal Harbour Community Centre…

Ah, Vancouver, the Best Place on Earth…

At this point there isn’t much that hasn’t been said about Japadog. But, just in case, check my previous posts about Japadog (Burrard & Smythe and, again, Burrard & Pender).

Unlike their other locations, this one is not necessarily a hot dog stand. Rather, it seems to be part of the Community Centre. But they were having the hot dog stand because, well, it is summer! However, that day, they did not have the full menu listed in other places. For example, they did not have listed the korokke, okonomi or similar ones. However, they did have the oroshi, kurobuta and the spicy cheese terimayo, which is the one I ended up ordering.

I will have to say this was a disappointment. For one, they were using processed cheese… C’mon, at least use grated cheese! Also, if it wasn’t because of the seaweed on the top, I would not have been able to tell it apart from any regular hot dog stand. The cabbage (underneath the seaweed) and teriyaki/mayo sauce did not stood out. Could it be that the novelty wore off for me or it was an off day? (sigh)…

Another shoot of the stand with the mountains on the back.

Capital Ale House
4 Locations in Virginia
623 East Main Street (6th and Main St.)
Richmond, VA 23219

In my post last week on Long’s Noodle House, I mentioned my trip to Richmond… Virginia… ^_^;;; Unlike my previous business trips, where I would be for almost the whole week, this was a short one and, since the customer wanted me to be on a Monday, I chose to fly during the weekend. When I arrived, I found out something disappointing of Richmond, VA: If it wasn’t because of offices, library or some US government buildings, it was pretty much a dead area. Of course, it was possible I was, again, in a “dead” part of the city… Anyway, I shouldn’t be complaining about things like this but, rather, just focus on the food. So, for today’s post, one of the two restaurants I visited during this trip (the other place I had my meals was the hotel restaurant, something I would rather not blog…). So, what was particular about this restaurant? It just happened it was suggested by a colleague who was there just before me…

The restaurant was broken down into three sections: the bar, the dining room and an area where there would be live music. I was tired from my trip and was not in mood for loud music – which I could hear even when I was half a block away. Likewise, I wanted to be away from the gaze of the waiter/waitresses, so I asked for a table.

A beer bottle for a vase? I can live with that! ^_^

After checking the menu, I made my order. And, with my order, I also got a salad:

I will admit, the salad was quite decent, specially if I compare it to other “freebie” sides I have received with my meals in my trips. (Freebie, as in part of the meal, not something “on the house”). The dressing was raspberry vinaigrette which was a bit too sweet and not tangy enough. Not that it matter that much, as I am among the odd people who can eat salad without any dressing or vinaigrette. But, what made the salad was those small pieces of grilled/baked peppers. Wish more places would include grilled peppers in their salads…

For my main, I ordered a “Brat & Knack Plate”, which, according to their menu is “a Usinger’s knackwurst and bratwurst served with kraut, sweet & sour red cabbage and warm German potato salad”. Before anybody says anything, I think I messed up here. Since I was still tired from the flight, I don’t think I was thinking straight. Heck, I didn’t even check the specials of the day (as I was walking out, past their sandwich board on the street, I found out it was pork tenderloin). So, why the hell would I order this? Sometimes I have to live with my mistakes…

Anyway, I will have to say both sausages were average, as I did not find anything special about them. Is it possible I have been spoiled by the ones found in Vancouver? And I am not talking about the “fancy” ones found in places like Oyama Sausage; heck, I am talking about the pork wurst found in supermarkets! Probably it is because of the cooking method they used, since it looks like they just boiled them. In my case, my preferred cooking method (if I don’t have access to a grill) is a mix of boiling and pan searing, i.e., boil them in just a bit of water until the water boils away and then let it there to sear slightly…

As for the sides, actually, all of them were good. The one I like the most was the potato salad. Sorry the picture of the salad did not turn out that well. Finally, the sauce used, whole grain mustard, at least helped the wurst.

Overall, if I have to base my opinion on this single meal, I will say it was disappointing. Don’t get me wrong, ambiance-wise, it might be more suited for locals. So, it is possible I did not give them a fighting chance; but, as a traveller, that is all I can give them…