hot dogs | Eat This Town

I don’t know who invented the “Asian fusion dog”, but Vancouver certainly made it famous! According to the history of Japadog, it all started in 2005 when a Japanese couple immigrated to Vancouver with the dream of opening a world famous food stand. For several years, Japadog enjoyed local fame. Then the 2010 Winter Olympics provided international exposure, followed by media hype and a visit from Anthony Bourdain. There are now at least 4 carts located around Vancouver, an airport location and a storefront restaurant on Robson St. In 2012 Japadog opened a location in New York City, bringing this west-coast hot dog style to the east.

I’ve had the opportunity to eat at Japadog on two occasions, and these are some of the best hot dogs I’ve ever had.There are a variety of meats, including kobe beef and kurobuta pig (and veggie dogs) that you can choose to accompany the toasted bun, and they have a nice snappy casing. Most importantly, these hot dogs are topped with Japanese ingredients, like nori seaweed, daikon radish, and wasabi mayo. The signature dog is the Terimayo, which is a beef dog featuring teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayo, and shredded nori seaweed. Other variations involve korubuta sausage or a spicy cheese infused hot dog instead of the beef.

Terimayo Dog

Every location of Japadog has slightly different offerings, and as you can see, the terimayo dog at the top of this post looks different from the one directly above. Why did I get my second hot dog in a styrofoam container? Why does the first hot dog look so neat and tidy, while the second hot dog looks drunk? These are mysteries that can only be solved by a thorough Japadog tour of Vancouver.

Another hot dog I got to try was the Okonomi, a kurobuta pork sausage topped with Japanese mayo, fried cabbage, dried bonito (tuna) flakes, and okonomi sauce.

Okonomi Dog

This dog was just okay. The bonito flakes did not impart as much flavour as I expected, and I don’t see what the big deal is about korubuta pork. However, that toasted bun and that snappy casing truly outplay most hot dogs you’ll come across. Even regular ballpark toppings on one of these dogs would be a winner. But I’m not one for ketchup and mustard. I can’t wait to try the Avocado Dog, the Kurogoma Kimuchi (topped with kimchi and black sesame), and the Oroshi (grated daikon and soy sauce). Japadog also sells a deep fried hot dog bun filled with ice cream (black sesame anyone?) at its Robson St. location. I have heard that the French fries are relatively mediocre, but vastly improved by seaweed sprinkles or butter and shoyu. Next time I’m in Vancouver (or New York, yay!) I’ll be all over these hot dogs. Strictly for research, of course.

I wish Halifax had a signature style of hot dog. For now, we’ll have to settle with the donair.

Japadog Web Site

Hamburgers and hot dogs, despite having their origins in German cuisine, are as American as apple pie (which, ironically, is also not uniquely American). But America is the champion of hot dogs! Every region has its own variation. For example, in upstate New York, they eat “Michigans”, but in Michigan they eat “Coneys”. To make matters worse, they don’t eat “Coneys” in Coney Island. It’s like every hot dog is trying to be something else (except for Chicago Dogs, which are eaten in Chicago).

Lafayette and American – Coney Island Neighbours!

Once upon a time, I was led to believe that a Coney Dog was a generic chilli cheese dog. In actuality, there is no cheese involved at all. A Coney Dog is a natural casing all-beef hot dog topped with a beanless chilli, diced onions, and mustard. There is Flint-style, and Detroit-style, the latter using more of a saucy chilli and the former using more of a ground beef topping. These are the hot dogs of Michigan.

The Detroit-Windsor tunnel bus is only $4 and is a great way to travel back and forth between these two unlikely cities. It’s usually a breeze going through customs, unless you have a very large backpack and an incredulous border guard. I expected Detroit to be kinda scary, but it wasn’t really. The downtown is actually quite pleasant, with Tigers Stadium, the Fillmore, and the RiverFront all within walking distance. We only saw one person get knocked unconscious in a bar scuffle that afternoon, as we quested for authentic Coney Hot Dogs.

Lafayette Coney Island Hot Dog

Apparently if you live in Detroit, you are a patron of Lafayette, OR you are a patron of American. These two Coney Dog vendors are quite literally next door to one another (they share a wall) and they essentially serve the same product. But they are as different as night and day! Lafayette has this white walled greasy spoon diner thing going on. The service is gruff and to the point. But when you walk into American, you are greeted with a smile and a clean set-up of red, white and blue. Each restaurant caters to a different sort of personality, so your choice of venue will depend on what kind of hot dog experience you want to have. We enjoyed the experience at Lafayette because it seemed more “big gritty city”, or “Detroit”, to us.

American Coney Island Hot Dog

If pressed for which hot dog we liked better, we agreed it was also the Lafayette Coney Dog – by a fraction of a point, and perhaps due to the law of diminishing marginal utility (the first hot dog always tastes best). Or perhaps atmosphere and experience is inseparable from the taste of a hot dog. Either way, I encourage the random food tourist, hungry person, or hot dog enthusiast to try both locations. After all, you just have to walk next door!

Lafayette Coney Island
118 W Lafayette Blvd.
Detroit, MI
(313) 964-8198

American Coney Island
114 W Lafayette Blvd.
Detroit, MI
(313) 961-7758

View of Detroit from Windsor, ON

Eat This Town

A Halifax-Based Food Tourism Blog

Tag Archives: hot dogs

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