Monday, December 23, 2013

Japadog

Japadog is a famous hot dog cart that started in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It has now expanded to multiple carts and brick-and-mortars in Vancouver BC and New York City. This blog post only covers the brick-and-mortar on Robson Street in downtown Vancouver BC.

When fielding suggestions on places to go in Vancouver BC, a couple of people mentioned Japadog. From what I gathered, the hot dog carts only accept cash, so I went to the Robson spot (cards accepted there).

Hot dog menu


The menu here has a myriad of hot dog choices -- and may have the most choices of any BC spot. There are fries topped with different seasonings. Heck, there is a dessert option, with three scoops of ice cream inside a deep-fried bun. The workers here create each hot dog right in front of you.

The Terimayo dog ($4.75 for just the hot dog) is the signature item at Japadog: teriyaki sauce, mayonnaise, caramelized onions, and strips of seaweed (nori) on top. The nori loved getting stuck to the roof of my mouth as I valiantly dove in. Gluttony is a dangerous thing, but someone's gotta do it.



I'll have to try the "Hot and Spicy" dog next time: a beef wiener with lettuce and spicy sauce. I'm sure it won't be blowing my face off, but virtually anything with the word spicy in the title is like a toddler spotting a shiny object.

I saved room instead for the "Age Ice" ($2.99), a deep-fried bun filled with ice cream. There are several flavors to choose from, and I got the matcha (green tea) ice cream. The bun reminded me of a malasada (Portuguese doughnut popular in Hawaii) in terms of flavor -- without the overload of granulated sugar.

Age Ice with Matcha (green tea) ice cream
My friend got the Butter and Shoyu shaked fries. I tried one and gave it my panda approval. The butter gives it a pleasing richness and tends to give the shoyu an extra boost on savory nodes.

Especially during the usual lunch hour, the place fills up quickly due to its popularity. There are some seats available right outside.

Head to Japadog if you're in downtown Vancouver BC. There may be a wait, but I thought it was worth it. 7.75/10

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