thisisarestaurantblog: cute cartoon picture of food such as fortune cookies, soda bottle, etc (Default)

THIS IS A REVIEW:
Japadog isn't bad, it's just suffering from a case of terminal overrateditis. It's the #1 restaurant on Urbanspoon, it was featured in an episode of Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations", and the line-up is always long.

But for all that, it's just hot dogs and sausages, with some Asian toppings. The quality of the meat is comparable to other hot dog stands. You won't be rolling around on the sidewalk in orgasmic delight after biting into one.



The Betrothed and I both had the okonomi, which is a kurobota (fatty pork) sausage with bonito flakes, fried cabbage, okonomiyaki sauce and mayo. The toppings on most of their items are likely to be carried away on a windy day, so you might want to wait for a calm one to try it out.

It was good, but it was hard for it to match the expectations we had built up for this place. The bun, for example, is just a bun you can get at the supermarket. The sausage was tasty, but nothing like as good as the ones at Aree's Dawg House. There was not enough fried cabbage and too much bonito. The sauces were really good and well matched, I will give them that.

I'd recommend this for a hot dog if you're going to be in Downtown, but I wouldn't make a special trip here.

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Japadog
Location: Burrard St between Smithe and Robson; three other locations
Prices: $5 or so per hot dog
Service: Efficient and smiling.
Food: Tasty tube meat with Asian toppings.
Recommended?: The food is good but the trendiness is out of proportion. However, the low price means that this is an easy way to do something that many celebrities have done, lol. Check out what some of them have ordered. Does your favorite star take the turkey terimayo or a plain and boring dog with nothing? Only one way to see!

Japadog (Burrard & Smythe) on Urbanspoon
thisisarestaurantblog: cute cartoon picture of food such as fortune cookies, soda bottle, etc (Default)

THIS IS A REVIEW:
I'm on Team Fritz in the Fritz vs. Belgian Fries debate, but this is still a good place for poutine in Vancouver.

The menu is a bit bigger than Fritz's, with some more exotic combinations. In addition to fries fries and more fries, they also sell such healthy fare as deep-fried Mars bars and other desserts.

The gravy is vegetarian based (probably miso) like most places in Vancouver.



We got two larges (each about $8) which was probably a mistake lol, but at the time we were really hungry. The one on the right is topped with so-called "War", which is apparently a favorite in the Netherlands (they call it "patatje oorlog"). It's a peanut satay sauce and mayo, along with onions. Maybe this is the way the Dutch like it, but I thought there was too much mayo compared to the other ingredients. Also it was a hot day so it was a little heavy. Somehow poutine's gravy doesn't feel as heavy as the creamy peanut and mayo. But I liked the combination in principle.

Our other choice was a little more conventional, poutine Galvaude. This Quebecois treat is the good old poutine combination of fries, gravy and curds, with peas and shredded chicken. The big weakpoint comparing Belgian to Fritz is the fries; the fries at Fritz are simply better. But the gravy is comparable. The curds in our poutine were not as melty as I like them but still pretty delicious, and I liked eating it with the chicken and peas. The Boyfriend liked it too.

Oh, and you, faithful reader, should know that The Boyfriend is no more.

Because later that day he proposed to me! <3

So now he is... The Betrothed. *tiny cymbal crash*

And we're almost reaching the end of my time in Vancouver!

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Belgian Fries
Location: 1885 Commercial Dr Vancouver BC (604) 253-4220
Prices: $5-10 for most dishes. Also sells beer and coolers.
Service: Done take-out style. It was fine.
Food: Fries with various toppings done well. But to my mind, they overemphasize the toppings at the expense of the fries.
Recommended?: If you only have time to do one, I say go to Fritz European Fry House downtown. But this place is still good. I also had really good poutine at the Naam, of all places.

Belgian Fries on Urbanspoon
thisisarestaurantblog: cute cartoon picture of food such as fortune cookies, soda bottle, etc (Default)

THIS IS A REVIEW:
Okay, confession time: I've been here twice, but I never noted the name of the stand. I figured "I'll just google 'hot dog stand vancouver broadway pine' and it'll be no problem." But while I found many people talking about the hot dog stand, nobody mentioned its name. I'll have to find it out later. Anyway, as you can see it's located outside the Future Shop on W. Broadway near the intersection with Pine. Can't miss it.

I thought the prices were a little expensive for street food... $4 for a regular hot dog, $4.75 for jumbo and $5.50 for, um, extra-jumbo, and $6.50~$8 for European-style sausages with different kinds of meats such as pork, lamb and turkey. However they claim to make all their own stuff and I can believe it after tasting it.


They've got about a bajillion different kinds of toppings... the requisite mustard comes in 3 or 4 varieties, they have sauerkraut, sliced black olives, corn relish, pomegranate bbq (? don't ask me, my boyfriend liked it), garlic mayo, on and on. This picture is from my second time stopping by the stand, a spur of the moment decision. Both times I was there I noticed everyone putting mayo on their sausages or hot dogs, which perplexed me. Last minute I decided to give it a tentative try, hence the thin line of mayo across the top of the sauerkraut, lol.

Underneath the piles of sauerkraut (yep, I'm a German-American) is black olives, dijon mustard, grilled onions, and finally the turkey sausage ($6.50 tax incl.). Delicious!

My previous go, I had gotten a pork sausage with just yellow mustard and sauerkraut, and my boyfriend had, I think, a spicy sausage with all kinds of crazy toppings like aforementioned pomegranate bbq, the corn relish, and I don't know what else.

The stand also sells cold drinks but the prices are even more outrageous. Just go into the nearby Shoppers Drug Mart and buy a drink there.

Service was prompt and friendly, even though the second time the guy who made my sausage was apparently a trainee. The stand had a steady flow of customers both times, but neither time was there a long line or anything like that.

THIS IS A SUMMARY:
Name: Aree's Dawg House
Location: 1700 block of W. Broadway near Pine, in front of Future Shop
Prices: <$10
Service: Friendly and prompt.
Food: Tasty grilled meat in tube form and plenty of toppings.
Recommended?: Yes :D

Edit: When I first made this post, I didn't know the name of the place, so here it is. :)

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