terimayo dog

Surely it's been blogged to death. But I couldn't pass up the opportunity to speak from personal experience. I had heard about Japadog long before my trip to Vancouver, the city of proud Asian ex-pats. The simplicity of the whole concept boggles the mind: Japanese toppings on an all-American beef hot dog.

I arrived on my bike at Burrard and Robson, just as I was instructed. I approached both hot dog stands on the corners of that intersection, only to be rebuffed by the (now) pedestrian menus containing polish sausages and veggie dogs. Where was the Japadog stand? My eyes scanned the other corners, only to confirm that the Japadog man must have already packed up and gone home, after a sold-out day on Burrard. Duly stowing my discontent, I jumped back on my bike and pedalled for the Burrard Street Bridge.

!!

I braked and turned my bike onto the sidewalk of Smithe. There he was at the corner of Smithe and Burrard: Mr. Japadog, smiling widely. Within 5 minutes, I had a secured myself a tastebud-twisting terimayo dog ("the classic," I was told). Two more minutes, it was gone, down the pipes. Who knew seaweed, teriyaki-simmered onions and a good ol' wiener could work so well together? (The wasabi mayo was an added treat.)

CONSUMED: Japadog; north-west corner of Burrard and Smithe, Vancouver