Japadog in Downtown Vancouver
Street food is the pits in Vancouver.
As far as I know there are nothing but hot dogs that are allowed on the streets. It is kind of sad right? With such a cosmopolitan population, there are so much potential to make Vancouver the mecca of street food. Already we are probably one of the best in terms on ethnic cuisine in North America but for street food, it is the pits … with one exception.
Despite this limitation imposed on street food vendors by the city health authorities, we do have something that we could be proud of.
When Anthony Bourdain came to Vancouver, the one thing he chose to feature was Japadog (wind to the 7th minute of the youtube above). I might be wrong but I think Japadog is uniquely Vancouver.
Japadog started off with a storm at the corner of Burrard and Smithe in downtown Vancouver. Back then, the long queues were a spectacle. There were people who would stand in line for 30 minutes just for a hotdog.
When I was there recently, there was no queue. Maybe it was because they were forced to move across the street due to ongoing road construction at their usual spot and not many of their regular customers were aware if it.
Besides Bourdain, there are quite a number of famous people who had tried Japadog. They proudly display their famous fans’ pictures on their cart and what they ate.
Some of them are more famous than others. Click on the picture above if you can’t read properly who they are. ;-)
Bewildered by the many combinations, I decided that that I won’t go wrong with their most expensive item on their menu — the Kurobuta Terimayo.
Kurobuta is described as the “Kobe Beef” of pork. According to Wikipedia, Kurobuta is listed as vulnerable because their are only 300 breeding females. Hmmm … I learn new things everyday.
I am not a hotdog person but I like Japadog. It is unlike any hotdog I had ever tried. What makes Japadog a difference is the … “Terimayo”. I can only guess that Terimayo is a play on the words teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise.
The bread was a bit dry but otherwise it was great. I could eat this everyday.
I was thinking … Japadog would be very easy to imitate. I am curious why there are no one who copies them until now.
It is confusing deciding what to order right?
I know you can’t read that small notice that was paste across the word between “Oroshi” and “Kurobuta” on the right image. That note says that the Vancouver City is imposing more stringent conditions on Japadog during winter and this will mean they will have to scale down their menu. The note says that they are still negotiating with the City over this issue.
About a block or two away, Japadog is opening a restaurant. Can you believe that?
It is on Robson between Seymour and Richards. They are going to open in November.
I am curious as to direction that Japadog is going. Are they moving to a shop because of they are forced to do so by the city …
… or do you think it has to do with the Olympics? I can just imagine that if they play their cards right, the Olympics could be a mega springboard for this uniquely Vancouver brand. They are located right smack in the middle of the party zones of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. I am making this up … but … why not, right?
View Japadog Locations in a larger map
There are three locations where you could get the Japadog. The three locations are marked in red pushpins and the new restaurant location is marked with the blueish icon.
I have heard lots about it and have been dying to try it out, but (1) I’m rarely in downtown Vancouver (2) I never really know where their stand is located. So it’s good to hear that they’re setting up a shop. I’ll be making sure to get down there if and when I’m in downtown Vancouver.
It’s bureaucracy to the best. Japadog is doing great so the city wants Japadog to pay more for fulfilling the regulation. It’s very business unfriendly and pure socialism. They sure know how to ruin business and economy.
6.25 for a hotdog is absurd im sorry….. Only in Vancouver
oh, sam…buddy!
you say this because you haven’t tried one!
and trust me, these ‘dogs are a decent size and good quality. i finally got to try japadog this summer..and the frugalista inside of me had to agree that though it’s somewhat pricey you get more than what you pay ;)
I had the terimayo during my recent layover (had the tenku bakudanyaki in richmond a day before) and found it to be quite tasty as well. Next time I’ll try Oroshi. Looking forward to the restaurant.
I love this place! I’m craving a japadog now…
A restaurant? Sweet. A new favorite place to go :)
Hi, my comment isn’t regarding Japadog. I am sorry but the ads on your pictures are distracting and irritating. Any chance they will come down?
Hi Ann:
Alright, we had taken down the ads. They are annoying to us too!
Ben
I love Japadog…not only because they taste great but years later, my Japadog post on my blog STILL gets traffic. Viewed like 30,000 times…
Hey Ed:
30,000 times? That’s amazing. What do you use to track pageviews to particular pages? I use WordPress Blog Stat but I am guessing you are using something else because you mentioned “years later”.
Ben
I just saw that the StumbleUpon page for that article was at 24,000 views plus I know that I’ve gotten several thousand more from other sources such as Digg, Reddit, etc. This doesn’t include just straight up Google either!
By the way…the Miso Mayo is my favorite.
I tried to go there once, but was in my car and couldn’t find anywhere within 5 blocks in any direction to park. When we did park and walk back, the cart wasn’t there any more. So I’m glad they’re opening a restaurant that won’t walk away!
The easiest place the park is across from IGA. Lots of that area is no parking but there’s usually plenty of space. Or just do what I do and park illegally. How long does it take to eat a hot dog anyways?
I tried to make my own version of a Japadog today after seeing the post here..since we can’t get it here in the Netherlands. I love the taste of pork with seawood teriyaki and mayo combination. Thanks for the post. This will be served on my upcoming potluck Halloween party.
Fried onions … don’t forget the fried onions. And the mayo, use Japanese mayo. And make lots of slicing on the pork sausage too. :-)
Hi Suanne,
On the second bun I did put the fried onions and yes Japanese mayo. Since the many slices in the sausage were so visible in the picture I just copied that as well :-)
Wasabi mayo is key! Go with a 3:1 mixture of mayo to wasabi. 1:1 if you’re adventurous!
Thanks for the wider shot of the planned brick’n'mortar J-dog. Tsukune dogs? Fries? Be still my heart. Wish it was open already, cuz I know where I’d be going before David Sedaris on Sunday :-).
Just an FYI you are right that Hot Dogs are one of the only food allowed in Vancouver, oddly Chestnuts are the other allowed street food. Vancouver Food Policy dept is exploring the feasibility of opening Vancouver up to more options. My office was interviewed about it a while back and we said yes! I mean who doesn’t want some options!
Francis – was it the City of Vancouver calling your office for an interview? (Was it a survey?) If so, then that is good news.
Portland has tons of food carts, and Seattle is beginning to. One of them is an old Airstream modified to look like a giant pig — yes, they sell barbecue. They twitter their locations as they move around town. Portland has several city blocks in different parts of downtown devoted to the carts. Most are staffed by chefs, so the food is pretty good! They’re usually small trailers, not carts like Japadog.
This link references the pig truck, known as Maximus Minimus. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/restaurants/2009888690_deal18.html
Washington is just now allowing craft distilleries, which are big in Portland too. Those aren’t on food cartsm of course, but they are allowed to sell their products. That’s a big step as Washington all liquor sales are at state-run stores. Food trends seem to move around our large urban zone, so maybe Vancouver food cart purveyors will be allowed more freedom soon!
Here’s more than you’d like to know about the large urban zone theory: from an urban planning perspective, Vancouver BC to Eugene OR is one large city known as Cascadia (On the east coast of the US, it’s Boston to Washington DC, known as The BosWash).
Here are two web pages about Cascadia, one more serious and one calling for secession from both the US and Canada!
http://zapatopi.net/cascadia/
http://www.sightline.org/research/sust_toolkit/fundamentals/cascadia
Yes I envy the food carts in Portland. Here is a website dedicated to them http://foodcartsportland.com/