Agent Will

While the real estate market slows down and people enjoy the summer you can still find people lined up at one of the busiest corners in the city.  They’re not there to buy a condo, or to see a celebrity (though famous faces have been known to be there, not sure if they wait in line).  No.  They are at Smithe and Burrard to get a hot dog.

Not just any hot dog.  A Japadog.  Street meat so good people will wait for as long as 15 minutes (my wait time today) for what is generally perceived as one of the worst dietary supplements you can buy.

These are no ordinary hotdogs as many have found out.  Rapper/producer Ice Cube, actors from “Lost”, travel shows from the Discovery Network, Steven Seagall (part time Vancouver resident), and many others have all waited for what Macleans magazine called the greatest innovation in Canadian Street Meat.

I met the proprietor, Noriki, a couple of years ago at a Christmas party when a friend of mine who was the Blue Water’s Japanese Chef introduced me.  Imagine how surprised I was to hear of a guy who came all the way from Japan to open a hot dog cart.  Then add to that the very pricey and ritzy Blue Water Cafe’s chef recommending I go and get one.

I did.

Haven’t eaten at any other hot dog cart again (not that I ate a lot of dogs, except maybe on the way to a sporting event).  By far my favourite is the Terimayo which is an all beef dog with teriyaki sauce, fried onion, mayonnaise (I add wasabi mayo on top), and nori (shredded dried seaweed).  The Daikon Oroshi is also quite good… but most seem in love with the Terimayo.  I have not yet tried the Kurobuta (Black Pork) which is claimed to be the Kobe Beef of pork.

If you haven’t tried one of these dogs… I urge you to go.  You will not regret it.

By the way… how many other hotdog vendors have their own website (www.japadog.com) or get voted best Best Dog in the city consistently, or get featured in the major local papers, or get a full article in Macleans Magazine (not to mention numerous TV news reports, celebrities, travel shows, and a line up daily)?  Go.