The first is the japadog. It does exactly what it says on the tin: Japanese hotdogs. Yes. There are several japadog stands around Vancouver (and one each in New York and LA, apparently) and they were started in 2005 by Noriki Tamura when he moved here. "MAKING THE WORLD HAPPY AND ALIVE THROUGH HOTDOGS!" is their slogan, and who can argue with that?
I'd been wanting to try these sausages of amazingness for some time, and with Nate staying had the perfect partner. We made sure we went to the main stand on Burrard Street, mainly because that's the only one that advertises ice cream in a fried bun for dessert. If you're gonna go, you might as well go large.
Being the traditionalist I am I went for their #1 seller, the Kurobuta Terimayo, a combination of hotdog, Teriyaki sauce, mayo and seaweed. Now I can never eat another hotdog, so transcendently incredible was this fabrication; sweet, salty, rich, porky, creamy, etc. As valiantly as the deep-fried-hotdog-bun-coated-in-sugar-filled-with-ice-cream tried to compete, the first course had already won the day.
Then, for dinner, we went for the other Canadian classic: poutine. I'd had a brush with some fake poutine at White Spot but Lauren wanted the full Quebecois experience and so we found ourselves at La Belle Patate. I think the name translates to "as much salt as possible" because that was the overriding, unsubtle flavour of my bowl of cheese curds and chips floating on a deluge of barbecue gravy. Pete was given one taste before I got worried about sodium poisoning, and Genevieve was allowed none.
In summary: japadogs, extremely good. Poutine, once a year, possibly once a lifetime, which for me is certainly shorter and more artery-clogged than it was this morning.
The only place to eat japadogs. Literally.
Ooooh yes.
Pete steals some of the only greenery I consumed today.
And now we can be added to their number.
Matcha green tea ice cream balls in a fried bun. Hmm.
Poutine. It tastes just like it looks.
Spot the grumpy baby who wasn't allowed any.
Hey daddy, maybe it would be better if we added hot sauce! No.
