(This restaurant is now *CLOSED* )

9567 118 Avenue NW, Edmonton

*CLOSED*

The Dog is the newest hot dog place to come to Edmonton. Japadogs are already very popular in Vancouver, and even at K-days you can get Asian-themed hot dogs there! Tubby Dog in Calgary has been around since 2005 and is fairly popular there. We do have Fat Franks here, but when it comes to Gourmet hot dogs, we’ve only recently entered the scene. It Dog came to Edmonton this last year, another Asian-themed hot dog place. The Dog is a nice addition to the city with their various toppings and hot dogs. They also have a fair amount of vegetarian hot dogs!

They are located on 9567 118 Avenue and are literally right beside Sloppy Hoggs Roed Hus (I think they may even share a wall). They are actually the same owners are Sloppy Hoggs! Super convenient! All of their hot dogs are supplied by Real Deal meats, a local butcher, and their exotic hot dogs (Kangaroo, Elk, Wild Boar, Alligator) are made in house. They also make their pickles and relishes in house too! I came here with my friend, so I only got to try two hot dogs, and we shared some onion rings and the Rhodesian Porkball.

The Narita is one of the hot dogs that we settled on. It’s a beef and pork hot dog, with wasabi mayo, kim chi, sesame sauce, do chua, pickled ginger, bonito flakes, and ramen noodles. My first bite I just wanted to try the hot dog itself so that I could compare it to the other hot dogs that I’ve had. The hot dog was nice and tasty. Well seasoned, and it had a good texture. I’d say much better than the hot dog at It Dog. The ones there were a little bit to glutenous and gummy, maybe too much filler or binding. To be fair though, these hot dogs are supplied by a local butcher. The rest of the hot dog actually went nicely together. I had a bit of Kim Chi in my first couple bites, but then afterwards, everything just got lost in everything else. I really liked the do chua and pickled ginger. There was maybe a tad too much ginger but it gave a nice contrasting flavour. The ramen bits were really just there for presentation and to give it a little bit of extra crunch which was nice! One thing I’d have to say is that the bun is a bit lacking, and maybe an upgraded bun might be worth while.

The other hot dog that me and Jamie decided on was the San Francisco. This was your more plain and expected hot dog with typical toppings. It had bacon, mayo, tomatoes, mozza, and avocado on a beef and pork hot dog. Everything went nicely together and it was really good! The bacon was nice and crispy, not too greasy. I also love avocado and it added a nice creaminess to the hot dog. We had onion rings as a side and they were nice and crispy. No complaints here, but at the same time, nothing spectacular. Onion rings are one of those things that are really good if they are well done, but have the potential to be disastrous. The ones here are pretty good and you should give them a try if you’re inkling for some rings.

We were a little bit eye-hungry and ordered an additional Rhodesian porkball. It’s basically crispy fries topped with Italian sausage, pulled pork, bacon, and country gravy. I figured I’d give this a try since I’ve eaten at Sloppy Hoggs before and their meat was so tasty there. It’s was kind of like a poutine from La poutine but a million times better (I actually am not the biggest fan of La poutine to be honest). The pulled pork was really good. The Italian sausage was seasoned with a fair amount of anise, which has a taste similar to licorice, which I’m not the hugest fan of. Anise is pretty common in American Italian sausage. Overall, it was pretty good but I think I would stick with the other two variety of fries/poutines they have there since the anise is not a huge favourite of mine.

Overall I’d have to say I had a good experience here. If you’re looking for a nice gourmet hot dog, this is definitely the place to go. You’re not limited to just Asian-themed hot dogs like at It Dog, and you can customize your hot dog. The prices are pretty cheap here, but you do have the option of getting an upgraded bun, or a exotic sausage, but still, the prices are very reasonable! It’s definitely worth a try if you’re ever in the neighborhood and looking for some cheap eats!