Japadog (Vancouver)

I was meandering through Flickr today when I came across this little photo gem. It's the menu at a hot dog stand in Canada called "JAPADOG"!! haha, gotta love the Japa-style.

You really have to look carefully to appreciate this one:

Teriyaki sauce and mayo? Grated daikon radish and soy sauce? Miso paste and mayo? And the dogs are made with juicy kurobuta (black pork). I don't know about you but I'm hungry. Check out their site cause it gets even better.

(Thanks Zyork!)

Let's be Frank @ Culver City

This was Saturday's lunch, a $5 hot dog at a truck parked in the Helms Bakery complex.

I normally don't eat hot dogs... certainly not those juice-dripping franks wrapped in crispy bacon, smothered with grilled onions that tiny Mexican ladies peddle from pushcarts in Hollywood. Definitely not those.
Well, sometimes.

But this hot dog from "Let's be Frank" comes guilt-free. The cows are grass-fed and roam freely on bucolic pastures too beautiful to describe. It's also free of nitrates and other mystery spices. In other words, you're eating the meat of a drug-free vegetarian who exercised 7 days a week and had a healthy outlook on life. It definitely shows. And considering how lean it is —no fatty drippings whatsoever — this dog packs a lot of flavor. My first thought after biting in: Slim Jim.

For those of you who enjoy the fatty ooze and the post-consumption chest pain and/or gas, this isn't for you. It's for those who'd read "The Jungle" in school and swore off processed meat forever. But it's also for those who've tried soy dogs and thought, "This would be great if it only had... meat."

The cheery lady in the truck, Sue Moore, was helpful in deciding which of the two dogs to get: an all-beef dog from Hearst Ranch or a brat (pork) dog blended with thyme and other organic herbs. There's benches right next door which happen to face the newest branch of Fathers Office. (Note: Construction guy said at least another month.)

As I bit into my dog, I tried recalling the last time I had one. Maybe not since the last time I was out clubbing in Hollywood a year or two ago. And even then I only had a bite off my friend's. I have to admit, there's something very satisfying about licking up fatty oils. I kind of missed it. This cow was definitely no couch potato. But I thanked myself a few hours later. No cramping, no indigestion, no lardy residue on my teeth. In fact, I was in tiptop condition for my next meal which was a load of greasy Chinese food. Thank you, vegetarian cows.

Let's Be Frank
Helms Bakery Complex on Helms Ave. between Washington and Venice Blvds.
Open Tuesday thru Sunday from 11 am