One of the most thoroughly enjoyable food experiences to be found in Vancouver is alongside a Japadog sidewalk cart.
The crowds are huge and the lineups can be long, but I've yet to see anyone get upset or even mildly impatient while waiting for a fatty, flavourful Kurobuta pork sausage loaded with fried onions, teriyaki sauce, Japanese mayonnaise and nori shreds.
Japadog, which first rolled up to the corner of Burrard and Smithe three years ago, has opened two new locations this spring: one at Burrard and Pender; the other at the Coal Harbour Community Centre.
In addition their delectable pan-Asian twists on the standard tube steak, the Japadog stands always offer a pleasant break in the sunshine, boisterous greetings from the friendly staff members, a bevy of incredulous smiles from curious onlookers and a few laugh-out-loud chuckles from the chalkboard promotions written in whimsical "Japlish."
"Top chef's special!!!" "You may need 911?" "Ice Cube loves this turkey."
And isn't it just incredibly heartwarming to see an innovative entrepreneur turn his humble sidewalk business into a rip-roaring success despite the city's archaic street-vendor regulations?
Koji Sato prepares the Oroshi at the Japadog hot dog cart on the corner of Burrard and Smithe in Vancouver, BC
Japadog is the story of Noriki Tamura, a Tokyo ad salesman who came to Canada with his wife, Misa, in 2005, with the dream of opening a sidewalk crêpe stand, only to be foiled by civic bylaws, which limit Vancouver street vendors to soft drinks, plastic-wrapped muffins and precooked hot dogs.
"I was upset and confused," Mr. Tamura says through a translator. "The laws are too tough."
Determined to make the most of the sidewalk site licence that he had applied for and won by lottery, the intrepid street-meat hawker spent three months apprenticing at a traditional hot-dog cart. In his spare time, he began developing a menu of Japanized hot dogs garnished with grated daikon, soy sauce, seaweed and bonito flakes that would set him apart from the city's 100-plus sausage sellers.
Faster than a wasabi fume burning through a nasal passage, Japadog became a sidewalk sensation that attracted swarms of hungry hordes looking for something - anything - a little bit different.
Celebrities such as Steven Seagal and gangsta rapper Ice Cube stopped by for lunch. Anthony Bourdain, a big fan of the Misomayo dog, featured Mr. Tamura on his television show No Reservations. And camera crews from as far as Japan were sent to report on the little hot-dog cart that could.
At the original Japadog stand, outside the Sutton Place Hotel, you can still find lineups that often run 40-people deep. But after waiting 20 minutes one evening, I must admit I was slightly disappointed to discover that the Oroshi ($4.75) is no longer smeared with wasabi. Without it, the bratwurst sausage, garnished with daikon, soy and green onion, tastes a bit bland.
The new location at Burrard and Pender, on the northeast Scotiabank corner, features several new flavours including the Okura ($5.25), a bratwurst sausage with sautéed okra that tastes as "slimy and sticky" as advertised, and the Sakana fish sausage ($6.25), topped with tuna, Japanese mayo, soy and organic leaf lettuce.
The most popular new Japadog is the Korokke ($6), an all-beef sausage loaded with mashed potato, cabbage, mayo and a tangy yoshoku sauce.
But my all-time favourite is still the Kurobuta Terimayo ($6.25), which boasts an exquisitely succulent, 100-per-cent all-natural Berkshire pork sausage. This is a gourmet dog, no doubt about it.
As much as I love Japadog, it's still incredibly sad to think that in a city as cosmopolitan and ethnically diverse as Vancouver this is the only remotely interesting street food around.
