I Like Burgers

I like all burgers, really. Chicken burger, shrimp burger, whatever, it's all good. Sandwiches can be fun to make and easy to eat. But let's face it, when we think "burger", most of us are thinking hamburgers. And above all, I love hamburgers. I don't think that one hamburger is massively better than any other hamburger though. I'm happy if I'm eating a good burger. Give me a different burger on a different day and I'm pretty much going to be equally happy. So I'm unlikely to make much effort for "THE BEST BURGER EVER" because there isn't really a big difference for me. Happily, I live within a 5 minute walk of .... 7 burger places? Let's discuss further.

McDonald's - Sometimes I feel like eating the little kid's meal burger. It happens.

Hero Burger - OMG this place sucked so much. I went years ago when it was all hyped up and was amazed by how much I paid for a crappy burger.

A&W - I like A&W because I both root beer and burgers make me happy.

White Squirrel Cafe - This was ok. I actually like the littler burgers, this is the kind with a thicker patty, which I sometimes find a bit difficult to eat. The toppings were ok too.

Sense Appeal - I really liked this burger! They'll cook to your desired doneness. Thicker patty, on the smaller side, which is fine with me. Burgers here are cheap too, $6 for a basic one.

Big Smoke Burger - I like their cheeseburgers ok. Their burgers are kind of the size I like. It's easier to eat when they're flatter. Not sure if it's as good as it used to be; I got a burger from the Eaton Centre location and it wasn't as good as what I used to get from the King/Spadina location.

Burger's Priest - I don't like Burger's Priest very much. I think you're supposed to get one of their crazy burgers with all the stuff on it but I like my burgers to be pretty simple. I got a bacon cheeseburger here and it was kind of bland, which weirded me out. How can a bacon cheeseburger be bland?

Other burger places I've been to:

Gabardine - See photo above; this burger was pretty good. I liked how they used bibb lettuce.

Harbord Room - This was a good burger, I remember thinking I liked the Harbord Room burger more than the Gabardine burger.

Richmond Station - Small but so tasty; I like this burger quite a lot. I like their fries too.

Jules - This burger is a little weird, the bun wasn't a normal burger bun. I only got the burger once because I really like their club sandwich and quiches.

Queen and Beaver - I remember thinking this was underwhelming for the price.

Bymark - I'm not sure if I had THE Bymark burger or not? I was here for a lunch seminar and got a burger. It was ok. It had blue cheese I think, which I don't like.

Burger King - I haven't had a Whopper for years but if it was where McDonald's is, I would go sporadically.

Richmond Rogue - They topped their burger with a fried egg, bonus!

White Castle - I like this because I like small burgers.

Shake Shack - This is probably my favourite burger now. I had the Smokeshack and not only was it the size of burger I like, it was filled with toppings I like, plus the bun was soft but didn't get all soggy. Their fries were good too (surprising because crinkle cut kind of bothers me).

Ramen 101

Toronto is in the middle of a sudden surge of ramen restaurant openings so I figured I'd write a bit about one of my favourite things. Let's start at the beginning - ramen in Japan.

In Japan, ramen is fast food. You're not going to a ramen-ya with five friends and catching up over three lingering hours of slow slurping. Every place I had ramen in Japan was, at best, a couple of communal tables; usually I'd just be sitting at a counter in front of the kitchen. There are also NUMEROUS styles of ramen (google is your friend here, or if you want a dose of awesome, hunt down a copy of Lucky Peach vol 1 which will give you an overview not just of ramen, but also has a section on eggs [these are probably my two main food obsessions]). However, one commonality I noticed in the various ramen-ya I visited was that there were always condiments on the table for you to tweak your ramen with - minced/crushed garlic, slivers of pickled ginger, and pepper flakes seemed to be the three basic add-ons. Bowls maybe averaged around $10 (Y1000) and were ginormous. And the flavour...eating ramen in Japan was like a punch to the face. The levels of fat you're dealing with can get pretty intense. But the number of flavours in a single bowl...the complexity you can find in just the broth...sure, you're taking a couple years off your life but it's worth it.

My favourite ramen in Japan was at Jangara ramen in Tokyo. I think I wound up here because it was in the guidebook and easy to find (I'm kanji-illiterate so it was reassuring to have a guaranteed, easy to find, goal). I think that Jangara may just be "ok" or "decent" in the Japanese pantheon but I would go to great lengths to get another bowl of this. The key was that I liked all the regular stuff in the bowl (pork, menma [fermented bamboo shoots], egg) but they also added a dollop of something I'd never encountered before - mentaiko. Mentaiko is marinated pollock roe and IT IS DELICIOUS. Actually the first Jangara bowl I had was too intensely porky for me (the bowl I ordered had two types of pork - charsiu and fatty), the second time I went I only got one pork. Japan was great though, because even though I'm illiterate, I just popped over to the Ramen Museum in Yokohama and stuffed myself some more. Plus I saw a line of people once while wandering the streets of Tokyo and hopped in line after realizing they were lined up at a ramen-ya. Basically, ramen in Japan is SUPER AWESOME.

Ramen in Toronto...not so much. Actually, ramen outside of Japan seems to be unable to reach the heights of ramen in Japan, which is not surprising when you consider the obsessive approach to cooking in Japan, where a ramen restaurant serves only ramen, udon restaurants serve udon, etc. So let's do a quick rundown of what's wrong in general with ramen places outside of Japan.

Toppings: Quality is highly variable but in general, even if you find a place with the same quantity of toppings as what you might get in a Japanese bowl, the quality is lacking (and vice versa). My other pet peeve is the lack of menma. WHY? I can buy this in the grocery store, it's not hard to get.

Condiments: WHERE ARE THEY? Where are my extra condiments? These are necessary.

Broth: Hahahaha! This will require its own paragraph.

See above - logic suggests that part of the reason why Japanese ramen-ya can churn out such insanely good broths is because of an obessive single-mindedness and years of effort. I've never had broth outside of Japan that really struck me with a "wow" moment. And part of that reason is because of how good instant noodles are these days. What's that you say? Instant noodles suck? Not anymore - in the past few years there's been a number of manufacturers cranking out surprisingly good frozen noodles complete with broth. My ramen preference seems to be Hakata-style, and if you pick up a tonkotsu frozen ramen and add few of your own choice ingredients, you're basically playing in the same space as the majority of ramen places I've tried outside of Japan. I will now proceed to judge the various ramen places I've been to outside of Japan, because I like to think about ramen for as much of the day as possible. Unless otherwise noted, these are all in Toronto.

Momofuku Noodle Bar (Toronto and NYC): Ok, let's get this out of the way - this is not real ramen. I'm not saying it's bad, but IT IS NOT REAL RAMEN. Which is okay, because I don't think they've ever claimed it's authentic. Like everything else at Noodle Bar, they're taking a familiar Asian dish and giving it a bit of a twist. Personally I actually don't really like this because the egg bothers me, I like mine firmer and marinated.

Kenzo: Ewwww, I went to the downtown one and got their special (King of Kings?) and it was so gross I felt sad while eating ramen. Ramen shouldn't make you feel sad, it should make you feel happy. I never went back to Kenzo.

Kinton: Went once; I like the noodles but found the broth was pretty boring. I had the spicy garlic I think. Um, hi, if I'm ordering a spicy garlic soup shouldn't this blow my head off instead of me poking at my bowl in mild disinterest?

Ajisen (various - haven't been in Toronto but went in China): Don't judge! I went to Ajisen like twice when I was in China because I'm illiterate and a cartoon girl holding a bowl of noodles is very reassuring to me. Like Momofuku, this is just "noodles" not "ramen. This is like food court food.

Sansotei: Went once and had the tonkotsu. Noodles were meh, broth was ok but I'd just as soon pop open my bag of frozen tonkotsu instant noodles and eat in my pyjamas.

Guu on Bloor: It's only served as a special and they seem to rotate what kind of ramen they're serving. The bowls are smaller than they should be, but the ones I've tried have been excelle. Everything in my little bowl was solidly good. Their ramen is pleasant enough that I've been more than once and would go again to see what they're doing.

Ramen Sanshiro (NYC): It's a secret ramen-ya! The ramen was ok, it wasn't the style I like and wasn't too memorable, but it's SECRET!

Ippudo (NYC): The first time I went, I had their akamaru modern, which is I guess their best-known/special ramen? I didn't like it. But that was partly personal preference instead of the bowl itself; Ippudo is actually my preferred non-Japan ramen-ya. I think I usually get their classic bowl now. They're skimpy on the toppings and from what I remember the bowls are a bit smaller than they should be, but the flavours and noodles are decent. I'd argue that this should be the baseline for a decent bowl of ramen.

Santouka: Toronto's ramen winner! This isn't too much of a surprise; when word spread that Santouka was coming to Toronto a lot of people were waiting for it to open. Santouka, like Ippudo, is a Japanese chain and like Ippudo, their ramen actually tastes like the ones I tried in Japan. Santouka and Ippudo aren't the same styles of ramen but quality- and value-wise I think they're pretty much equivalent. There's things I do/don't like about each of them, but overall I'm happy enough with either. I'm not sure what Santouka's non-noodle offerings are like but it'll be fun eating my way through the menu.

Raijin: I didn't particularly like their toppings but it sort of seems like they've taken Kinton's noodles and placed them into Sansotei's broth - plus it's the size of a normal restaurant so shorter wait times.

Ryoji: Ok, I admit that if you give me black garlic ramen, I like you better. Ryoji gave me black garlic ramen with no waiting in line and non-cramped seating; they will now be my 2nd preferred ramen place in Toronto. Actually, I now plan to eat ramen only at Santouka or Ryoji and ignore all the other places. I liked the broth, the noodles were fine, and the toppings were decent (note: the black garlic ramen at Ryoji is so much better than the one at Raijin).

Ryus: This sort of a dark horse contenter. Ryus is the only place in Toronto which is actually setup like a proper ramen-ya. I.e., the only thing you can order is ramen and it's almost all bar seating (note: there is a tiny patio out front, which is kind of cool because then you can have patio ramen). The prices and portion sizes are reasonable, the broth wasn't bad, the noodles were pretty good, but the toppings were underwhelming (WHY IS THERE NO EGG? I CAN'T EVEN ADD AN EGG?). I'm going to try them again to see how things evolve; having gone shortly after opening, I figure there's a good chance they could continue to get better. They even have a loyalty card!

Touhenboku: Chicken stock based ramen, which is a nice change of pace. Overall, I thought this was quite good. I liked the broth; the thick noodles could stand to be firmer but they weren't bad; pork chashu was ok; they give you a half-egg in the soup. You can get chicken chashu instead of pork, so this is a good place for anyone who wants ramen but doesn't eat pork. I'm likely to make this my regular ramen spot just because it's closest to home and quality was pretty good.

Bottom line? If you're in Toronto and new to ramen, I'd start with Santouka because you might as well start with the best in town. If you've eaten your way through ramen in Japan, then I bet you've already been making your own so either stick to that or drop by Santouka (or maybe try it at Guu if you see it as a special). If you've tried and liked the non-Santouka ramen options in Toronto, I'd suggest either trying Santouka or simply buying some of the frozen premade stuff and playing with it - might save you a few bucks and you can eat in your pyjamas. And I'm pretty sure we can all agree that's a good thing :)



Places to eat lunch or dinner in Toronto

Some places I like to eat, when I'm not eating brunch. (updated August 26, 2013)

Toronto brunch

Consider this an ever-evolving post to fulfill your most pressing brunch needs.  Last-visited dates for each location will be in brackets. Frankly, after the original Hoof Cafe closed, brunch died a little for me, look at the dates below and see how long ago it's been since I went for brunch! (updated November 20, 2013)

The Beastly Birthday

Mmm Beast. It's a pretty perfect neighbourhood restaurant. Cozy and friendly with interesting menu options. Ever since I first went there for brunch I've liked it a lot. I also remembered hearing that you have the option of having an entire dinner that revolves around a single animal. And what better excuse for such a meal than a birthday?  I present to you....The Rabbit Throwdown!

The best ice cream in Toronto

Date:  August 2, 2010

I love ice cream!  And gelato, ice cream cakes, ice cream sandwiches, popsicles...you get the idea.  And I think I have now found Toronto's best ice cream.  I have, in fact, undergone extensive testing of this product to try and ensure that my conclusion is correct.  Let's do a run-down of frozen dessert options.

Dutch Dreams

You can see it in the above photo.  Ironically, this is probably one of the worst ice cream places you can go to.  Great for kids, fun if you want to drown your ice cream in toppings, but if you're actually eating the ice cream, it ranges from "okay" to "gross."  Most recent visit was a couple weeks ago and the two sorbets we tried were definitely on the gross end of the spectrum.  Dutch Dreams is by St. Clair W. station.  Fun for kids. 

Greg's

A perennial contender, I have a soft spot for Greg's.  I went to school at UofT while Greg's was still in it's old, subterranean location on Bloor.  Greg's is great for having a wide range of flavours but as the years have passed, I find that their ice cream is lacking some richness to it.  Definitely worth going if you're a fan of their flavours such as roasted marshmallow, malt ball crunch, etc, but in terms of actual ice cream quality, I think maybe it's above average, but we are looking for the best here.  Greg's current location is near Spadina station.

Summer's

I haven't been to Summer's in years, but I'm guessing my memories are correct (my years-old memory of Dutch Dreams was spot-on, so I'm assuming that ice cream quality doesn't vary as much as food quality can).  Summer's isn't bad, but I don't remember ever thinking it was particularly special.  Living at UofT, I mostly went to Greg's with occasional side-trips to Summer's.  I don't think Summer's had the range of fun flavours that Greg's had and I feel like the quality was pretty average.  Summer's is in Yorkville.

Baskin Robbins

If you think Baskin Robbins is the best ice cream in Toronto, you need to live a little more.  Next!

Dairy Queen

Yeah, I know this isn't ice cream but I don't care.  Blizzards are awesome!  Um, but I digress.

Dolce Gelato

Um, ok, yeah, not ice cream either.  But gelato is basically ice cream to me.  I like Dolce, they have a good range of flavours without being ridiculous.  A solid option.  Dolce is on College St., in Little Italy.

La Paloma

Ridiculous range of flavours, pretty good quality.  I don't really know how to gauge gelato quality actually, I use the pistachio test (i.e., eat the pistachio flavour - if it blows my mind, the gelato is good - unfortunately, my favourite pistachio in town was at the now-defunct Solfereti by the Financial District, so I'm a bit s.o.l.).  La Paloma has too many flavours, I like Dolce better because it's more manageable.  La Paloma is on St. Clair W. by Earlscourt Park.

Xococava

Brutal.  I don't know if I ordered the wrong thing, but I tried a couple of flavours and settled on a chocolate - while it was good, there was something a bit odd about it.  Like, not as creamy as ice cream, almost more fudge-y?  Not bad and I'd happy to go back and work my way through some other flavours in the interest of research, but I'm not sure about Xococava, even though I know they're supposed to be some of the city's best ice cream.

Hoof Cafe

Sneaking this one in.  Okay, you can't get scoops of ice cream but the best single ice cream I've probably ever had is the malted ice cream (made in-house) which comes as part of the Malteaser.

Sicilian Ice Cream

Does this place even serve ice cream?  I think I usually got tartufo because it was more intriguing.  If you want straight-up ice cream, go to Dolce Gelato instead (well, I guess that should be "if you want frozen dessert in a cup or cone" instead of a sundae or other, more complex, dessert, go to Dolce instead).  Haven't been back for years because I switched to Dolce after they opened.  Little Italy.

The Big Chill

I used to live a block from here, this place is cute!  You used to get a mini-Oreo on top of your ice cream.  But ice cream quality was just average from what I remember.  They've expanded into a bigger space it seems, Little Italy @ College/Manning.  Fun for kids.

Ed's Real Scoop

I've only been here once, a couple years ago, and don't remember being overly impressed by the ice cream.  I remember thinking it was pretty good but not worth going out of my way for.  In the interest of research, I might make another venture over to see what it's like compared to my pick for best ice cream.  In the Beaches. 

Soma Chocolate

Ooo now we're getting close to the best.  Soma's already probably my current pick for Toronto's best hot chocolate and they're also pretty damn close to my pick for best ice cream also.  Rich, creamy and oh-so-delicious.

Delight

Which brings us to my pick for best ice cream in Toronto.  I loooooove Delight.  There's a small range of organic ice cream flavours, generally around six each time I've gone.  Chocolate seems to be a stand-by while others, such as Blueberry Cheesecake and Niagara Apricot change seasonally based on what's available.  My current favourite is Mint Chocolate Chunk - the flavour of the real mint ice cream with the soft chocolate chunks is killer.  Topped with a piece of milk or dark in-house chocolate, this place is awesome.  BUT WAIT.  I haven't gotten to the best part.  Delight has a non-dairy chocolate ice cream which is fantastic.  It's made with coconut milk and having done a head-to-head comparison, it's actually even better than their regular chocolate ice cream.  The dairy-free is like...fudge in ice cream form, it's so rich.  Two locations, one in the Junction, one by Trinity-Bellwoods.  Although the selection of flavours is small and it's not the cheapest place in town, Delight is great quality and had something that everyone can eat, so what's not to like?

The best pork ever?

Could this be the best pork ever?

That's pretty high praise coming from me.  After all, I literally live off eating pork.  And for those of you like me, perhaps you owe it to yourself to try this delicious pork.  Many of you have tried it (some of you who have would probably agree that this is maybe the best pork ever).  Some of you may not know you've tried it but after reading this will recall a vague memory of eating some really delicious pork.

I've been hunting this pork down for years.  We've had a pretty long relationship, me and the summer pork.  It's the summer pork because that's mostly when I can find it.  It started years ago at Taste of Little Italy, where I stumbled across the delicious pork and grew into a minor obsession over the years.  I'm quite good at hunting down the summer pork now - last year I managed to eat so much that I had pretty much managed to satisfy my summer pork craving by the end of summer.

There are a few key elements to the summer pork combo you see above.  First, there is the delicious pork itself.  I think it's Ecuadorian?  I really have no idea.  You'll see it in a large cauldron, bubbling happily away in juicy delicious sauce.  The orange-y stuff on top is an oh-so-tasty salsa, I recommend putting on as much as possible.  Frankly, I'd eat it by the spoonful.  On the side is an unassuming but surprisingly pleasant salad with it's nicely marinated onions.  Hiding underneath the pork is some rice and beans.  

And that big yellow circle?  THAT IS THE POTATO.  The delicious potato.  I love this potato.  Not as much as I love the summer pork, but in some ways very close.  Maybe it is the best potato ever?  It's kind of like mashed potato, which they pan fry on two sides so it's sort of both crispy and soft.

The summer pork combo can be found at summer festivals all over Toronto.  This is where I have always found the summer pork.  Prices vary at each festival, I've paid as much as $8 for the combo or as little as $5.  The $5 combo is the best because it's also the easiest to find - Nathan Phillips Square, Tasty Thursdays.  Get there before noon or you'll be waiting the better part of an hour to get some summer pork (overheard in line: "I've been waiting a year for this!" as a businessman happily orders his summer pork and his friend nods, beaming, while ordering his own summer pork).

I guess I should tell you the name of the summer pork place.  It's La Fiesta.  But that's not really necessary because once you get acquainted with the pork, you'll just know it's the right pork.  They have an actual restaurant, but it's closed right now for renovations.  I've never been there, but I asked out of curiosity.

There doesn't seem to have been much written about the summer pork.  After encountering it a few times, I finally resorted to asking about it on Chowhound after not finding info on Google, but even on Chowhound there are only a few mentions of the summer pork.  But I think lots of people know about it.  Certainly, almost every time I've found the summer pork there is a very long line for it.  

What I always think is funny though, is when people order the beef or the chicken.  These are always the two other options you can get at the tent, and I'm sure that they are tasty, but OMG CAN'T YOU SEE THE PORK BUBBLING AWAY AND LOOKING DELICIOUS?  Lol, dear people who did not order the pork: I am giggling behind your back.  Overheard in line, customer talking to cashier: "Umm what should I order? What's your favourite?" / "The Pork!" .

The summer pork: it will put a smile on your face :)

Deli Duel

Let's cut right to the chase - whose smoked meat reigns supreme in Toronto?  Thanks to The Stop, we had the perfect chance to find out at the Deli Duel.

Goldin's?  The only place I'm aware of where you can order a Goldin's smoked meat sandwich is Free Times Cafe.  Otherwise, I think they mainly sell whole briskets.

The Stockyards?  Rowena and I dropped in for brunch right before the Deli Duel but assiduously avoided ordering smoked meat.  Our assumption was that considering the restaurant's proximity to the Deli Duel venue, we'd be getting a pretty consistent product.

Caplansky's?  The juggernaut of the three competitors, Rowena and I had both been to Caplansky's before, but I actually hadn't had their sandwich since I was there for brunch.

Rowena's take on our crazy brunch vs ice cream vs meat vs meat vs meat day:

The main event of the day was Deli Duel at Wychwood Barns.  I was excited as I wasn't able to eat some Schwartz's smoked meat during a recent trip to Montreal (sacrilegious to a foodie...I know!).  Tastings were $3, iced tea or lemonade $3, and beer from Steam Whistle $5. All proceeds from the event went to The Stop Community Food Centre and they were reported to have raised $10,000!  

Tess and I started off with Goldin's smoked meat.  It came on rye bread, mustard, with a side of pickle.  The meat was moist, fatty and full of flavour.  It was a great way to start off the duel.  We washed the sandwich down with some refreshing lemonade.  

The crowds started to pick up and we split up to stand in line at The Stockyards and Caplansky's.  The line up at The Stockyards was shorter and we actually ate it while standing in line for Caplansky's.  The Stockyards smoked meat was quite dry, and I did not enjoy the spices they used on it (and no pickle).  So far, between Stockyards and Goldin's...Goldin's, by far!

We finally got to the front of the line at Caplansky's and were given the choice between regular and spicy mustard.  Spicy (of course) and bonus pickle!  We sat down to eat Caplansky's sandwich and thought that the meat was far better than Stockyards, but ranked close to the meat we had at Goldin's.  As we were sitting, we overheard that Goldin's had run out of meat and saw that Stockyards had also run out of meat.  I later found out through Twitter that it happened at least twice during the day! 

In the end, we both voted Goldin's to be the winner based on flavour, fattiness of the meat, and moisture content.  The Overall Winner of the Day turned out to be Caplansky's.       

 

What a foodie filled Sunday with brunch, ice cream and smoked meat!  I ate so much that day, that I didn't even eat dinner!  Is this what it's like to join Tess on her foodie adventures??? If so, sign me up!

My take: 

It's interesting because when I was uploading the photos to the blog, I realized that you can really see the difference in the meats.  The touch of fattiness of Goldin's vs the different texture of Caplansky's.  We were torn between these two because we agreed that Goldin's had the right texture and fattiness but was a touch salty and could have used more flavour, while Caplansky's had good flavour but was lacking the texture and fattiness.  Even though Caplansky's won, general consensus on Chowhound seems to be almost overwhemlingly in favour of Goldin's.

This was a fun day!  Luckily, Rowena and I arrived quite early to the Deli Duel because we didn't have to wait too long and were able to get our sandwiches before the first batch of meat ran out.

Lol and yes, eating a lot of delicious food is generally a cornerstone of my adventures ;)

One last look at the Deli Duel (as I drift away to check on the Schwartz's brisket I'm hiding in the freezer...you know, for emergencies...)

DOG VS DOG

Hot dogs - the new gourmet burger?

I'm pretty sure this is where things are headed.  Although Toronto continues to have more and more gourmet burger places opening up each minute, we are generally a bit behind the times.  I'm pretty sure encased meat is where it's at.

Don't get me wrong, my love of burgers is pure and true.  But lately I've been having a bit of a love affair with the oh-so-enticing wonders of deep-fried bacon-wrapped hot dogs and Rosemary and Garlic Smoked Chicken Sausage with Sweet Chili-Garlic Mustard and Cheese-Stuffed Marinated Hot Peppers (yes, you read that correctly; feel free to re-read, it took me a few times to process the amazingness of those words).  Here, have a look at it:

Let's start with Toronto.  I'd say our street meat is actually pretty good, it's nice that they grill the hot dogs and sausages and we get a wide variety of toppings.  Today I went to The Counter and noticed they have a foot-long hot dog on the menu.  Toppings weren't particularly exciting (not compared to what I'm going to show you) but it's a start: for example, grilled onions/mushrooms/swiss cheese and bacon.  But like I said, we tend to be a bit behind the times.

Let's head on to NYC and Chicago.  While NYC has somehow become famous for street meat, I've never been much of a fan of dirty water dogs.  I mean seriously?  Dirty water dogs over grilled?  Not likely.  Anyway, maybe it all started with Gray's Papaya for me.  Gray's is a classic but I wasn't wowed when I went.  It's cheap and I hadn't had a hot dog with sauerkraut on it so it was a bit of a novelty but didn't make much of an impression.  However, NYC is home to Crif Dogs, which I love love love.  My favourite is the classic house dog, wrapped in bacon, but I certainly wouldn't turn down a Spicy Red Neck: a house dog, bacon-wrapped, with chili, coleslaw and jalapenos.

By luck I had back-to-back trips to NYC and Chicago (the journey of encased meats?) so had an interesting comparison.  Although people may talk about NYC when they talk about hot dogs, Chicago takes the crown on this one (Yet oddly, people talk about Chicago pizza and I'd say NYC pizza is way better.  Go figure).  Here's a pretty standard Chicago dog:

Think about this.  This is standard.  This is like, boring.  I assume you're now starting to see the awesomeness of Chicago dogs over NYC dogs.  But I haven't gotten to the best part yet.  Remember Ferris Bueller's Day Off?  Abe Froman, the Sausage King of Chicago?  He's like, real!  Well, sort of.  His name is Doug Sohn, owner of Hot Doug's.  While tastes vary, I'm pretty sure that whoever you are, you will likely find the Jesus encased meat of your choice at Hot Doug's (Doug is also really nice!  He works the counter!).

That is the Bacon and Cheddar Elk Sausage with Bacon-Garlic Mayonnaise and Black Mountain Garlic-White Wine Cheese.  Although I could only try two sausages on my visit to Hot Doug's, this one blew my mind.  Each component was soooo delicious!  And together they were an explosion of deliciousness!  Love love love!

But getting back to my original point (I did sort of have one) - I think that hot dogs may be the new gourmet burgers.  Case in point - I stumbled across the Eleven Madison Park bar menu online and noticed the Petite Hot Dog: bacon, gruyère cheese, celery relish and black truffles.

If this really is the next food trend, then maybe we'll get a decent equivalent in Toronto (eyeballs Hoof Cafe hopefully).