Seen In Vancouver #253: Food Network Descends On Japadog

A short video from yesterday’s Japadog shoot with the Food Network. It’s for a new show on street food called “Eat Street”. My segment discussed the “unique nature” of Vancouver’s street food scene (ie. City Hall is a devil guilty of serious crimes against our culinary culture), the history of Japadog, the obligatory food porn close-ups (insert hotdog into face) and not a few “Mmm…this is so good” sound bites coupled with facial expressions of orgasmic delirium. It was a fun day. For today’s shoot, we move to Roaming Dragon.

Applications For Vancouver’s New Street Food Pilot Project

We’re hopeful that we might actually see some interesting street food this summer with City Hall’s change of heart on sidewalk vendors and food trucks. No fewer than five restaurateurs with existing businesses have passed word on the down low that they’re interested in getting mobile, and I imagine there are plenty more dreamers (who are just as keen) that we aren’t privy to. The deadline for those seeking to apply to have a mobile food truck or cart within the city limits is June 30th at 4 pm. Get the skinny after the jump… Read more

“Roaming Dragon” Set To Turn Page On Vancouver Street Food

photos by Erin Simkin

A new company called Gourmet Syndicate is poised to make a move on Vancouver city streets if City Hall’s mobile food truck pilot program doesn’t ruffle any No Fun feathers next month. Their first mobile catering brand is a pimped out, 25 foot pan-Asian looker called Roaming Dragon.

It’s a fully equipped kitchen on wheels, starring the consultative talents of none other than Don Letendre, formerly the long-time executive chef at the Opus Hotel. His menu showcases panko crusted Chinese sausage and shrimp stuffed rice balls; chicken karaage with passionfruit and palm sugar; hoisin pork belly slider steam buns; duck confit salads with pickled pineapple and more. I just got off the phone with company principal Jason Apple, and he promises restaurant quality food on the streets very soon. Too good to be true? Nope. It just debuted at the Richmond Night Market this week, and folks from city council have already been given a full walk-through and taste. Read more

Smoke Break #708: Memories Of Japadog Will Kill You In Japan

II don’t know why, but I’ve had a hell of a time writing my review of the new brick and mortar location of Japadog for the paper. First I went too long, then I pared it down too short, and then I just couldn’t write a coherent sentence to save my life. In the midst of that frustration I found this – a video of American comedian Roy Wood Jr. trying to find a Japadog in Japan after falling for the original in Vancouver. Enjoy.

Robson St. Welcomes The Brick & Mortar Location Of “Japadog”

The long-awaited retail location of Japadog opened at 536 Robson St. this past Friday and it’s about as chaotic as one would imagine. The thriving company, born of a humble Japanese-themed hot dog cart downtown on Burrard, was doing a brisk business when I popped in for some bites with one of my sons yesterday. Full report in next Thursday’s Westender. A few more shots after the jump… Read more

City Hall Inching Deliciously Close To Accepting Street Food

Portland street food scene | photo: camknows

Arguably the most embarrassing facet of our food city is its paucity of street food. Thanks to a ruling that is now 32 years old, City Hall only permits hot dogs, chestnuts and popcorn to be sold from carts. You might be able to score some crepes at a Farmers Market, but where’s my Pad Thai and my fish tacos? Where, goddammit!

It’s been a real sore point with local foodies, many of whom look upon our barren streetscape with no small twitch of shame. In comparison, the variety of cuisines offered by the catering trucks and carts of Portland and Seattle is straight up staggering. You can score anything. While there have been feints of change from the No Fun Nabobs for a while now, it looks like there will actually be a pilot project in place by July that will bring new flavours to a curb near you. From Randy Shore in the Vancouver Sun:

The move will likely expand the menu available on city sidewalks from pre-cooked packaged foods such as hotdogs to more freshly prepared fare. The city soon will issue a call for expressions of interest seeking vendors who want to offer streetside food service, according to the acting manager of streets administration.

Grant Woff said the city is starting to implement the pilot project and looking for street locations where catering trucks or trailers can set up. The city already has 60 locations for cart-based vendors and is identifying new spaces to accommodate larger carts, Woff said.

“There a huge amount of interest in this,” said Coun. Heather Deal, who first proposed allowing fresh food and food preparation in a motion to council two years ago. “I get more e-mail about this than any other topic.”

A Sneak Peek Inside Upcoming Robson St. Location Of Japadog

I took a look inside the upcoming brick and mortar location of Japadog last night. The tiny 16 seater that is combining the 530 and 536 Robson St. shoeboxes is still a few weeks away, but D-Day in May looks to be a certainty. The interior is still very much a work in progress, but they have the wall counters mounted and a pair of neatly rendered cherry blossom installations up as well (one painted, and the other cut from sheet metal). Can’t hardy wait, et cetera…

What Vancouverites Deserve But Never Get #88: Gastromobility

From Weburbanist:

Taking portable and eco-friendly eats to the next level, Chef Daniel Noiseux’s local seafood based menu has taken Montreal by storm and not merely because it’s lip-smacking-good. His kitschy-cool pop-up MuvBox eatery capitalizes on the infinite repurposing capabilities of a standard shipping container with its state of the art kitchen, retractable outdoor dining accommodations and roof mounted solar panels. Cleverly capitalizing on seasonal patrons, the gourmet eatery is here today and gone tomorrow, able to be transported to any potentially lucrative tourist destination whenever the whim strikes.

Sold. Oh wait, there’s Vancouver City Hall and the ropes held high against street vendors. What can you get from the street or in an event parking lot in Vancouver? Tacos? Pad Thai? Forget it. We’re limited to hotdogs, ice cream, and chestnuts. It’s like we’re in some foodie Pleasantville, where the best on offer in the fresh air and on the fly is Japadog, which is only fetished because it’s the height of a mediocre mobile scene.

So the video above depicts a moveable feast in Montreal. But what of Portland, Ore., the gastropolis to which our food town is most often compared to? Here’s Matt Gross of the New York Times:

Today, there are almost 400 carts around Portland, most of them clustered into “pods” that ring parking lots, and thanks to low start-up costs and Multnomah County’s straightforward licensing and inspection regime, aspiring chefs can make their names without major investments. As a New Yorker I was jealous; as the Frugal Traveler, overjoyed at what I could find within a single pod. The slices ($2 to $3) at Give Pizza a Chance were excellent, with a thin inner crust, a thicker, chewy outer crust and fresh, brightly flavored toppings (like the tomatoes, basil, artichokes and onions on the “Compost” slice). Next door, at Tábor, I followed the painted instructions to “Czech Out Czech Food” and fell in love with the schnitzelwich ($6.50), a fried pork or chicken cutlet bound to soft bread with ajvar (a red-pepper spread) and stinging horseradish sauce. Brunch Box, around the corner, was making its own English muffins, plus crazy burgers like the OMG! ($6), a cheeseburger with egg, ham, SPAM and bacon; and the YouCanHasCheeseburger ($5), a patty stuck between two Texas-toast grilled cheese sandwiches.

We’re not winning this particular battle. We’re not even in the war. But I refuse to believe that it’s not for want of interest on the part of our populace. There’s really no good reason why we shouldn’t be so damn fortunate. Wah.

Japadog Soon To Graduate From Cart Service To Robson Retail

Japadog, streetside purveyor of Japanese-inspired hot dogs and long an intoxicatingly aromatic icon on Burrard just north of Robson, is in the midst of combining the 530 and 536 Robson addresses (beside “Viet-Sub”) for their first ever brick & mortar location (hat tip to RB for the news/photo).

This is sort of weird, no? Or do we really need a sit down hot dog joint?