You Need to Try This Deliciously Balanced Mortadella Hot Dog on the Edge of Strathcona

You Need To Try This is a running archive of all the awesome drinks and delicious dishes we’ve come across over the course of our professional and private lives.

When chef Graham Marceau told me he was doing a line-up of fancy hot dogs for Superflux Beer Company my ears pricked up. Why? Because the humble hot dog is one of the most familiar but under-represented flavour delivery systems in our fair food city, and any work that goes towards its elevation and diversification moves the ball forward. (With all due respect to Japadog and What’s Up, they shouldn’t be the only game in town.) Marceau has created four specialty hot dogs for Superflux. I’ve tried three of these to date, the most interesting among them being The Mortadella (pictured above). The toasted bun contains a snappy Black Forest Bavarian wiener clothed in a coat made of paper-thin slices of mortadella. The core condiment is a ragout of subtly sweet corn that’s zapped with a lemon-zested mayo, crunched up with pistachios and finished with a blizzard of grated parmesan cheese. The zipped-tight balance of sweet and savoury subdues the whole and turns the first bite’s anticipated palate slap into a soft, porky kiss. Bonus: it pairs like a best friend with the brewery’s Maize Cerveza lager.