Gobble Grade: Asiadog

Oh man. Oh man oh man oh man. I haven't been this excited about something new in awhile. Probably because I haven't really experienced anything truly new in awhile.

Until last night.

I play on my company's kickball team, and last night headed down to the LES with Mike Chee of The Daily Chafe. After kicking ass at kicking balls while TD (the other half of The Daily Chafe) and KH, and after narrowly escaping a long night of flip cup with our teammates, we wandered a few blocks over to experience Asiadog.



Mike has been talking about Asiadog for as long as I've known him, and I don't know how my unfounded abhorrence to traveling to Brooklyn for hot dogs has, for this long, overtaken my stomach's uncanny ability to always supersede my mind. But as serendipity would have it, on this fine Wednesday night, Asiadog was not being hosted in Brooklyn, but rather, the LES just a few blocks away from our kickball game - wunderbar! So the four of us headed over to experience it -- it being the mind-blowingly awesome fusion of my favorite cuisines: Asian toppings bedecking a classic American hotdog.
Ok. First things first. It was the location of Asiadog on this particular night was the first truly new thing to astound me. We suddenly found ourselves on a beach. In the middle of Manhattan. Um, AWESOME! We had found ourselves standing atop 5000 lbs of sand in the outdoor space at the Suffolk Beach Bar, a former public school backyard, and immediately plopped down into a couple lounge chairs under the cabana while the smokey smell of Asiadogs firing up on the grill wafted over us.

The Suffolk Beach Bar in daylight (photo via heartexplosion)

Ok, great company - check. Great setting - check. Beer in hand - check (there's a makeshift bar inside that sells beer, wine, and sangria - no liquor). But I was there for the food, and it's the food that truly ended blowing my mind. I had joked on the way over that I was going to order 5 Asiadogs, one of every item on the menu. I kid you not - I came close. I wolfed down 4 Asiadogs by the time we left, I kid you not. (By the way, there were actually 6 dogs on the menu that night, plus one burger option). I had a hard time making my first selection - I really did want them all. The way it works is this: You pick your selection of hot dogs - beef or chicken are $3, and vegetarian and organic beef are $4 - and then you choose your topping. For my first two dogs, I finally settled on:

THE VINH, Vietnamese banh-mi style: aioli + pate + cucumbers + pickled carrot and daikon + cilantro + jalapeno. With fresh toppings and a spicy kick, it was absolutely delicious. A great first choice.
THE SIDNEY, Thai style: relish with mango + cucumber + red onion + cilantro + crushed peanuts + fish sauce. Crunchy peanuts and sweet mango give this great Thai flavor. I definitely enjoyed it, but the Vinh won out for me.

I had enough room for a third, and settled on:

THE ITO, Japanese curry + homemade kimchi apples. The piping hot creamy toppings were a delicious addition to my hotdog. The only complaint I had is that the wet toppings quickly ate through my soft bun, and made for messy (but still delicious) eating. Mike told me that at their normal digs, The Trophy Bar in Brooklyn, owners Mel and Steve normally grill the buns to prevent that from happening.

Speaking of Mel and Steve, KH ordered only a single chicken hot dog (girl has superhuman restraint or something because I don't know how she held out), and it was:

THE MEL & STEVE, Asian sesame slaw. Seems like it's a classic, and she said she loved it.

TD also only ordered a single dog. After tasting Mike's, she decided on:
THE MASH, Spicy ketchup + jalapeno mustard + crushed salt and pepper potato chips. Mike described this one as "trashy good."

In addition to the Mash, Mike ordered the only burger on the menu:

THE BULGOGI BURGER, Korean BBQ style topped with your choice of asian slaw or kimchi. He got it with slaw, and it looked great.

After my three dogs, I still wasn't terribly full ... and I was craving that Vinh that had set of the sparks of love earlier in the evening. So, I capped it all off with a repeat Vinh, which I made Mike order for me because I was too embarrassed to be the girl that ordered 4 times.

Between the four of us, we came close to covering the whole menu. Check out the ones we missed here.

The whole experience made for a mini-vacation from Manhattan. On our subway ride to the kickball game only a few hours earlier, Mike and I were exchanging stories of annoying and rude people, admitting that New York City has made us bitter. It's amazing how such little injustices infuriate me so easily. Asiadog and the Beach Bar provided the most relaxation I've had on a weeknight since my last Jamaican vacation. It was a balmy night and the scene was not overly crowded and relatively quiet. Lights dripped from the cabana and music wafted softly outside, as we lounged in the chairs with beers and hot dogs in hand. I didn't want to leave.

View facing inside

Asiadog is most frequently hosted at Trophy Bar in Brooklyn, but makes appearances throughout Brooklyn and Manhattan. Follow Asiadog on Twitter or Facebook for schedule updates. I know I'll be hungrily awaiting the next Beach Bar appearance!

Gobble Grade: A