After our filling (at least physically if not in terms of contentment) lunch/dinner at On the Bab it was time for dessert – a wander down to Boxpark to nab a doughnut. It was nearing 4 pm and I was under no illusion that we would have the pick of the bunch. Most of the doughnuts had sold out but they still had three flavours to choose from - an almond pistachio cronut, a creme brulee, and a morello cherry ring doughnut. I felt compelled to opt for the creme brulee while Stephen was enticed by the promise of cherry.
We took them home and Stephen finished his in about four bites and proclaimed he wasn't too impressed. He felt like he was eating an iced bun rather than a doughnut. I had mine and was also underwhelmed. I knew already that they were baked not fried and so expected a 'healthier' taste, but the dough to mine seemed very dry. I know they'd been sat there a while but still. The shell on top which mimicked the top of a creme brulee I actually thought was too sticky – it got all stuck in my teeth in an unpleasant way. It was filled with a vanilla cream though and this was its saving grace. Sadly, even making allowances for the lack of fat, they weren't a patch on Glazed and Confused's inventions.
Not wanting ot give up on the place, I wanted to go back and try the thing I'd been seeing so much praise for on Twitter – the zebra cronut. And I ended up doing so when I got a hot dog from Coffee Dogs - they stock Dum Dum's wares.
This was definitely better than the doughnut I'd had - with chocolate cream piped through it. Had I not had a crodough from Rinkoff's I might have forgiven Dum Dums the creme brulee. But I had and Rinkoff's were a work of art. These ones were more akin to their bread brethren than their doughnut cousins and just lacked that indulgence I want from a doughnut. I wouldn't be so rash as to say I wouldn't bother with another but, for me, they're not hitting the spot.
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I don't really like burgers. While the rest of my family embraced them, I grew up eating hot dogs. And not the weird, slimy kind you get in cans over here, nor the banger in a bun that used to double as a hot dog. No, the real kind. The American kind. And I love 'em.
So even though there are more than a handful of places in London serving pretty good dogs, I will never say another one is a band one. If we had a hot dog cart on each corner, like they do in NYC, I'd be happy.
So it was with an open heart that I wanted to embrace CoffeeDogs to the scene. I had half a mind to get there over the weekend to enjoy a 10% discount but was too busy. Instead I made a pit stop there after work. They've just got a shack outside King's Cross station with a few stools to perch on - already feeling closer to your average hot dog in the States than the gourmet hot dogs a lot of places are serving. And there ain't nothin' wrong with that.
I ordered the Chicago beef pulled through the garden - beef frankfurter, chopped onion, jalapeno sport peppers, strip of gherkin, green relish and then the weird bits - cucumber, tomato and celery salt. All served in a poppy seed bun.
They also do burgers and frozen custards and concretes (oh - and coffee) but I spied a zebra cronut from Dum Dum Donutterie and had one of them for dessert instead.
So, the hot dog. Priced at £5.00 I thought it was just a touch more expensive than it should have been given the toppings. The other hot dogs were all cheaper than this, and I don't think the toppings you're given warrant the extra. Yes, the toppings - most were great - classic toppings for hot dogs that work well with the slightly smokey, briney flavour. Relish - check. Onions - check. Dill pickle - check ('tis what relish is made of after all). Jalapeno sport peppers - double check - they were great. And the celery salt - delicious. The cucumber and tomato? For me, a big no. I don't really want my hot dog to seem like a salad. The tomato was just about ok, but the cucumber? Just weird.
The bread was pretty good - soft like a hot dog bun should be and the poppy seeds were nice. It was just the wrong side of soft (or perhaps not quite wide enough) and tore a little in the middle as I was eating, making the last few bites a bit more awkward. Also, why have buns that aren't as long as the frank? Or, conversely, why make sausages too long for the bun?
Anyway, after having picked it apart, my final verdict is that actually, this was pretty good, capturing the essence of what a hot dog is all about - some simple but ever so satisfying fast food. I'll be back and I'll be giving the Concretes a go next time too.
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