Dirty Bones, 24th April

Firstly, I've got to commend the soundtrack in Dirty Bones - a mixture of soulful old school funk, and sultry modern R n B. Everyone I was with thought the music was excellent and completely matched the 70s retro lounge feel of the place.

So, good impressions from the start and happily the food also lived up to these.

I'd actually already had a Dirty Bones hot dog from when they launched and were giving away dogs for free, so I knew, in essence, that I already liked their hot dogs. But those were just the classic yankees - some ketchup, mustard and spring onion. I wanted to try some of the speciality hot dogs, and found it very hard to choose between the Mexican (topped with pulled pork, cactus salsa, lime sour cream and guacamole) and the Asian (topped with wasabi mayo, seaweed, sesame seeds and kimchi). As much as I love Mexican flavours, I thought the Asian one sounded unlike any other hot dog I'd tried so I wanted to see if it would work. A couple of people had the Brit Dog (treacle bacon, mature beer cheddar and curried gherkins) while one person did have the Mexican, and someone had the Frenchie (chives, celeriac remoulade, crispy shallots and roast garlic puree) but on a veggie dog.

We enquired about the 'Dirty fries' and found out they were their regular triple cooked fries but topped with cheese and jalapenos and onions. They sounded amazing but with my Asian dog I though it might be a bit much. As it happens, these dirty fries are done in quite an understated way and I wouldn't have felt like a right pig if I'd ordered them as well. I satisfied myself with regular fries as well.

While we waited for the food, we all had a cocktail each. I couldn't resist having something whiskey-based and had the Big Apple - JD, lillet rouge, peychaud bitters, and it came with a warm slice of toffee apple on the top which was absolutely delicious! Quite a lot of people took a risk and ordered the highly alcoholic sounding Deputy Dog (a lot of the cocktails are dog-themed) which had tequila in it, plus solerno and fresh mint, making it quite similar to a mojito. But it was also topped up with Ting and was a long drink, rather than a short one so wasn't quite as potent as everyone thought it might be. 

Our hot dogs shortly arrived and I liked the look of mine straight away. Eating it was even better. My hot dog had a good girth to it, even if it was a little 'short'. I would say it still stings a little to be paying £8.50 for a hot dog, but the price is comparable to other places, and if I were to directly compare it to, say Bubbledogs, I would say I liked this place a lot better. The hot dogs available are more interesting, bigger, and, well, better!

I loved my Asian dog - all the flavours added up to a delicious bite every time, and still retained the hot dog taste underneath, not overpowering it. The crunchy seaweed on top was worth ordering this one alone, and the wasabi was at a perfect level for me - like English mustard, I can't handle too much.

Everyone else was full of praise for their hot dogs, and the girl who ordered the veggie version was loudest among them. I think she was genuinely surprised to find herself liking a hot dog so much, not having been much of a fan of them before, and she said more than once how impressed she was. 

The fries were great, nice and crunchy. I must say though, that even though I'm sure they were triple fried, does it really need to be mentioned on the menu? They're really good fries but by highlighting that they're triple fried it almost gives me expectations way beyond what I'm actually getting. 

We left after we ate because, even though we liked the place, there's no denying it's pricey. Cans of beer (yes, cans' not bottles) were £5.00 and although wine looked priced normally, I suspect that was for small measures (they didn't specify on the menu). Even then we might have stayed but it was the day before pay day.

So, everyone liked the place. Which was a relief. I've got myself a bit of a reputation for knowing the 'cool' places to go and keeping on top of the Zeitgeist and this was the first place we had all been on my recommendation. So thanks Dirty Bones, for keeping my rep' intact!

Coffee Dogs, 1st April

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. 

Find the menu & restaurant information on Zomato

Bubbledogs, 28th December

Christmastime in London is one of my favourite times of the year. Why? Because everyone else buggers off and finally you get a chance to get into places without the queue that exists all throughout the year. Last year we took advantage of the emptiness to try out Bone Daddies. this year, we went to Bubbledogs. 

When we got there it was still pretty busy but there were several empty spaces. We installed ourselves at the bar. We'd already had almost a half a bottle of champagne at home before going out and, given the nature of the venue, I saw no reason to not continue so I had a glass of bubbly. The cheapest one, admittedly, but it was still much better than 'cheap' champagne - it was fresh and crisp and stood up to the Veuve Clicquot we had been sipping at home. Stephen ordered a beer, which is a more traditional accompaniment to a hot dog I suppose.

There were plenty of dogs to choose from, from the simple naked dog which was a hot dog on its own, to a straightforward hot dog with onions and saurkraut, the likes of which you would find on any NY street corner (and hence called the New Yorker) to more adventurous toppings like truffle mayo and caramelised lettuce on the BLT. Stephen chose the Sloppy Joe, a riff on the sloppy joe sandwich which is loose chilli in a roll. This one was a hot dog covered in beef chilli, cheese and onions.

I had the Mac Daddy - a hot dog topped with mac and cheese, bacon bites and crispy onions. We had a side of sweet potato fries to go with.

We both had a beef frank and this tasted exactly as I would expect a hot dog to taste. The toppings were plentiful, and a little difficult to keep a hold of. A fork to catch the stuff that inevitably falls off wouldn't have gone amiss. I also think the hot dogs themselves were really, too thin. They were almost suffocated by the amount of topping on top. But the toppings themselves were good. My mac and cheese might have been a little too rich and stodgy on its own but was saved by the salty bacon bits, and the crispy onions which were excellent.

The sweet potato fries were actually probably the most outstanding thing about the meal - the first time either me or Stephen have had them where they've actually been crispy like good fries should be. I suspect they coat them in something first to get that effect.

At around £7 for a hot dog, it's not all that expensive either - not much more than you'd pay at a street food van. However, when comparing these hot dogs to the versions I have had on the street, these ones don't stand up that favourably. Big Apple Hot Dogs, Dogfather Diner and Street Kitchen (at The Miller) are all doing superior versions. 

If the setting were a quick grab and go diner, then these hot dogs would do the business. I enjoyed my hot dog - it was a proper hot dog in my eyes and it was tasty. The champagne to go with it wasn't weird and I think worked fine, although it does just seem there as a novelty factor. But for the price, and the surroundings (it felt like a pretty nice bar), I expected something... more. I certainly wouldn't queue for this, when there are better places around.

The Dogfather, 20th October

Historically, I haven't been one for 'loaded' dogs. I have only recently made the foray into adding things like relish and mustard to a hot dog, instead of just sticking to ketchup or BBQ sauce. But (and Man v Food probably has a lot to do with this) recently I've warmed to the idea of adding toppings to hot dogs in the same way you do to burgers. (Chicken burgers - I am not fond of the beef variety.)

It was on one Food Network program that I saw The Dogfather and added him to my list. He operates a stall and sitting area on North Cross Road market in East Dulwich. Not exactly close to me but I am willing to travel if I think the payoff is worth it. I'm happy to say that it was.

Cooper getting down to business

The Dogfather is very popular, and even though each hot dog takes only a couple of minutes to rattle off, he had such a backlog that I had to wait nearly 30 minutes for mine. I ordered two - a plain dog, so that I could judge it on its own merit, without other flavours masking or enhancing it, and a Dogfather to see how well it stands up to other toppings and if adding such toppings makes sense. The Dogfather comes with chorizo slices, mozzarella, sprinkles of jalapenos, onions, red pepper marinara and some parmesan savings. I also added a piquant chipotle relish to this one. On the plain dog I kept things simple with just traditional ketchup and American mustard.

I have to say, they were a bargain at 3 pounds for the plain and 4.90 for the Dogfather.

They were also huge. Bigger than I'd anticiapted even having seen people eat them. I was full after the first one (the plain one) and had to wait until I'd walked to the station before I felt I had enough room to cram in the second one, especially as it had all that extra volume.

The Plain Dog

Before I had even really bitten into it I knew this was a REAL hot dog as it entered my mouth (saucy!), and not just a sausage in a bun. I don't know what the difference is between them but there is one and you can tell. It was as if the flavour had hit me before a morsel had touched my tongue. This was a proper American hot dog, working perfectly with my chosen condiments. It was meaty with a bit of a tang to it. The bread was soft but a normal bread bun like you might get at Tesco for BBQs, and I thought there was probably a little too much of it. However, I suspected that if you had a fully loaded dog of some sort, then this much bread was a necessity, and I was right in this regard.

In terms of hot dogs, this is the real deal, reminding me of NYC corners.

The Dogfather

After a brief respite, I started in on the souped up version. It was good. Oh so good. It kind of didn't feel like I was eating a hot dog, more like a pizza in a bun. All of the ingredients were holding up well against each other, the mozzarella nice and squidgy from having been melted down a little on the grill before being added. The chipotle sauce went really well with this too - gave my mouth and extra tingle beyond the jalapenos. And I'm happy to say that the hot dog wasn't too lost amongst all this. It took a bit of a background role, but the texture it added reminded you of its presence, and if you took a moment to think about it, you realised you could taste the beefiness in every bite. 

I got this far before hitting The Wall and having to stop before eating the rest when I got home.

I probably won't be back for a while, as it's such a trek from mine and I have Big Apple Hot Dogs which are more convenient from me at home and at work, but it's good to know there's another person out there doing hot dogs so well. I probably do still retain my simpler tastes, possibly because I just love hot dogs of themselves so much, I don't need all the extras, but for a real meal, loaded dogs are the way to go, and The Dogfather is doing it right. 

Westminster Bridge Road, 21st July

After my breakfast at Maltby Street Market, I strolled along up the Southbank, taking in a few of the spots on my Map of London Peculiars, and working towards Westminster Bridge Road, another thing on my list from Time Out’s 1000 Things to do in London. I was already beginning to feel a bit peckish and remembered that Engine hot dogs is now perched outside the National Theatre. I’d wanted to try them so I stopped by and got myself a regular hot dog. They had three other variations with various toppings, but I thought it was best to keep it simple to determine how good it was. All I added to it was ketchup and the interesting-sounding lager and lime BBQ sauce. Alas, even these two basic condiments were too much for the Engine hot dog. They completely overpowered the flavour of the dog itself. Now, you might think that it is my fault for choosing sauces with their own distinctive flavours, but I think if you’re going to have a choice of condiments, you shouldn’t be serving hot dogs that are all too easily masked by them. I tried a bit of the frank on its own and it wasn’t up to much – it seemed like a typical English attempt at a hot dog: weak and watery in flavour. The bun itself was quite dry. Rather than waste calories on it, I actually threw half of it away! The other versions you could order had stuff like coleslaw and chilli-salt pickle spears, or teriyaki sauce and wasabi mayo. Perhaps the hot dogs are intentionally bland and in fact the main event is the unusual toppings you can put on them? I’m not sure, but I’ll be sticking to Big Apple Hot Dogs in future.

So I went up to Westminster Bridge and walked south down it. Soon enough I came to no. 121, a gothic looking building that doesn’t disguise the fact that it looks a bit like a railway arch. This is because it used to be the terminus for the London Necropolis Railway, which opened in around 1850 to transport corpses from London to the outercity cemetery in Brookwood. The London Necropolis Company hoped to be the sole transporters of bodies to outer London but it didn’t really take off, and after the London station was bombed in WWII the line was closed down and the terminus reinvented as an office.

I then wandered a few feet further up and came to no. 100 Westminster Bridge Road, a building that is the antithesis of the ex-railway station being all modern, curvy and shiny. This is a block of flats called The Perspective Building and used to be where MI6 called home, and instead is now where Kevin Spacey and other rich people live.  I was actually quite underwhelmed by this building. I was expecting something more imperious. Perhaps the façade hides lots of ‘spy’ type touches inside.