food truck review: japadog in vancouver and in downtown los angeles (aka not all japadogs are created equal)

Ooooo - intriguing....

During one of our aimless strolls in Vancouver, we came upon a Japadog foodtruck and were drawn in by the growing group of people waiting for food.  This particular truck was run by a nice Japanese couple who appeared very devoted in preparing their specialty Japanese-style hot dogs.  While there were several different flavors, I was most drawn by the "Okonomi" made with a kurobuta pork sausage, Japanese mayo, bonito flakes and fried cabbage.  I think it was one of their "award-winning" dogs based on the marketing splashed on the truck.
 

Waiting... hungry....

We hungrily waited while the couple served the group ahead of us.  When it was our turn, we grabbed our little treasure and found a nice quiet area before taking our first bites.  

Was it worth the wait?


Hell yes!  I loved this hot dog!  The sausage was so plump, flavorful and juicy!  The bun was soft yet substantial and the mayo, flakes and cabbage added a nice umami like flavor  and texture to the entire shebang.  So delicious!   I was so pleased that we decided to stop for a snack.
 

Yummy hot dog - get in my belly!

Later on we discovered there are actual brick and mortar Japadog restaurants, but I am glad we discovered it as a food truck first.  

Recently, while looking for food during lunch in downtown Los Angeles I was astonished to see a foodtruck also called Japadog.  I'm not sure it's affiliated with the Vancouver enterprise but they served similar type food.... I did notice they did not specify the type of sausages on their menu and the entire display didn't seem as appealing as the one in Vancouver.
 

Sigh - not the same....

However, I was so ecstatic and hopeful that it would be as good that I ignored the obvious signs.  When I got my hot dog, I could see that it wasn't as stunning as the plump beauty that I experienced before.  As I bit into it, I tasted a stale bun that was over-toasted to compensate for the staleness, soggy cabbage, a mediocre (and sort of grey-looking) sausage, and a lot of drippy "special" sauce.  Sigh.  So disappointing.
 

meh

And this is the sad story of how I learned that not all Japadogs are created equal.