Buddha Dog

Fancy locavore hot dogs served in a warm but modern space covered with rough wood plank walls and maps showing where their ingredients are sourced.
Basic dog costs $ 2 and then you add cheese (choice of three) and sauce (a dozen or so) for another quarter each. The dogs are tiny, so you’ll need to get at least two (if not several more) to make a meal, but it allows you to try a bunch. It’s a relatively good deal.
I like this place’s ideological bent, but they also make a tasty product. The flavors of the meat and bun weren’t exactly what I expected for a gourmet hot dog/​sausage, which to me follows a more hearty and traditional/​European approach (see Rosamunde in San Francisco, CA). The bun has a muffin-​quality to it, and the meat is a little too precious in its small casing… but my bias aside, it’s still a very good dog.
Oh, and I wish they would add fresh french fries… it would make for a perfect pairing.

Slow food hot dogs? Well, as a fan of the Southern Connecticut style (deep fried, crispy casing) hot dog and old school road food, I went to Buddha Dog interested but skeptical. I went with my family, including my 4 and 7 year old girls and my sometimes not easy to please Moira. We all loved it. From the funny lookin’ little dogs on their homemade buns, to the 12? or more different sauces, mustards and ketchups available, the place almost begs to be found too much, but as Billy Idol once said, «Too much is never enough.» He could of said it about Buddha Dog. The cool space, designed with recovered local materials and the use of season and local ingredients make this a unique addition to the local color here in Toronto.