Hotdogs, it seems, are the latest micro trend within the already trendy street food movement in London. They speak of Americana kitsch diners and milkshakes, or closer-to-home nostalgia for grabbing one from a van on Bonfire night. Hotdogs are simple by nature, not the same without day-glow mustard or squeezy ketchup. Oh and they have to be cuddled in a fluffy, white, processed bun.
In short, gourmet they are not...
Let's see them as tasty irony then. The 2 openings that recently caught my eye pair our canine friends with booze. Bubbledog wears its oxymoron on its sleeve – matching hotdogs with grower champagnes and good service in Charlotte Street, whereas Dach & Sons of Heath Street in Hampstead stays a little rougher round the edges, pairing theirs with whiskey (but also serving wine and a good selection of beers).
So
who will will our dog fight?
First
in the ring: Bubbledog
The
menu at Bubbledog keeps the food simple, dealing in 2 things: Bubbles: grower champagnes by the glass or the bottle, and dogs: gourmet hotdogs in
beef or pork served in paper with sides of caremelised sweet potato fries,
tatties, coleslaw and love. Their hotdogs are home-made but retain all
that’s good about sausages’ plasticy cousin; the frankfurter, without tasting
of Eastern European petrol stations.
Indulgence is the order of the day with the BLT dog and the Truffle dog (mine and Anna’s choices). Suffice to say that I have always been more about sauce than substance (shhh).
We had ours with sweet potato fries and 2 glasses of champagne –it was shortly after midday and we had an afternoon of shopping to get to so a bottle would have been a bit much.
Indulgence is the order of the day with the BLT dog and the Truffle dog (mine and Anna’s choices). Suffice to say that I have always been more about sauce than substance (shhh).
We had ours with sweet potato fries and 2 glasses of champagne –it was shortly after midday and we had an afternoon of shopping to get to so a bottle would have been a bit much.
The
ambience was great, with exclamations of joy coming from surrounding tables as
they recieved their food. I even papped some kids enthusiastically chowing
down. It's nice to see kids allowed into a trendy new-breed establishment, but
then you could describe Bubbledog as 'family run'. James and Sandia are the
husband and wife team behind the joint. A reliable source tells me they did all
the decor themselves, with bare brick work walls, wooden booths and warm
lighting.
This
little den of indulgence is open 11.30-4 and 5.30-9, but bear in mind that
you'll have to queue so I'd recommend coming down for a late brunch on the
weekend, as your wait will be far shorter. Website here.
Next
up: Dach & Sons
We
went to Dach & Sons for a friend's birthday with a big group. We were
expecting to have a drink upstairs whilst queuing for a table, but managed to
sneak in before the major queuing began. This ended up being to our detriment,
as we never got to see the heady lights of London’s second Purl bar upstairs
afterwards, it having filled up by the time we had finished. A little scuffle
between us and the waitress ended up ruling that one out entirely.
Ah
well… from an intimate knowledge of the Marylebone Purl (I lived a stone’s throw
away), I’d wager that this one must be bigger but that would only make it
bigger than a shoe box. Go to Purl when you need to impress a date but make
sure you book in advance or you’ll be sorely disappointed. The disparity
between this YOU MUST BOOK policy and the Dach & Son’s only text on theirwebsite STRICTLY NO RESERVATIONS represents a somewhat comical clashing of 2
trendy venue habits, but let’s move on to the food.
Dach and Sons deals in burgers and sliders as well as their signature hotdogs. I opted for beef sliders, which comprised chilli and sour cream, bacon and peanut jam and a classic cheeseburger and were absolutely wonderful. Next stop the slider café (also a relatively new opening and just off Wardour Street). Friends had hotdogs with saurkraut, maple sweet-potato wedges (an excellent idea) and deep fried pickles (also excellent).
So
who came out on top in this dog-eat-dog world? I have to say that
Bubbledog won, but then I’d always choose champagne over whisky and I’d eat at
both again if I were in either areas. Go see both for yourselves.
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