Local food is on everyone’s palate these days. There are books about eating local, restaurants offering an all-local menu, and celebrity chefs who champion local produce -- Ricardo Larrivée of Ricardo and Friends and Anna Olson’s new show Fresh.
It was certainly on the menu when I visited Buddha Dog recently. This Picton-Ontario based restaurant serves locally-sourced gourmet hot dogs made with 100% aged Prince Edward County beef, cheeses from Milford, Ontario's Black River Cheese, served on handmade buns by Peter Grendel in Picton (and baked in-house).
Buddha Dog just opened their first shop in Toronto, so I got in line to see what all the fuss was about. (Reader’s Digest named them the best hotdogs in Canada, Toronto Life magazine called them “genius” and their wieners have been featured in Saveur magazine.)
With one bite, I realized these were no ordinary hotdogs. As you can see in the picture, they are much smaller than the pedestrian sausages you get on the streets of Toronto. But what you lack in size, you more than make up for in quality. These may be the best hotdogs I’ve ever had.
The founders Andrew Hunter and Andrew McKenzie started Buddha Dog to offer a quality snack food for kids. But they offer plenty of flavour for big kids. Buddha Dog has about a dozen different toppings, ranging from a mild sweet red pepper jelly, cherry ketchup, beef chili to spicy jerk. It’s the perfect way to top a great hot dog. And at $2.50 a dog with the works you can really indulge the kid in you.
I'm adding Buddha Dog to my list of must-eat places in Toronto.
Buddha Dog
163 Roncesvalles Avenue
Toronto
(416) 534-2007
In case you missed it, my other Toronto favourite cheap eats include:
network.