Date visited: Dinner on Friday Jan 4, 2014
Company: Grabbed food with +Will before seeing Aladdin
+Will and I walk down Church street quite often to get meals and we happened to spot Craft Dog one time while getting lunch at another restaurant. We noted that we had to go back to try their gourmet home-made hot dogs one day. We tried to go there early on a Sunday before but unfortunately they were only opened at noon. Hot dogs are one of +Will's favourite foods so he was pretty keen on returning. We only had an hour or so prior to seeing Aladdin at Ed Mirvish Theatre on Friday night so we thought this was a great chance to finally try Craft Dog nearby for dinner.
This newly opened restaurant has very comical and eye-grabbing signage outside for anyone walking by which is how we first noticed it. Even entering the place, the decor is very bright and similar to a fast food joint. All their order options are hanging on the wall written on hot dog-shaped black boards. There's about 12 different choices in addition to a daily special. Each hot dog has different meats infused into the wiener and an arrangement of different toppings. They ranged from $7-$13 not including a drink or fries. Their 'meal' option gives $1 off the order of a drink and fries which isn't much of a deal. They also have unique, house-made pop flavours instead of the regular ones you get everywhere else and craft beer.
Checking out the menu, there actually wasn't many options I really wanted, either there was a topping I didn't like on it or I didn't want the meat it was made it. I finally decided on the Chicago Shout-Out after debating between that or the Naked Dog but there were so many toppings you could choose from for the Naked Dog, I didn't feel like deciding. The Chicago Shout-Out was made of Beef Chuck and Pork Shoulder topped with Yellowy Mustard, Sweet Pickle Relish, Raw Onion, Tomato, Pepperoncini, and Celery Salt. Will ordered the Philly Cheese Steak Dog made out of Local Beef topped with Sweet Peppers, Onions, Provolone, and House-Made White Cheddar Wiz. We also got Fries and a Drink to share.
We sat down to wait for our order which they said they would bring over to us. Our fries came first and they said there's home-made condiments we can dress them with. We walked to the counter and indeed they had Smoked Ketchup, Curry Mayo, Petter Mayo and Homemade Mayo. My favourite was the Curry flavoured one but they were all very well made. Their fries were very delicious, lightly salted, and home-made.
So our hot dogs finally came and they looked so huge stuffed with all their toppings! The wieners fit perfectly in their buns and wasn't falling apart. The hard part about eating these were the falling toppings everywhere. The Chicago Shout-Out had a lot going on in terms of flavours, the mustard and onions were very overpowering. I did noticed that the dog was filled with lean meat and didn't taste like regular preserved hot dogs. It was fine quality. The Philly Cheese Steak Dog had a much smaller dog than the other and the didn't have very much flavour not did it taste like Philly cheese steak. There was a lot of cheese on this and I didn't really enjoy the Wiz. Both of the dogs fell short for us in terms of flavour.
This newly opened restaurant has very comical and eye-grabbing signage outside for anyone walking by which is how we first noticed it. Even entering the place, the decor is very bright and similar to a fast food joint. All their order options are hanging on the wall written on hot dog-shaped black boards. There's about 12 different choices in addition to a daily special. Each hot dog has different meats infused into the wiener and an arrangement of different toppings. They ranged from $7-$13 not including a drink or fries. Their 'meal' option gives $1 off the order of a drink and fries which isn't much of a deal. They also have unique, house-made pop flavours instead of the regular ones you get everywhere else and craft beer.
Checking out the menu, there actually wasn't many options I really wanted, either there was a topping I didn't like on it or I didn't want the meat it was made it. I finally decided on the Chicago Shout-Out after debating between that or the Naked Dog but there were so many toppings you could choose from for the Naked Dog, I didn't feel like deciding. The Chicago Shout-Out was made of Beef Chuck and Pork Shoulder topped with Yellowy Mustard, Sweet Pickle Relish, Raw Onion, Tomato, Pepperoncini, and Celery Salt. Will ordered the Philly Cheese Steak Dog made out of Local Beef topped with Sweet Peppers, Onions, Provolone, and House-Made White Cheddar Wiz. We also got Fries and a Drink to share.
We sat down to wait for our order which they said they would bring over to us. Our fries came first and they said there's home-made condiments we can dress them with. We walked to the counter and indeed they had Smoked Ketchup, Curry Mayo, Petter Mayo and Homemade Mayo. My favourite was the Curry flavoured one but they were all very well made. Their fries were very delicious, lightly salted, and home-made.
So our hot dogs finally came and they looked so huge stuffed with all their toppings! The wieners fit perfectly in their buns and wasn't falling apart. The hard part about eating these were the falling toppings everywhere. The Chicago Shout-Out had a lot going on in terms of flavours, the mustard and onions were very overpowering. I did noticed that the dog was filled with lean meat and didn't taste like regular preserved hot dogs. It was fine quality. The Philly Cheese Steak Dog had a much smaller dog than the other and the didn't have very much flavour not did it taste like Philly cheese steak. There was a lot of cheese on this and I didn't really enjoy the Wiz. Both of the dogs fell short for us in terms of flavour.
+Will is a huge hot dog fan and he was very disappointed in our meals especially for how much they costed. I appreciated the concept and what the Craft Dog is trying to do for hot dogs here but it wasn't for us. I have to mention that the guys serving us though were extremely friendly and attentive. They filled up our pop when it was done and let us try another one of their funky flavours. The Cola Root Beer and Vanilla Cola were great!
Food: 1/5 - Good quality hot dogs but nothing came together to make it a good meal.
Decor: 3/5 - Very shiny and clean, reminded me of a average fast-food sit in place.
Service: 4/5 - Awesome service, so nice and welcoming.
Willingness to come back: 1/5 - Unlikely I'd go back, but if I did I'd definitely get a Naked Dog and dress it myself.
Overall: 2/5
Website: http://www.craftdogs.com/
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