It' Dog

The newest eatery in town? It' Dog! A Korean fusion joint specializing in gourmet hot dogs and fried chicken, It' Dog is located on 109th Street right beside Remedy Cafe and Movie Studio. I first heard about this place on Instagram and Twitter, when a few people posted pictures saying they had just opened on January 6th. Unsurprisingly, I took a visit here the next day with CJ. I guess you could say I like to stay on top of my #yegfood adventures, lol! 

The interior.

CJ and I left for It' Dog right after school. I really like how close this place is to the University Campus, so it's perfect to go to for lunch or for a bite during breaks in between classes. We were the only people there when we arrived, so we had a lot of time to take in the menu and the interior! 

The menu.

The menu at It' Dog is simple and quite easy to read. Their food includes hot dogs, fried chicken, and poutine, along with drinks such as pop, juice, or beer. It's clear that the hot dogs are the main focus of this eatery, considering that it takes up an entire board! There are definitely a lot of options... kimchi, bulgogi, and truffle mac and cheese were just a few of the hot dogs that intrigued me the most! 

Our hot dogs.

The hot dogs here are loaded with toppings! It was so fun to take pictures of them because CJ and I had never eaten hot dogs like this before. Not to mention that the colours of our food was so vibrant and pretty. Our hot dogs came out a bit slower than was expected, but it was probably because there were suddenly more and more people pouring into the eatery. We were both happy to have beaten the lunch rush. 

Crispy Chicken Dog.

I finally decided on the Crispy Chicken Dog ($7.50) for my hot dog. I wanted to try both the hot dog and the crispy chicken, and since this option incorporated both I thought I'd kill two birds with one stone. The grilled beef sausage is also topped with lettuce, spicy mayo, and onion. At first, I was quite overwhelmed by how big this hot dog was (from my viewpoint, at least). How was I supposed to eat this and not cause everything to spill out! I ended up just cutting up the hot dog into pieces with a knife and fork. Yes I know, not fun at all. In terms of taste, I found the sausage to be bland and nothing special. Tasteless, almost. While the pretzel bun added a unique touch, I thought it was a bit dry and difficult to chew on. The spicy mayo had a subtle yet enjoyable heat - more sauce, please! The crispy chicken topping was the best part. So good and crunchy! Korean Fried Chicken (KFC) done right. 

It' Hot Dog.

CJ's pick was the It' Hot Dog ($10). This hot dog is topped with bulgogi, tempura shrimp, mushroom, caramelized onions, mozzarella cheese, green onion, and sweet wasabi mayo. This one was the most expensive hot dog option. During our trip here, I asked CJ to write a review of his food for me instead of me just asking him what he thought. He definitely had a lot to say: "The individual hot dog tastes like one that comes out of the can from the Dollar Store. I didn't like the mushy texture of it. The pretzel bun didn't work because it just absorbed too much. I felt my throat becoming drier while eating it. Everything else tastes like how you would expect it to. Overall, meh experience. 5/10 because it was $10 for a hot dog - a little bit too pricey for what it tastes like to me. However, this all may be due to me being sick and all my taste buds aren't here. It was hard for me to eat the hot dog when I would usually just scarf it down." 

Nomz.

The verdict on It' Dog? The food we got was just okay, but there is certainly some room for improvement! I think the combination of the toppings are what makes the hot dogs special, but the actual sausage and bun could use some work. I would come back here for the fried chicken for sure - it was awesome and even comparable to Coco's Deep Fried Chicken! It' Dog also offers sweet & spicy, sweet mustard, and soy garlic chicken for the fried chicken lovers out there. The pricing of the food is inexpensive overall, which is a plus for us university students haha. I personally think the convenient location and close proximity to the University make It' Dog a great place to go to for an after school lunch with friends. They are also open until 3:00 am on Fridays and Saturdays for any night owls. Give it a try!