Dogzilla

Another food truck that satisfies my love of hapa food: Dogzilla. I am always on a quest to try every crazy mash-up of Asian American cuisine Orange County has to offer. Kimchee quesadillas? Hell yes. Japanese hot dogs? I'm there! Red bean waffle sandwiches? You better believe I even dragged my friends there.

So when I first saw Dogzilla in a Best Buy parking lot, I knew I had to pounce on this one. Unlike a lot of the food trucks I'm in love with, Dogzilla is actually based in Irvine, rather than in L.A. county. And it offers up tasty treats to rival them too.

Dogzilla's tagline, "Not Your Typical Wieners" totally fits because you won't find any mustard or ketchup on their deluxe dogs. Instead, they rely on Japanese flavorings and Hawaiian stand-bys for their unique hot dogs. This isn't exclusive to Dogzilla, the hapa hot dog can be found at places like the Tokyo Doggie Style food truck in LA, Asia Dog in NYC, and Japadog in NYC and Vancouver. I even make a version at home (and why I haven't blogged about this? Fail!).

However trendy, I happen to really love the execution of Dogzilla's hot dogs. Rather than using a normal hot dog bun, they use King's Hawaiian hot dog buns. You can get a fried egg with a gloriously runny yolk on any dog. Their Garlic Fries feature freshly minced garlic rather than garlic powder, making my breath possibly radioactive but I could care less about that when they taste this good.

The first dog that we tried was their titular dog, the Dogzilla ($6.50), which features an all-beef frank topped with grilled onions, bacon bits, avocado, shredded nori, teriyaki sauce, kewpie mayo, and furikake. If it seems like a lot going on, you're right, but once you take a bite it all makes sense. None of the toppings overpowers another, so you end up with a salty-sweet-rich-creamy-tangy explosion. Plus the King's bun really supports a lot of filling, so you can actually eat this with one hand without it falling apart or resorting to a fork.

Yaki Dog

Mr. Mochi's next choice was the Yaki Dog ($7.00), since he loves matsuri food like yakisoba. Yakisoba, wheat noodles stir fried with cabbage and bean sprouts, is dressed with okonomi sauce, a type of so-su. So when paired with a spicy link here in the Yakisoba Dog, the sweet so-su pairs beautifully with the kick the spicy link provides. I totally support the idea of putting an egg on top of this one.

My absolute favorites are the Loco Moco Dog ($7.50) and Fries ($8.50). Now if you're gasping at the price of the fries, let me educate you: the Loco Moco Fries are simply a behemoth of fried eggs, gravy, crispy Spam, and piping-hot french fries. I couldn't eat half of them; I recommend bringing a friend.

Loco Moco Dog

Loco Moco is actually a modern Hawaiian dish, with Japanese influences. A bed of rice is topped with a hamburger patty, beef gravy, and a fried egg. It's very similar to the way the Japanese serve hambagu, or Japanese hamburger, which is similar to a Salisbury steak, with a sweet gravy-like sauce on top of rice. Instead of rice and hamburger, the Loco Moco Dog and Fries use fries and a hot dog bun as the carbohydrate base and Spam for the meat. Topping this mess is their house-made gravy, the perfect thickness to keep everything from getting soggy, as well as fried shallots, grilled and green onions, aonori (green seaweed flakes), and the aforementioned fried egg.

Ballpark Dog

I could eat the Loco Moco Fries (top picture) into oblivion. Hot fries, crispy Spam, savory beef gravy, and two fried eggs topped with fried shallots, grilled onions, aonori, and green onions. I had to type out the description again, to make sure you understand how much I love this combination. I had them on a chilly windy day at the O.C. Fairgrounds, and it was soul-warming comfort food.

Gourmet food truck prices are never cheap, but they offer combination deals if you want both fries and a dog. I can't even finish a whole dog, so for $6.50 I consider it a pretty good deal.

If you're not feeling the hapa dogs, they also have a delicious Ballpark Dog ($7.00, picture above) topped with chili, cheddar cheese, and your choice of raw or grilled onions, as well as any of their sausage choices topped with traditional toppings.

Dogzilla
http://www.dogzillahotdogs.com/



See Also:
Kogi BBQ Truck
California Shabu Shabu
Coco Ichibanya Curry House