Yesterday was such a beautiful day, I decided to brave the crowds at Madison Square Park Eats. There are lots of great options to choose from, and tops on my list was Asia Dog.
I enjoyed samples of Asia Dog last year at the Asian Night Market, and was eager to try them again. It took about 20-25 minutes from getting on line to getting lunch. Would it be worth the wait?
I got 2 beef hot dogs for $8. You can also get chicken or vegetarian dogs for the same price, or 2 organic beef dogs for $9. Single hot dogs are $4.50 or $5 for organic beef.
There were about 7 different hot dogs, and I opted for the Mel & Steve (because I like sesame a lot) and the Vinh (to try something spicy).
Opening the container, this had to be the most colorful lunch I’ve had in quite some time.
I started with the Mel & Steve. The Asian slaw on top of the dog had a nice sesame flavor to it, and there were scallions and sesame seeds as well. The beef hot dog stood up well to the toppings, and this was delicious.
As good as the Mel & Steve was, the Vinh was even better! There were thin slices of cucumber on one side of the dog and some pate on the other side of the dog. A spicy aioli was put on the dog, then shredded, pickled carrots and daikon, and it was topped with chopped jalapenos and fresh cilantro. You could call this a banh mi hot dog.
The Vinh was an amazing hot dog! It had some heat, but the beefy hot dog balanced it out perfectly.
At the Asian Night Market, Asia Dog used Schaller & Weber hot dogs. It didn’t say on the menu what type of dogs they used here, but they were definitely of the same high quality as Schaller & Weber hot dogs.
Asia Dog was one of the freshest and best lunches I’ve had in a while – and most of the other vendors at Madison Square Eats seem to be of the same quality. I’m going to be spending some time here over the next month.
And if you can’t get to Madison Square Park Eats, Asia Dog recently opened a storefront at 66 Kenmare St in Nolita.
