Sunday 3 July 2011

The Dogfather - North Cross Road Market SE22

Yesterday was a good food day! We had booked dinner at Gauthier for our anniversary (post will follow shortly!) and were extremely excited about it! We strategically had a fairly late breakfast of lovely pastries and coffee (hot chocolate for me), which we hoped would last us till our evening booking. We have very often, in the past, ended up eating lunch too close to the evening meal and not wanting to miss out, order a minimum of a three course meal and end up feeling too full to breathe by the end of the evening! My eyes have always been hungrier than my stomach, but I am making an effort to improve my stomach's capacity...

By lunchtime, yesterday, we were both feeling fairly hungry. There was no way we could make it through to the evening without starving - we needed a bite of something. So off we went for a walk - a good excuse to get another nap out of a baby that never volunteers to sleep. We are very lucky to be so close to North Cross Market and the cafes and curry houses of Lordship Lane. We thought that it was better to have a plan than walk around aimlessly, looking for inspiration and so we settled on hot dogs from the Dogfather on North Cross. We have tried them before and they were great, so this time we would share one, so as not to get tooooo full before our awaiting tasting menu (yes, we had decided on the tasting menu, even before setting foot in Gauthier!). 


So off we went to the Dogfather, Missy soundly asleep in the pram, we sat at the table and chairs Cooper has laid out by his stall and ordered a hot dog to share. It was quite hard to pick only one of the number of options he offers (as you can see in the menu in the photo), but thought we would go for a classic: double cheese and grilled onions. Jalapenos were also recommended as a little extra with a kick to go on top and it was a welcome suggestion. There is always a bit of a wait as he lovingly prepares each order with precision and care. Five minutes later the hot dog was put in front of us, only to disappear within a minute. OK two minutes. I love my husband, but when it comes to sharing delicious things, it becomes a bit of a competition! Darwin's evolutionary theory of survival of the fittest! I think it is safe to say we will be going back for more, and next time we will order one each - at least!



Similarly to paella or burgers, hot dogs are very often much better in principle than in reality (though we have now found two great places for burgers, but not one for paella as of yet). But this hot dog exceeded expectations; he uses beef hot dogs (to me, an essential part of it being a 'proper' hot dog), adds two different types of cheese (melted cheese and cheddar slices), adds freshly cooked onions and lets it all cook in the bun for a bit on the griddle. Finally a few sprinkles of jalapenos added a little heat and my generous squirt of mustard and ketchup just brought the whole thing to a harmonious symphony of flavours. Yum!  The other hot dogs he has on offer also look and sound great and I am greatly looking forward to trying each and every one of them. 



Cooper said that he is planning to expand a little more this year and get to a few more markets and areas during the week. I just hope he stays in East Dulwich on Saturdays!

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