Fetch Yourself a Hotdog

If there is such thing as The Best Hotdog Ever, then it is to be found at the corner of Water and Abbott Streets. Hands down, no contest. Usually I reserve street meat for when I am in too much of a hurry or too drunk to know better, but I heard there was a new stand on the block - a gourmet one at that - so I made my way down to Gastown to check it out.

Fetch, as it is fetchingly named, is the creation of restaurateur Sean Heather and so it is unsurprisingly both simple and delicious. With the Irish Heather, Salty Tongue Urban Deli, Shebeen, Lucky Diner and Salt already on the go and Pepper opening soon, you would think Sean Heather would have his hands full. But maybe when you're already balancing all that and more, throwing a hot dog stand into the mix is as easy as putting a sausage on a bun.

If the process sounds simple, though, the ingredients are not. Gone are the days of runny mustard and soggy buns because standard order at Fetch is a sausage made by artisan butcher J N & Z Deli (Commercial Drive), deliciously flavourful and juicy and a fresh brioche bun ordered 4 days in advance from a baker on Granville Island. Even under the weight of multiple sauces, this bun did not turn soggy, which makes it a star in my books. There's nothing worse than soggy bread. But the condiment counter of this cart is where the gourmet really starts to stand out. Made fresh at Salt and the Lucky Diner, they range from Guinness mustard, sauerkraut with caraway seeds, Piccalilli relish, Two hot Sauce (but not "too" hot), homemade chipotle ketchup, and a white "special sauce" that I think was probably mayonnaise based. The end result is pure hot dog heaven. Not bad for only $4.25.

The only thing that would have made the experience even better would be a park or a beach in close proximity where you could sit out the end of your lunch hour and maybe even have a nap in the sun, but we made do with a park bench and people watching and it was just fine.

The cart is open for lunch (11:30 AM - 3 PM ish) only with no plans to extend the hours or number of carts as the owners are no doubt busy enough with other things. But judging by the number of satisfied customers chowing down in Gastown, there are bound to be some copycats soon.

Fetch Hotdog Stand
Corner of Water and Abbott Streets, Gastown
no phone