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Fusia Dog
Category: Restaurants Hot Dogs Hot Dogs [Edit]
65 Duncan StToronto, ON M5V 1Z4
Neighbourhoods: Entertainment District, Queen Street West, Downtown Core
(647) 274-7303
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take Away:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- No
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
7 reviews for Fusia Dog
7 reviews in English
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Review from Johnathan N.
Brampton, ON
Different and tasty, worth checking out, but not a knockout.
Hot dogs, like most substrates, are misunderstood. The core ingredients of a hot dog (bun, pink slime) can be good or not-so-good, and there's certainly art in getting each piece right, but too much of that is distraction. The real test of a wiener is what you do with it.
Fusia dog does, it must be said, some interesting things. Their eponymous offering uses flatbread (paratha) instead of a bun, and dollops some wasabi mayo and kimchi business on top. The chop suey dog's got a heavy sprinkling of hickory sticks, and some lovely grilled onions. The Boston's got a great 3-bean baked bean mix going on. There are, herein, the makings of some good nom.
But the prices ($7-$9) are high for hot dogs and their attempts to justify those prices with generous loads of toppings just make things messy and harder to eat.
You should try it, and you should order the Fusia dog itself since I think it's their strongest play. I did, and I was happy. But I'm unlikely to add it to the regular rotation.
Pro-tip: tasty stuff in the soda case, and also check out their in-house thick-cut chips. -
Review from Chris P.
Do you suffer from mild allergies that keep you stuffed up? Maybe you have a head cold and are looking for relief? I have a cure for you. Behold the Fusia Dog. The amount of wasabi mayo they slather onto this tube-o-meat is sure to clear any sinus infarction.
These guys are a perfect example of a business that would highly benefit form a reform in the city's food vendor laws. Their location is super small. Not really large enough to have seating, but they squish in a few stools. They would be perfectly suited to a food truck. It's a small menu of 8 or so different dogs, home made chips, and some salads. While I wouldn't say they have a bad location, I'm guessing that a big part of the reason it costs almost $10 for a Fusia Dog and a pop is the overhead of renting their small space in the Entertainment district.
I really want to be a regular here. Their food is great but unfortunately the price will not keep me coming back often enough.
April challenge 20/30 -
Review from Lawrence H.
Toronto, ON
11/3/2011
I went to Fusia Dog for lunch with my buddy who is into trying new food joints and while I am normally fairly skeptical about these types of places, I left Fusia Dog thinking that the food was good.
Let's be clear - this is not a place where you go to get full on $10 and get good bang for your buck. Even though the lowest priced dog is $7 c'mon now - do you really expect to be blown away by a $7 hot dog? If you want a cheap hot dog or if you are going to complain how it is not like a street meat hot dog, then this is not the place for you.
People should expect a well-prepared gourmet hotdog that tastes good - not some sort of culinary experience that will transport you to some Asian hot dog paradise.
I had the Fusia Dog. It comes in a banana-leaf boat on red checked paper. Instead of a bun, it's wrapped in a sturdy griddled Indian flatbread barely able to contain the toppings. Warning: you will need napkins and a good hand-wash after eating this one!! There's a mild cabbage kimchi, grated daikon and carrot dressed with rice wine vinegar, cilantro, cucumber, plus some wasabi mayo.
My friend had the Peking Duck Quesadilla, which is slivered duck & skin, scallions, carrots, bean sprouts, and hoisin sauce, grilled in a flour tortilla. I liked Fusia's take on the quesadilla.
There is minimal seating space in the store. This is more of a take-out space and when permitting, Dinah (owner) can offer you a TV tray if you decide to take a seat on the bench. There are 2 seats at the bar too. The store owner is very curteous and welcoming, and offers samples of salads while you wait.
Fusia Dog was A-OK for me, not necessarily a place I would visit regularly but they do a good job of putting their spin on common food. -
Review from Mike S.
Toronto, ON
10/14/2011
Well, I wasn't expecting much from this place and I was right to. I had the 'FusiaDog', basically a cheap hot dog straight out of the Maple Leaf package with some "kimchi" (just some shredded cabbage and carrots, hardly kimchi by any standard) on top. The whole experience cost over 7 bucks. Total rip off. Save your money and go to a hot dog vendor on the street, at least you can get a sausage for under 4 bucks.
I don't see this place lasting long. I would of paid at best 3 bucks for the FusiaDog. I could see this whole idea working if it was just a street cart and meals went for under 5 bucks but to expect people to pay north of 7 dollars for a cheap, crappy hot dog is nuts. I understand that the area is high rent, but this place is going to offer a hell of a lot more if they want to stay afloat.
In short, go to any number of the street vendors in the area if you want a hot dog. -
Review from Shelly D.
Etobicoke, ON
2/10/2012
Delicious! I have had the Fusia Dog which is an all beef dog on a naan style bread with wasabi mayo and kimchi on top. I also love their Powerslaw salad which is a cabbage salad with pumpkin seeds and cheddar cheese. They often give out free samples of their soups (lemon grass chicken vegetable, mmmm) and salads and have some free homemade potato chips at the cash counter for sampling. Very affordable. Only a few stools for seating so most people grab takeout.
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Review from En L.
12/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
Really small... Tiny tiny place that fit 6 people. I had a fushia dog... A pratha wrap all-beef hot dog with Kim chi topping for $6.95. It's delicious but I'm unsure whether its worth the price.
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Review from Sharon F.
East York, ON
11/22/2011
When I used to work at Yonge & Bloor, Dinah's Cupboard was one of my favourite shops to peruse and get lost in the details of canned apricots or gourmet chocolate. A few weeks ago when I sauntered up Duncan looking for cheap shawarma, I found instead a tacky sign that read 'Fusia Dog' with Dinah Koo's face in the window, almost beckoning you to try whatever frankenfood awaited.
Inside, the restaurant was disorganized in a way that hinted at the shop's newness. The grill/kitchen, counter, and sitting area all blend into one space. A family of 5 and a couple had already taken up the window counter and lone table space, so I sat down on a bench while Dinah looked for a TV tray to place my impending fusia dog.
I've had my go of Vancouver's japadogs and feel rather impassioned about their existence, so I knew I was coming in biased. If one would compare, I would say that fusia dog just doesn't have that edge. The namesake fusia dog basically tasted like a bahn mi, where instead of tasty meat there was a thin frankfurter that reminded me of New York City's sorry excuse for a hot dog, and instead of a thick chewy bun you had the paratha, which is an Indian flatbread that complimented the flavours quite well, surprisingly. I liked the kimchi plus wasabi mayo combo, but there's nothing new there. They were also giving away homemade crisps (proper thick salty british styled ones) and a sample of the power slaw, which tasted great. In fact, I think it might have been my favourite part of the meal.
Not to be discouraged, I also ordered a Peking Duck Quesadilla to go, hoping to steal a bite while my friend tells me if it's innovative. Unfortunately she was even harsher and said that we could have put everything together in 5 minutes with some short stops in Chinatown.
I don't regret paying $10 for an experiment, but I wouldn't return. So with buzz and no follow-up or virality, the business might hurt in the long run. Fusia Dog is just not coherent enough with their pairings and message. The ingredients were fresh and one could tell everything was made right, but the flavours were slightly off. The space was designed to be quirky, but seeing the backroom in a mess exposed all its flaws. The presentation on a banana leaf boat was excellent, but having it all carried on 50s styled lunch trays detracted from the Asian-ness of it all. Maybe as winter draws near and people are too cold to wait for their street meat, will they entertain the idea of going inside for a taste adventure. But at the end of the day, Dinah's competing with a city of street dog aficionados who are comfortable making their own crazy flavour concoctions and won't be willing to shell out money for her to make those flavour decisions for them.
