American-style restaurants serving delicious and affordable fare have been popping up all across the southeastern part of Taipei over the past few years, providing young crowds with a taste for belt-busting burgers and oversized breakfasts.
Situated in an alley behind California Fitness on Zhongxiao East Road (忠孝東路), the recently opened Hook follows this trend but focuses its culinary attention on a dish that is generally overlooked by these restaurants: the hot dog.
The 14 varieties on offer include the German-style hot dog with onions and pickles (NT$100), the BBQ chicken dog with onions (NT$180) and the Mexican salsa dog with salsa, basil and jalapenos (NT$130). There are also more adventurous creations such as the Korean hot dog with Korean pickles (NT$150), the curry hot dog topped with curry sauce (NT$150) and the tuna salad dog with tomatoes, onion and lettuce (NT$150). Add NT$80 to any of these dishes and your meal arrives with a beverage and French fries.
The chili dog with onions and jalapenos (NT$150) that I opted for arrived with a moderate amount of thick-cut and lightly salted French fries and a creamy and rich tartar sauce to dip them in.
Though the amount of fries didn’t match my idea of American excess, Hook smothered the frankfurter with chili, which was a spicy combination of chunks of onion, ground beef and pickled jalapeno in a robust sauce topped with jalapeno slices. I found myself happily negotiating my way through the mound of chili with a fork. The tartar sauce was a nice accompaniment to the fries and helped cool down the burning sensation caused by
the jalapenos.
Though Hook concentrates on doing its hot dogs up right (albeit expensively, especially when compared with Gusto Street Hot Dogs, across the street from the Diner on Ruian Street (瑞安街), which now opens only on weekends), the waitstaff seem easily distracted.
After I ordered lunch, a server brought three plates of food downstairs for the table next to me and, rather than serving them immediately, placed them on the bar to answer the phone.
After the phone conversation, two customers brought their bill to the bar, paid, chatted with the server and left. Having sat on the bar for about 10 minutes, the dishes were finally delivered to the table — a process that took less than 15 seconds. I was left wondering about the 10 percent service charge.
Perhaps this distraction has something to do with the restaurant’s design. Servers spend much of their time negotiating the stairs between the kitchen on the first floor and the basement eating area below.
Along with hot dogs, Hook’s menu also features pub-style appetizers such as onion rings (NT$100), spicy chicken wings (NT$180) and fried mozzarella sticks (NT$160), as well as a handful of burgers.
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