Hot Mutts
A dozen trends merge on AsiaDog's buns
Piling several of today's biggest food trends--bánh mi, pork belly and Korean BBQ among them--onto a bun might seem like aiming a shotgun at the tiny bull's-eye of mass appeal.
But it's a purely innate approach for AsiaDog's Stephen Porto and Melanie Campbell, who draw on their mixed heritages (he's Korean-Italian; she's Chinese-Australian) to create a multiculti range of toppings that elevate hot dogs and burgers to upscale street food.
The couple launched AsiaDog last summer as a Tuesday-night pop-up at Williamsburg's Trophy Bar. Their weekly residence continues this summer, and they've added stands at the Fort Greene Flea Market on Saturdays and on occasional Sundays at BKLYN Yard.
Their creations are completely homespun: Melanie borrowed her mother's recipe for barbecued pork to create the Wangding, a frank (they offer beef, chicken and vegetable versions) topped with Chinese-style pork belly, while Steve channels his own mother in Korean-style bulgogi burgers.
Our favorite AsiaDogs are the Vinh--made bánh mi style with aioli, pâté, cucumbers and pickled carrot and daikon--and the Ginny, which you can make at home by topping grilled hot dogs with store-bought kimchi and nori (dried seaweed flakes), which are both available at Korean and Japanese markets.
