Some good eating going on here in Halifax.  Yesterday I had a veggie dog down on the boardwalk served up by a colourful character who said he was a farmer.  His ‘regulars’ swarmed around him and he knew each by name.  The veggie dog cost $4.00, compared to $2.50 in Toronto, but it wasn’t an Yves because the skin, or whatever substitutes for animal intestines in a veggie dog, was less chewy.

When I asked for a veggie dog he slyly suggested that he could add a strip of bacon and promised not to tell anyone.  I said no, and reminded him that bacon is the gateway meat that apparently has the power to lure vegetarians off of our pedestals.  Shortly after this my son commented that someone just carted a grisly load past us into the butcher shop just behind the hot dog stand.  I asked him if the pig was alive and he said no.  Our hot dog vendor said that all meat sold in the butchery was free-range, chemical and cruelty-free.  Still.

The toppings available, outside of the usual ketchup, mustard and relish variety were made fresh daily (at his farm) and what was left over every night was tossed.  He encouraged me to load up on my ‘dog so I did.  I’m usually fairly conservative – two strips of mustard, hot sauce and/or jalapenos, pickles. He had a lovely Scotch Bonnet sauce that he urged me to pre-taste (it was hot, but I didn’t put enough on so it wasn’t hot enough).  There was also a tomato marinade and a nice mayo-with-something to offset the heat.  The bun was white, of course, as they always are but soft and fresh.

J-girl had her own.  I left it blank because she’s not that adventurous with stuff.  She missed out on flavour, but ate the whole thing.