It was a Monday. Mondays are notorious (maybe, who knows, let's just say they are) for lacking in…read morefood trucks. Most trucks I know seem to trade from Tuesday onwards, leaving the streets a little bare. So you can imagine my surprise when a friend and I spotted this shiny silver van as we were leaving Adelaide Uni.
I've heard of Papa's Gourmet Hot Dogs briefly, but I'd never had a chance to try them before.
Let's get this out of the way first. They're not quite what I would call hot dogs. Instead of the regular American hot dogs, Papa's have a range of gourmet sausages on the menu. They're still served on a long bun, but I was a little surprised at first.
Papa's is a bit like Subway, but without the clear visuals. First you pick your bread (choose from a traditional and delicious bun or panini), then your sausage (there are about 5 to choose from), then start adding toppings and sauces.
This is great, especially if you're a bit of a hot dog connoisseur. Unfortunately if you're a bit indecisive it's not the best. It would be great if Papa's had some recommended combos to give newbies a bit of a head start. I know what I like, but I also liked most of their options so choosing a combination that would go great together was a little hard.
I ended up with a traditional roll, beef and sun dried tomato sausage, homemade slaw, cheese, jalepenos, and hot tomato sauce.
Other toppings include caramelised onions, seasoned pickles, seasonal salad, and sautéed mushrooms. Personally I think they need to add some sauerkraut to their list, especially as they have a German Bratwurst sausage as one of their options. Sauces include ketchup, Coopers Ale BBQ, garlic sauce, sweet mustard, English mustard, Japanese mayo, and Thai chili.
Hotdogs start at $8, but a few of the toppings are $1 extra. You can add most of them while still sticking at the $8 mark. They also have a range of American sodas including Dr. Pepper and Cherry Coke.
The sausages are made locally, and they are great. The toppings I had all worked well. I'd just like a little more guidance with my combinations. We're not all hot dog whizzes, I'd hate to end up with a poor combo.