Hot dogs from El Sitio

When I think of hot dogs, I have flashbacks to baseball games and amusement parks and the requisite experience of plastic tasting ‘sausages’ lying limply inside dried-up buns, smothered in ketchup and garish yellow mustard. So, I was recently happily surprised to experience a complete transformation of this historically working man’s street food into a highly tasty, non-processed delight at El Sitio’s cosy, casual eatery.

Situated a few minutes walk from Islas Filipinas metro, El Sitio offers a friendly, retro-styled atmosphere to accompany its European inspired fast food menu. Upon entering we were warmly welcomed by José with a British handshake, a friendly smile and chatty conversation…in English! As one of the four co-owners, he enthusiastically shared their inspirations and dreams with us, and explained that their mission is to offer “good fast food” using natural and quality products. Representing culinary contributions from France, Italy, Belgium and Germany, the menu offers freshly prepared sweet and savoury crêpes, hand-made pizzas, Belgian fries, and custom designed hot dogs (‘Hot Dogo’).

The secret behind the famous ¨hot dogos¨

With helpful recommendations from José for compatible topping and sauce combinations, our respective Hot Dogos arrived promptly with a decent serving of hot, freshly made fries. We were about to discover the secret behind the delicious taste os the ¨hot dogos¨: Plump and fluffy, soft but not soggy, golden brown but not burnt, the fries had the perfect taste requiring no seasoning whatsoever, although a little dip in the accompanying alioli sauce provided some added decadence. As for the Dogo, my tastebuds revelled in my slightly smoky Frankfurter enveloped in melted Emmental cheese. With a smattering of sautéed onions, the signature alioli sauce and a few zesty pickles thrown in for good measure, the combination was smooth yet slightly feisty.

As a person who is highly adept at being amazingly indecisive, it had been an agonizing decision to have to choose between the four types of German sausages on offer, the multiple toppings, and the differing sauces. Thankfully my partner in crime came to the rescue and chosea curry Bratwurst sausage with crispy onions, pickles and the alioli favourite, and we savoured the gentle curry-flavoured meatiness minus that bitter aftertaste that often accompanies highly processed products. El Sitio prides itself on its additive-free, natural products, and this really shows through in the quality of taste. For the Dogos, the German sausages are produced in the Basque country, an area known for the quality of its cuisine, and the hot dog buns are carefully created to perfectly combine a soft interior with a slightly crunchy exterior.

Feeling sufficiently stuffed, and surprisingly lacking in garlic breath from an alioli overload, we sadly finished off the last remaining fries and took our leave of this small yet upbeat joint. Thankfully, I live outside the 3 postal code radius for ‘Just-Eat’ delivery service, or I could forsee a rapid Hot Dogo addiction developing on those evenings when I’m too lazy to cook. Completely lacking in self-restraint, and starting at only 4 Euros for a basic hot dog with sauce, it would be far too tempting indeed for me to resist the craving for El Sitio’s “good fast food”.