Some might say that a New York hot dog is an unpretentious and affordable American institution that shouldn’t be messed with; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Having said that, remixing a classic is a fun way to attract customers who are after something fresh and exciting. Perhaps that was the thinking behind the creation of the world’s most expensive hot dog, known as the Juuni Ban, by food truck business Tokyo Dog. Featuring a topping of controversial foie gras and caviar, this luxury footlong twist on an old-school hot dog was the brainchild of chefs Eugene Woo, Samson Kwong, and Rocky Yeh. Priced at a whopping $169, this behemoth won the Guinness World Record for the most expensive hot dog in 2014 and is still the reigning champ even though the Seattle-based food vendor closed down in 2017.
So what made this hot dog so expensive? According to the Guinness World Record website, it contained a host of premium ingredients including “smoked cheese bratwurst, butter Teriyaki grilled onions, Maitake mushrooms, Wagyu beef, foie gras, shaved black truffles, caviar and Japanese mayonnaise on a brioche bun.” To qualify for the record, the food truck had to sell a minimum of one hot dog, but luckily, they were able to sell six, ringing up a total of just over a grand.
The profits from the Juuni Ban were donated to charity
The owner of Tokyo Dog, Eugene Woo, told ABC News that “the previous record was $145.49 — sold by a hot dog manager in California — and we thought it would be fun to break that record and bring it home.” He added that the project was “also for fundraising. We gave away every single penny to the Red Cross.”
While the base of the Juuni Ban was a high-quality bratwurst, it was the toppings that turned things up a notch. The foie gras was seared in a skillet and cooked in its own rendered fat before it was sliced up with the Wagyu beef and placed on the sausage. Then the mushrooms and onions were scattered on top, followed by a drizzle of mayo, a little caviar, and the shaved black truffles. These buttery ingredients resulted in a rich, heavy dog that a commenter on Reddit described as a recipe for “some really expensive heartburn.”
Other items on the Tokyo Dog menu included the Shibuya dog (topped with Teriyaki onions, miso mayo, and nori) and the Ginza dog (a smoked cheese brat with plum sauce and bonito flakes) priced at a far more affordable $8. Sadly neither the Juuni Ban nor the other cheaper hot dog options are available to Seattleites anymore. According to a post made on Tokyo Dog’s Facebook page, the business closed in 2017 “due to family and life priorities.”
