As a Montreal ex-pat, I've experienced the crimes against poutine committed by Torontonians and Ontario in general (sauf Ottawa/NCR). You know things are bad when real poutine-slingers have to qualify their product with the tag-line "We use real curds!"
When I stumbled upon The Little Dog, I jumped at the chance to sample a steamie without having to go to Oshawa. After abandoning my wife and kid to the mobs on College Street during the Taste of Little Italy festival, I ordered two steamies, "Aw drrresed" and then engaged in a friendly banter with the cashier.
Soon two steamies were served up and before I even looked at it I knew something was wrong. The bun felt too firm. A quick peek confirmed two unwelcome facts. One: the bun wasn't steamed!!!! Two: they used creamy cole slaw!!! WTF is creamy cole slaw doing on my steamie!!!
I stumble out, my body shocked by the sudden, violent drop of my food-expectation high. I bite into my first dog and it just wasn't even close to what I had hoped would be nitrate-fuelled heaven. Madly thinking about how I would be able to scrape the creamy cabbage from my hot dog as I head to the closest garbage bin, I managed to simply eat the wiener itself and tossed the remaining unsteamed bun and slaw. The second one I just tossed before taking comfort in the arms of my wife and the babbling and smile of my baby girl.
If I ever go back, it'll be for a plain hot dog and only after confirming that the bun is steamed but then it's not how a steamie is supposed to be eaten...