ejebud

So I guess the velcro system I planned on won't suffice?? Seriously though, Thanks for the physics lesson. I'll be sure to use a hot glue gun in conjunction with the velcro! Eric

Glenn, Iknow the dog you are using, and this roll would be too large for yours. Your challenge is length, and Mine (dare I say it) is girth. a ripper is fried untill the casing busts open and it gets a big giant rip in the side of the dog. This alows for the absorption of oil. We want to prevent that from happening so we are going to fry 'em for less time. Thanks for your good wishes!! Eric

YES!! We will have a griddle so thet WILL be an option. Not sure if we can do the bacon wrapped dogs that way, but testing will tell.

I think you just convinced us to at least begin with hand cut fries with a wall mounted fry cutter then immediately into the oil. We will forgo the frozen fry route. Eric

Holly, Thanks for your kind wishes!! To answer your questions: I used the term Flash fried to make it clear, that we are not making "rippers" here. They will be minimaly cooked, just to crisp the casing and/or bacon and to sufficiently heat through. Sort of fried with a conscience if you will. The bun is basically an oversized hot dog roll made by the Martins baking Co of Potato roll fame but IS NOT A POTATO ROLL!! I want to be clear about this. At this point we know we will be steaming the buns and will decide when our equiptment is in place wether further treatment is logistically feasable. And speaking of logostics, the fries are indeed an important part of the operation, and again, once we have our equiptment in place we will see how feasable it is to do authentic belgium fries(twice cooked). It is my desire to do them, but we may have to begin with a really great fry that is readily available (like the ones at MELT) and work towards the greater desired end product. We will do extensive testing of fries before we open. My space is just 1068 sq ft in total so it's going to be tight. Just know, that my heart is in the right place on this. Thanks again for your incredible insight!! Eric

I figured that it was time to open the Amazing Hot Dog Thread. We are getting even closer to final approval. Here's where we stand as of right now: First. the logo: We have a signed lease that is contingent upon final aproval by the town of Verona. The space is at 148A Bloomfield Ave next to the Acura dealer. There is a strip of stores to the left of the dealership. Our food related neighbors are New York Bagel and Mardi Gras caterers. We went in front of the zoning board at the July meeting and gave 95% of our testimony. The board heard our Architect, our engineer/planner, our attorney, and yes even our meteorologist!! There were alot of questions being raised about exhaust and odors, so we felt it prudent to ask for an adjournment to secure the services of an expert on the subject. We have our expert and are on the agenda for the September 8th meeting. There was also a concerned resident who lives behind the building who I respect highly for caring enough about his neighborhood to attrend the meeting to voice his concerns and I am confident that we will address his concerns to the boards satisfaction. We are serving primarily hot dogs(Best's 1/4 pound Don's of course) and french fries, with a burger available for the one friend in the group that doesn't like hot dogs!?!? We will also have a veggie dog and a turkey dog by popular demand. Our two basic dogs are: The CLASSIC- a locally made, 100% all beef dog an AMAZING-a bacon wrapped CLASSIC. The dogs will be flash fried to keep the natural casing intact to ensure a solid **SNAP** and to make the bacon on the AMAZING get crispy, but we will griddle one(sans bacon) untill we can convert you over. We have 20 ala carte toppings some of wich are free ie. mustard, ketchup,suerkraut,relish, and raw onions. and some that will cost extra ie, cheesewhiz, Homemade chili, salsa, cole slaw, baked beans, sauteed onions, and a few others. We have a dozen topping combination dogs with cute names like the Jersey Breakfast, smokey joe, My Schmiero, Caped Crusader, Nacho dog to name few. The place will be clean and bright and totally family and especially kid friendly. If all goes well at the meeting, we could concievably open in early to mid November. We will be there alot between now and opening day, so if your in the area feel free to stop in and say hello. I love to meet fellow Egulleters. I look forward to AMAZING you with our hot dogs, untill then I'll keep you guys posted here on Egullet. Eric

The chef who is doing our season premier Les Marmitonsevent on September 20th(PM me for info) is just 2 months in the country from Ireland and has submitted his menu which includes Roast veal fillet, pommes fondant, tempura oysters, sauce béarnaise. I am having trouble finding a decent definition of the Fondant part of Pommes Fondant. Can anyone give me an idea what this looks like? I originally thought "au Gratin" but why wouldn't he have just said au gratin?? Thanks, Eric

something as "simple as a steak"!?!?! say it ain't so, eric. steaks range from inedible to sublime. (note: i couldn't think of another word so the ridiculous "sublime" was thrown in) ← Yeah, I kinda got that lump in the throat that one often gets when they hit the send button too fast without thinking twice about the contents of the message. Rather than Simple, unadulterated, pure, simplisitic in it's existence would have been more spot on. Thanks for calling me on my Sh*T

My steak description was "tongue in cheek" humor used to illustrate the over analyzing some of us can do to something as simple as a steak. Eric

Great timing!! I have what I believe to be a whole Hanger in that I usually see them butterflied; this one is not. when you say you cut it into thirds, is that lengthwise like a skirt steak, or widthwise like mini filets? PS. Kosher salt + Fresh ground Black Pepper+ high heat on the grill= good eats

**DONS FLAME SUIT** C'mon!! you guys are killing me with all the bad talk about Pal's. It is what I call an "old stand by" I know that I can go to Pal's on any given day and get a FABULOUS burger, AMAZING Fried Chicken (fried anything for that matter; onion rings to die for!!), DELICIOUS Mushroom Soup,and a pretty darn good steak that falls somewhere between the Ponderosa down the block and Peter Lugers, I promise!! I know we are all foodies here with finely honed tasting skills that can detect the most miniscule of detail about any food item we allow to pass our lips and know within a half second what it is, where it came from, how it is seasoned, what cooking method was used, what the cooks name was, how many of that item they have cooked in their career, and where to get a version of the very same thing that's better than the one your having right now, but cant we all just get along? Things would get pretty boring culinarily if every meal was over the top incredible and the really great spots lost their novelty of being just that; over the top. Please note, this comes from a guy who thinks that even a double dipped cheesburger at Rutt's hut has it's place in the vast culinary landscape that is my pallet. Please leave my dear Pal's Cabin alone. **JUMPS OFF SOAPBOX** Eric EEG

Well folks, thanks for the great choices. Maybe someday I'll learn to post things like this with more than 10 minutes till we walk out the door. Anyway, we ended up going to Pizzeta in Livingston. We were pleasantlysurprised. We started out with Mussels Fra Diavalo. The mussels were plump but not to big and the suace was darn near perfect; spicy and not too sweet. We then had a pizza which was a small, individual pie with fresh tomatoes, garlic, Ricotta, and Pecorino. The dough was really tender and we really enjoyed it. We also had the Linguine in White clam sauce. It was divine!!. They use Cockles instead of clams, and the pasta was cooked absoluteley perfectly. They severley undercook it in the water, and finish it off in the pan with the sauce while the pasta is still in "absorption mode". It had the chewy consistency that is so desired yet so elusive. I don't know why it is so hard to find pasta cooked truly al dente, but it is. I plan on trying several if not all of your recomendations. I'm glad that Due Amici was mentioned; I've wanted to stop in but have been reluctant to waste my money on yet another mediocre Jersey Italian place.

Looking for a quick reccomendation. decent-not fancy Italian-WestOrange area. Oh with 6 yo daughter. Thanks Eric

I am making a mango salsa on sunday, and I have a 9 count box of mangos from Costco that are still a bit hard. Is there a quick ripening method that works?? Eric

Is it really possible to overbrine the ribs?? I have them brining for about 3 hours now in the same container as my butt. I was going to brine till tomorrow and then air dry for an hour and slather with my dry rub over ight then smoke on Saturday. Should I take the ribs out of the brine now and rub 'em tomorrow? Eric

WOW!! have I got BBQ on the brain after reading through this post!! I am having 30 people over for my inlaws surprise anniversary party on sunday. Here is my meat product inventory as of 10:41 PM Wednesday July 6th: one 9 pound whole picnic shoulder (bone in, skin on) 6 racks of Baby Backs also have 3 untrimmed briskets. and 10 pounds of chicken wings. That should be enough, don't ya think?!? What are your thoughts on brining the brisket and ribs? I use my own brand of dry rub that is a kosher salt, brown sugar based rub. It tends to draw liquid OUT of the meat so I try not to let em sit too long with the rub on them. I also will smoke the meat for 3 hours at 200 degrees then wrap in foil after the internal temp reaches 140. Would love to know if any of you have brined BB ribs or Brisket. Thanks, Eric

MMMMMM!!! with that killer horseradish sauce. We actually still have a RR here in NJ but no RR burger.

Holly, Thanks for your input. We have moved away from the all things to all people concept somewhat and definatley NOT going to cook them every which way. I don't know what I was thinking when I posted that idea, Anyway, We are going to use Best's "Don's" all beef hot dog, which BTW are the same recipe as Syd's in Millburn, just a different size. We will offer around a dozen "house dogs" of various topping combinations, as well as ala carte topping so the customer can mix and match at will. For the purist, the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple, stupid) rules will apply. I tend to waver in my hot dog cravings from simple mustard relish onions to the more adventurous topping combos that for the time being will remain under wraps untill we are further along in the process. Of course AMAZING hand cut french fries and great Birch beer will be available as well. I'm meeting with my architect today, my equipment planner tomorrow, the Verona board of adjustment on July 14th; so things are moving along quite well. We have a lease at the ready and we could see our first happy customer by October 1. Stay tuned!! I must say, that your website was instumental in my research and I applaud you for a job well done. I look forward to the day when we can meet and "break hot dog" together in the future. Eric

i am at the shore around exit 98..we only have windmill and a place in long branch called max's that is only open in the season...i'll bet you would clean up down here...maybe make it just being open for a long season may through sept...belmar, spring lake, manasquan, pt pleasant...you have to cross a bridge to get to point pleasant but the have a huge boardwalk rides etc... I think the shore would make a great second location. We currently have a lease worked out and are being heard at the July meeting of board of adjustments in the Township of Verona. Not too far from the site of the old Claremont Diner and the little White Castle; remember them?? More info to follow.......

I was told by the lady at the info booth at the Millburn Market that everything the vendors sell HAS to be from NJ, not necessarily grown themselves. BTW, speaking of Millburn, Rosies link page says Fridays, but this year they are Tuesdays. Eric

Picanha is top sirloin, no? I don't believe it has anything to do with the leg.... ← I could be wrong, It's happened before!LOL My source was a Portugese woman who IMHO knows her food.

I know I've been pretty quiet lateley(at least on this thread) so to give you the update, I am feverishly searching for the right location. I'm finding that to be quite difficult. Had a potemtial in Montclair, but decided it wasn't going to work for what I want to do so my partner and I walked away. I scoured morristown and Madison yesterday. There's not a "for rent" sign ANYWHERE. I may have found an ideal location in Union today though. I'll keep you posted. Oh and Hoboken; fuggheddaboutit. $6000 per month is a crapload of hot dogs!! Anyway, the name game is still on 'cuz I might use a different name deponding on location. Keep 'em coming if you think of anymore good names. Thanks alot, Eric ← What demographics are you looking for? What size space? Names: Frank Dog-gone It The Original Hot Dog House Fun on a Bun Natural Casing The Foot Long Frank's Famous Pigs in a Blanket If you use one of these, I will only ask for a small royalty. Good luck! ← We are thinking 20-low 40 somethings. College kids and boomers who like the occassional White Castle Hamburger 'cuz it reminds them of their much happier youth at 3 AM. Also anyone who apprecieates a great hot dog and can tell the difference between a Rutt's Hutt and and a nice grilled Syds. As far as space, I'm thinking around 1000 SF. Know of a place??

I believe what you are reffering to is called Picanha. It comes from the inner thigh of the cow and is really tender. If it looked like this it was definately Picanha:

I know I've been pretty quiet lateley(at least on this thread) so to give you the update, I am feverishly searching for the right location. I'm finding that to be quite difficult. Had a potemtial in Montclair, but decided it wasn't going to work for what I want to do so my partner and I walked away. I scoured morristown and Madison yesterday. There's not a "for rent" sign ANYWHERE. I may have found an ideal location in Union today though. I'll keep you posted. Oh and Hoboken; fuggheddaboutit. $6000 per month is a crapload of hot dogs!! Anyway, the name game is still on 'cuz I might use a different name deponding on location. Keep 'em coming if you think of anymore good names. Thanks alot, Eric