John

Empire National Franks are served at Ben's Best in Rego Park Queens and Tabatchnik's Deli in Union, N.J. as well as 2nd Ave. Deli. I'm sure that they're served elsewhere in Manhattan. Just ask. Maybe the Carnegie? Hebrew National are indeed kosher and quite common in N.Y. There is a cart somewhere on 6th ave. that serves these dogs grilled. Nathan's does not make their own. They are made by SMG meats out of Chicago, I believe. For awhile, Marathon made them. The only place I know of in Manhattan that serves Vienna beef hot dogs is the Shake Shack. Vienna Beef is also available in the food courts at Target, but it is a different and inferior dog. What brand is best to grill is a matter of opinion. I like Best's, Nathan's, Sabrett, Usinger's, and Boars Head. Empire National and Hebrew National are good too.

Papaya King and Gray's use 10 to a lb Sabrett dogs. Katz's use a slightly larger size. All are cooked on a griddle. Although it's been awhile since I've been to any of them, I do recall liking Papaya King better even though they are similar in taste since they are the same dog. I think that they are better prepared as far as the time spent on the griddle. And I've read somewhere that Papaya King is one of the 10% of accounts that get their dogs refrigerated and not frozen. Maybe this makes a difference. Does anyone know what brand dog is served at Pastrami King? My guess would be Empire National if it's a kosher dog. I like this brand better than Hebrew National. It's served at Second Ave. Deli, Ben's Best, and Tabatchnik's in Jersey.

Yesterday after work I drove over to Jerry's for a few dogs. I've never been to the Majestic, so was hoping to have a chili dog there too. Unfortunately, they were closed. Jerry's was good as usual, but I was disappointed to find that the dogs were smaller. It seems that they switched from 8's (8 to a lb) to 10's. I brought a few home for my wife. I pulled out the Best's natural casing 8's that I had in my freezer, and sure enough they were bigger than what I brought home from Jerry's. It's nice living fairly close to Best Provisions. I can get the natural casing dogs and prepare them like Jerry's or Syd's whenever I want.

It's hard to say, as they are different. The Sahlen's are a beef and pork dog with a somewhat peppery spicing. The Coneys or snappy grillers are pork and veal (sort of like a brat) with a little more pepper. First time I had a Hofmann's coney, I didn't like it. I think I was looking for a standard hot dog and didn't expect the flavor and spicing that I experienced. This last time I had a coney, I enjoyed it. I would say I like Sahlen's better than the regular Hofmann's German style dog, but as to whether I prefer the coney to Sahlen's, it would depend on the mood I'm in. If I was in the mood for a bratwurst type sausage, I'd go for the coney. If I was in the mood for a German style dog, I'd go for the Sahlen's. Most of the time, I usually go with the hot dog.

Austria. Vienna, which in the German is wiener. Forgot about them.

And don't call me Shirley! It is loganberry juice; my mistake. Sahlen's dogs do come with a natural sheep casing. The Smokehouse dogs sold in the supermarket have a collagen casing, which are just as good in my opinion. Where have you had hot dogs "outside of the states"? The best in this country compares with anywhere else. Germany, the Czech Republic, and some places in Canada have fine dogs. I'm not so sure about the rest of the world.

Chili dogs! Damn. Sorry I missed this one.

I finally got a chance to sample some of these dogs yesterday. They're not available in my area, so I haven't had them previously. Someone I have been corresponding with online happens to live close to me and was kind enough to invite me over to sample a few Sahlen's. He also gave me some to take home along with some of the famous Buffalo wings and the Longenberry juice popular in the area. I always look forward to trying new dogs; especially those that I've heard so much about. And I never know if I will like them or not. But it's great fun for me to sample something that I've heard or read about. And finally to have an opinion of. The dogs I sampled were Sahlen's Smoke House Hot Dogs. They are available in supermarkets near Buffalo. The same recipe as those served at Ted's. The only difference in these and the actual dogs used at Ted's is the casing. The smokehouse dogs have a collagen, rather than a sheep casing. And at Ted's, you can get the dogs in a bigger sizes. Footlong and Jumbo. I had these dogs with Weber's Hot Texan Sauce, which is a blend of mustard, relish, and spices, and also Weber's Picalilly Relish, which is a spicy, tomato based relish. Both were very good, especially the Hot Texan sauce, which I've learned is a popular topping at Ted's. I would use this sauce if it was available near me. I might order some, as it is available online. The dogs were prepared on a charcoal grill. They were very pale in color, which usually means that a very mild tasting, bordering on bland, taste experience is to follow. Not so here. The dogs were very good. A good balance of beef and pork with a distinctive spicing. Slightly peppery, and somewhat reminiscent of Hofmann's coneys or snappy grillers. That's what the Sahlens frank reminded me of, although it wasn't over the top with the pepper or other spices. I had a bite of the dog plain before putting on the condiments. Later I had another plain, but will have to sample again with just mustard. These dogs are great on the grill. We also had a Thumanns that we grilled for the sake of comparison. Thumann's have a softer lambs casing and are packed looser since they don't employ a technique called vacuum chopping which sucks the air out of the meat mixture. This results in a product that cooks up faster. I actually prefer Thumann's on the griddle rather than on the backyard grill. I will compare these 2 again on the griddle. Both are great dogs. The Sahlen's actually cooked up better on the charcoal grill. It was drier, crunchier, and more peppery in flavor. An excellent example of a beef and pork dog. And I like the collagen casing. I think they use this for the supermarket dogs because there is more uniformity when it comes to size. The Thumann's dog had it's usual great taste (the pork comes right from their hams) but, as I said, didn't cook up as well as the Sahlen's. And it tasted very salty. I usually simmer in water before putting them on the griddle; perhaps this takes away some of the salt. Or maybe the dog is just salty compared to Sahlen's. I'm looking forward to having the remaining Sahlen's dogs, both on the grill and the griddle to evaluate them further after having them for the first time yesterday. But I will say that they are a great dog; as good as there is, and even better than I anticipated, especially after seeing the pale color. Great on the grill, and they are complemented well by the Weber's Hot Texan Sauce and Picalilly Relish. Later on I went to Wegmans to request that they carry this brand. They will attempt to. I found out that the Princeton location usually stocks Sahlen's. I didn't know this. Currently, they are out of stock, but they will call when they get more.

This coming Monday, Labor Day, there will be a piece on New Jersey Hot Dogs to be aired on CN8 (the Comcast Network) on their morning show at 9am.

I love all of the hot dog threads.

High Point Brewery in Butler, N.J., maker of Ramstein beers, is also located in an industrial park.

Holly, Where is that hot dog from?

Holly, Rutt's Hut neither steams or grills their buns. Just taken out of the package and slapped with a dog. Interesting note; Rutt's, the Hot Grill, and Jerry's in Elizabeth recently switched from Pechter's to Sabrett buns. I asked someone at Rutt's why, and I was told that Pechter's stopped making hot dog buns. I found out from someone that Pechter's buns contain no preservatives and go stale faster, and this is probably why these places switched. Today I went to Rutt's to pick up relish, and the Hot Grill to get some chili sauce. A different guy at Rutt's said that Pechter's still makes hot dog buns, but that they go stale too fast. When I went to the Hot Grill, I saw boxes marked Pechter's. I asked one of the older Greek guys, and from what I was able to understand, he told me that they switched to Sabrett because Pechter's stopped making buns, and then switched back to Pechter's because they started making them again. So who knows? I like Pechter's and Rockland Bakery for hot dog buns. Baker's Touch used to be good until they stopped making individual baked buns and started making cheaper supermarket ones.

Certainly easy on the eyes. And now in Hi-Def. ← I don't cook (except for hot dogs), and have no desire to learn, but I love to eat. And I tune into Food Network once in awhile just to see what they are preparing and if I can get my wife to make something that looks good to me. I know from reading E-Gullet that people like Emeril, Rachel Ray, and Sandra Lee may not be the best of cooks. But Emeril is entertaining and Sandra is one of the most attractive and sexiest women I've seen on television. I like to read while I'm half paying attention to whatever is on tv, which is frequently the Food Network. I'm not looking for cooking tips, but to see different foods and dishes, and to be entertained. I think there are a lot of others like me, which probably accounts for the popularity of some of these shows. One guy at work watches Rachel Ray because he has a crush on her. Another likes the skinny girl (Gianna?) who hosts an Italian cooking show. I like watching Sandra Lee. I guess there's no accounting for taste.

Eric, Good luck with Amazing Hot Dog! I am looking forward to sampling your dogs as well as Glenn's at Melt. Still haven't made it to Jersey City (where I was born and my parents grew up) but maybe soon as I will be on vacation. Tommy's uses skinless Best's for their Italian Hot Dogs and natural casing dogs for their regular hot dog. The regular dog is boiled, while those for Italian Style are deep fried. Jerry's uses natural casing Best's. A lot of North Jersey places deep fry a pork/beef dog. Many of them use a dog by Thumann's which has 2 extra ingredients which aid in frying. Semolina and soy protein concentrate. This causes the dogs to puff up and rip. But not all places that deep fry their dogs use this one. Some, like Falls View, use the Thumann's griller and deep fry it. Callahan's and the Hot Grill use a beef and pork dog from Marathon (Sabrett) that does not contain these ingredients. This dog is also used for grilling (Windmill). I was told by someone from Thumann's that pork fries up faster than beef, but that it's ok to deep fry or flash fry a beef dog. I think that Best's dogs taste great fried. I love them in Italian Hot Dogs. There was a Jimmy Buff's in North Arlington, that has since closed. They used to offer a foot long Best's skinless dog that they deep fried. It was delicious. Jimmy Buff's has a long rectangular steel pan that they put oil in and fry the dogs. I don't know if you would consider this deep fried or flash fried or sauteed. Other places just throw the dogs in the deep fryer. For beef dogs, you don't really look for them to rip, as they don't have the 2 extra ingredients. If they do rip open, it's because they were cooked too long. It probably doesn't make much of a difference the way most dogs are fried, but those made by Thumann's for deep frying have to be totally submerged in hot oil to get the desired effect.

White Rose is much better than White Manna, White Mana, or White Diamond.

About a year or so ago when Burger King introduced their Angus Burger, a location near me put up a message on the marquee reading "Try our new Angus Burger". During the night, someone removed the G in Angus and moved the letters together. When I drove by early the next morning to go to work, the sign said "Try our new Anus Burger". Wish I had a camera, I wolud've sent a picture to Jay Leno.

Definitely check out the details of the trip that we are planning. We have a bus, too. We'll all meet at one location and hop on the bus. Space is limited, so decide soon if you want to go.

The size of the bun doesn't matter much to me, as long as it isn't one of those cheap supermarket buns that fall apart. Rockland Bakeries make a decent bun. I know that you use this one. The regular size is fine. For the 5 to a lb Best dog used by you and Syd's, I like when there is a little of the dog that hangs over the bun.

For those interested, there will be another hot dog run. Check out http://www.roadfood.com. Click on hotdogs and sausages and go to the 2005 hot dog tours topic. Sorry, I'm not that good at posting a link. By the way, how do you get a link to show up with words being highlighted instead of the website, like in Curlz's post?

The hot dog brand served at Capitol Lunch in New Britain is called Martin Rosol's. Mostly referred to as Rosol's, it is made in New Britain also. A small, mild tasting beef and pork blend. The chili sause is called Cappy Sauce. I've been to the New Britain location as well as the new location in Storrs, where UConn is located. My daughter went there, so I happenned to be in the area. Everything in the Storrs location is the same as New Britain. I find the dogs ok, but not extraordinary. I went on a hot dog tour this past winter. We hit 9 places including Capitol Lunch. I happenned to like most of the places better; especially Rosco's in Hartford and the Glenwood in Hamden. By the way, I was contacted and included in the article you refer to. From what I've been told, the people who like Capitol Lunch the most are those who have grown up with it. Most others find it pretty good. The dogs come about 12 to a lb and can be eaten in a few bites. About $1.40 for a dog. The hamburgers are very good there.

Sorry, thought I left a link. Go to http://www.northjersey.com. and click on food/dining.

Excellent, well written article about North Jersey hot dogs and some nut's obsession with them.

There are so many styles of dogs that it's hard to pick just one. Especially if you live in New Jersey. We have the greatest variety of hot dogs anywhere. There are Texas Weiners, which themselves can be broken down into 2 groups; North Jersey or Hot Texas Weiners, consisting of a deep fried beef/pork dog topped with thin chili sauce, mustard, and onions; and the Plainfield area Texas Weiner, which is grilled rather than deep fried, and has a thicker chili. We also have Italian Hot Dogs which originated and are unique to Jersey. A circular or half moon shaped piece of Italian or "pizza bread" stuffed with deep fried beef hot dogs, onions, peppers, and thin sliced potatoes. There are "dirty water dogs" which are dogs heated in water. The next batch is put in the water flavored from the previous batch. Although the famous Sabrett brand is though of as a New York dog, the company was born on Henderson and Cole Streets in Jersey City, N.J. It was sold a few times, and is now owned by Marathon Enterprises of East Rutherford, N.J. We have dogs that are specially made for deep frying. They contain soy protein concentrate and semolina which aid in frying and cause the dog to expand and the skin to rip. Places like Rutt's Hut, Hiram's, and Libby's are known for their fried dogs. There are also German style beef and pork dogs that are cooked on a griddle. The Galloping Hill Inn, Max's, and the Windmill are good examples of hot dogs in this style. Karl Ehmer's in Hillsdale has a cart that serves a great German style dog. Jersey also has great kosher style all beef dogs; none better than Syd's in Union, N.J. which serves a foot long Best brand dog with a great natural casing. This dog is simmerred in water and than char grilled. As good a dog as you will have. I like all of the styles. I have what I'm in the mood for. With the exception of the Italian Hot Dog, and the Texas Weiner, I prefer just mustard on my dog. I believe the focus should be on the dog rather than the toppings. That's why I'm not crazy about the Chicago dog, which to me has too much junk on it. It's really a salad dog. Deli mustard is perfect on a beef dog, Dusseldorf mustard on a beef/pork dog.