John

Thanks guys. I'll probably stick to hot dogs. Last time I was in Philly I sought out Steve's Prince of Steak. It's the only Philly cheesesteak I've had. And I enjoyed it, but don't have any basis for comparison. The cheeseteaks in North Jersey aren't comparable, though I did find one place that I liked and went to often. Unfortunately they went out of business. I'm used to the harder Newark style bread which I know is not authentic in Philly. I'd still love to try Pat's for the experience.

I plan on making a day trip to Philly soon. What a dilemma; do I sample cheesesteaks or hot dogs? Or a little of both? I only have so much room. My favorite thing to eat is an Italian Hot Dog. I wonder how much of what we like is tied in to what we were/are exposed to? My guess is a lot. I run a hot dog tour every year and I always look for reactions from people who try a Newark style Italian Hot Dog for the first time. It is mixed. Maybe some things are an aquired taste. I didn't really like Chicago dogs until I started eating them frequently at a place that opened near me. The owner was from Chicago and served an authentic one. Still not my favorite style as I prefer a quality hot dog with just mustard most of the time. Once in a while chili, or the unique relish from Rutt's Hut. The Italian Hot Dog is a sandwich and a meal rather than just a hot dog. I like pepper hash and think that I would enjoy it on a hot dog. Dietz and Watson makes a good beef dog and a good beef/pork dog. Did you know that the Black Bear brand in Shop Rite is really Dietz and Watson? Same recipe and everything. I agree that Hatfiled is horrible, but a few years ago they started making a beef dog to compete with Sabrett and Best's. It's called Hatfield's New York style dog. It's only sold at Restaurant Depots and other food warehouses. You can't get it in stores or supermarkets. A place on the last Jersey Hot Dog Tour grilled this particular dog (all beef, natural casing 8 to a lb) and was the overwhelming favorite stop on the Tour. This particular dog has a good beefy, spicy flavor. It's smokey as well. Just a great dog. I heard a few years ago that you couldn't get this dog in Philly, but I think that may have changed.

There will be an "All You Can Eat" benefit dinner at Jimmy Buff's in East Hanover on Monday November 16, 2009. Jimmy has an employee, and more importantly a good friend who is dying of bone cancer. He was only diagnosed recently and wishes to see his family in Peru before he passes away. He cannot afford an airplane ticket, so all proceeds from the benefit will go to purchase one. It will be $10.00 for adults and $5.00 for children 12 and under. You can eat and drink from 4pm until closing which is 8pm. Adults can choose from the single hotdog or single sausage and the kids can choose from the kid's meal menu. Please try to make an effort to be there, There will be a 50/50 raffle and a bake sale. If you cannot make it and you would like to donate you can mail it to Jimmy Raccioppi at 354 Rt. 10 West. East Hanover, NJ 07936. Please show up or at at least donate something that will help someone who has been dealt a devastating blow see his family one last time. HOST'S NOTE: This is an member-organized event, not an official eGullet Society event. Please see here for the terms under which this event is listed in eG Forums.

Katie, Go to http://www.localsource.com. Click on Union (on the left where the towns are) and then click on the story. At the end is a link to the video.

This year's Tour was another good one and a sellout. Rich, you are in the movie! http://www.unionnavigator.com/video/hot-dog-tour-movie

My favorite sandwich is the Newark Style Italian Hot Dog. Originated in Newark, N.J. in 1932. Jimmy Buff's in Newark began selling this sandwich then. It consists of 2 all beef hot dogs (only one for the less common single) tucked in a half moon shaped piece of pizza bread, topped with peppers, onions, and potatoes sliced thin or in chunks. The ingredients are fried or sauteed. This sandwich is only found in a few counties in Jersey.

The standard dog is beef/pork which is milder than a spicy kosher style beef frank. To me the taste is distinctive with a good snap and smokey flavor. It's made from quality meat by an artisan. In my opinion these franks are better than any German frank I've had (including those from butcher shops) with the exception of Thumann's in the white and blue package. I haven't been to Bark's so I don't know how well they prepare them there. But I agree that $5.00 is too expensive. Many believe that $4.00 is steep for a bigger (4 to a lb) dog. I paid $7.49 for a one pound package at Wegmans. They come 6 to a lb. Here's a little information about the company that makes these franks: https://www.wegmans.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...10002&langId=-1

I don't go all that often but I do have a few favorites. J.J. Bittings in Woodbridge would probably be my favorite. I joined their Mug Club when they opened. And fairly close to my home. Great atmosphere, ok beer; not the best. Real good happy hour (3-7) with free food. I like Basil T's in Red Bank. Better beer (Their stout was a 3 time medal winner at the GABF) and excellent food. I also like Long Valley Brew Pub. Haven't been there in a few years but I always thought they had the best beer.

I finally made it to Egan's for the first time. I don't eat out an awful lot unless you consider hot dog joints, diners, and brewpubs eating out. So take this post for what it's worth. Egan's was a destination for me because when they opened they were called a brewpub. They brewed beer from extract (most breweries or brewpubs do whole grain) and my beer aficianado friends told me the beer was mediocre. I know beer, brewed beer myself, and appreciate beer, so I made it a point to go despite the negative opinions. I've since found out that Egan's began using a brewery to perform the initial steps in making beer, mashing and boiling. The unfermented beer (wort) was sent to Egan's where it was put in fermenters, had yeast added for fermentation, then filtered and put in serving tanks. Upon arriving at Egan's I took a walk around and saw the 2 lonely fermenters on a small 2nd floor landing. One of the young women who is a server could rattle off by memory descriptions of the 4 "house brews". She told me the beers are still started elsewhere (she didn't know where) but finished at Egan's. This was later contradicted by our bartender who informed us that the "house beers" are made by the Cricket Hill Brewery in Fairfield. The fermenters are for show. Other beers are offered on draft and bottled. Cricket Hill makes quality microbrews and I enjoyed a hoppy red ale which I would consider above average for a micro. They freely offered a small sample first. This disqualifies Egan's from being considered a brewpub. Thet do NOT brew their own beer. And from what I've heard of the beers that they did brew, they are better off with a contract brewing arrangement with Cricket Hill. The food we had was quite good as was the service. We ate at the bar. My wife had scallops with sauteed spinach and brown rice which she enjoyed. She has scallops occasionally and pronounced these the best she's had. I was torn between the fish and chips and the burger. I chose the burger. A woman near us had the fish and said it was excellent. A guy sitting at the bar who is a regular and did some kind of interior work for Egan's said that they get the best, freshest fish. Maybe next time I'll have it. The burger was very good in my opinion. It was charbroiled and ordered medium. I don't mind burgers well done, or medium well as long as they aren't dried out. This was done medium as I requested. Juicy with some red/pink in the middle. The flavor was very good. Definitely better than what you get at most pubs. The fries were handcut, fresh, and very good. My only complaint is that they charge $2.00 for cheese. We went at about 4:00 in the afternoon. By the time we left it was starting to fill up. The guy sitting at the bar told us that the place next door (connected by a small hallway) called Halcyon is even better. It is a restaurant serving mostly seafood that is more upscale and also owned by Egan's. We were told that the burgers are even better. This guy also told us that Halcyon serves an excellent brunch on Sundays. For some reason (vacation?) they won't be serving again for another week or 2. All in all, we enjoyed Egan's and will be back there again. Or maybe Halcyon.

I was at Wegman's Cherry Hill yesterday and saw the Hartmann's dogs. The only factors that stopped me from buying them were (1) a freezer full of brats from Usinger's and natural casing dogs from Best of Newrk, and (2) the fact that when my supply is depleted I can always go back to Wegman's. ← Yes, but they may not be available when you go back. Some of the better brands are only sold in the summer months. I would check with the deli manager. About 2 years ago I called one of the Wegman's that carried Sahlen's franks from Buffalo to make sure they had them before making the drive. It was the end of summer and they wouldn't be stocking them until the next year. They had one package left which was held for me.

Yes, Absolutely.

A new hot dog restaurant opened recently in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn called Bark Hot Dogs. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/12/dining/12bark.html?_r=1 The dogs served are from Hartmann's in Canandaigua (formerly Rochester) New York. They are high quality and available in New York and New Jersey at certain Wegman's supermarkets. The beef dogs are well seasoned with a slightly tangy flavor. The beef and pork wieners are fantastic. One of my two favorites in this style along with Thumann's. This place seems worth checking out.

If foods suddenly need warning labels, it's certainly not going to stop at hot dogs. What about soda? Pizza? Capt. Crunch? What if, Heaven forbid, we put warning labels on Ding Dongs? Would consumers stop eating such products? Doubtful. In most cases, consumers know some of the things they are eating aren't good for them, but they do it anyway. Tobacco products have carried warning labels for years, and plenty of people still use them. And hot dogs certainly taste better than cigarettes.

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2009/07/n..._dog_maker.html Just another example of government intrusion. I would prefer to make my own decisions rather than have an increasingly socialist government make them for me. First they try to ban trans fat. Remember how McDonald's fries tasted years ago? When they were fried in beef tallow? For those who care about the health issues, don't eat what you consider to be unhealthy. But don't take away my choices. Next thing you know someone will try to ban frying hot dogs. Then they will try to ban hot dogs made from meat. These health nazis ought to relax and have a beer. And not a "lite" one either! Follow that with an Italian Hot Dog. A well balanced meal if ever there was one. Bread, meat, vegetables, and potatoes. Where were these fanatics years ago? Oh, they weren't around. People ate red meat without worrying, doctors smoked, nursing mothers would have a glass of wine with dinner and there were no such things as veggie or poultry dogs. And there were less kids overweight because we were all outside playing baseball every day rather than sitting home playing video games on a computer. I wish these people would go away.

My comments on the 6 places that we visited on the hot dog outing. 1) Wally's Hot Diggity Dog. 2 dogs there. Boiled Boars Head all beef natural casing, which is one of the 4 or 5 best all beef dogs I've sampled out of dozens. Not good here. Cold; although that might have been due to them being left out to be photographed. But they were bland as well, This dog (and I had a Boars Head at home 3 weeks ago) lost flavor from either being in the water too long or being old. 2nd dog: Boars Head beef/pork skinless. An average to slightly better than average dog in this style, it was prepared well on the grill and was hot. Would have been better with casing. Decent, if unspectacular dog. Good bun, canned chili. Not a place I would return to. 2) Valentina's. I had to know the brand and convinced the owner to tell me. I promised him I wouldn't reveal it. I had guessed it although he initially said I was wrong. A quality dog, but it was skinless. I did like the flavor, but it was a little greasy and had a slightly sweet taste that distracted from the overall quality of the dog. The roll, which was a potato roll I think from a nearby bakery was too big and bready for this dog. I did not like the chili. This dog would have been better with a casing and a different bun. 3) Geenie's Weenies. A big disappointment. The dog they use, Thumann's natural casing griller, 6 to a lb (not their special deep fryer served at Rutt's, Hiram's, Libby's, and a slew of others) is served a weird way here; griddled, then deep fried. I special ordered mine griddled only. First time I was there (2 weeks after they opened) I had it both ways, so I know what it's like the way they usually serve it. Better griddled. I actually buy the Thumann's griller they use to prepare at home, as it is my favorite beef/pork dog. I grill it and it's great. Here, on both occasions, it wasn't hot enough even after being handed to me right off the griddle. Service is bad here. I gave them the benefit of the doubt the first time since they had just opened, but the service was still bad, even with them knowing who we were. For whatever reason, they couldn't comprehend "mustard on the whole dog, chili on half". Both times they got my order wrong. Too bad because I really wanted to like this place. I like the dog they use and their prices are very reasonable. The chili was very good the first time, but they changed it, and for the worse. Bottom line, they take a great quality dog (at a great price) and prepare it all wrong, serve it less than hot, and screw up your order. I'd rather stay home and make this dog right. 4) Curbside Cafe. 8 to a lb natural casing Hatfield's New York style dog. Not to be confused with Hatfield's regular beef dog (not good), and their beef/pork dog (really bad) and their beef/pork/turkey dog (even worse). This dog is made to compete with Best and Sabrett and only sold in our area, not PA where it's made, and where they like milder pork based dogs. A very good dog, beefy, spicy, and smokey with a good snap and good tight casing. Prepared perfectly in water, this dog was hot, fresh, and tasty. Good chili. In my opinion, the best dog and chili of the day. 5) RT's Dawghouse. 8 to a lb Thumann's natural casing beef/pork deep fryer. Used at many places that serve a deep fried dog (Rutt's, Hiram's, Libby's, Johnny & Hanges, etc.) Many places don't leave the dog in the oil long enough. This place does. A good, but mild dog, this one is usually served with a chili or other condiment (Rutt's relish). A decent dog with a decent homemade chili. Ok place that I would return to if I'm in the area. Other places similar that are much closer. RT's Doghouse is good for what it is. Excellent fries. 6) Mazzi Dogz. Same exact dog as Curbside Cafe. See above. Prepared the same way (dirty water style) but with a mixture of water, beer, and some other things. Vinny the owner doesn't remember telling me this on the phone a few weeks ago and thought one of his employee told me. The beer and other ingredients that the dogs were heated in didn't make a difference. These things are overrated and I would never waste a perfectly good beer. Tough choosing betwen here and Curbside Cafe as top dog. My dog was prepared well, was hot and tasted good. Chili was good too and similar to Curbside's. I think I would give the nod to Curbside ever so slightly regarding the dog and chili. One thing I didn't like about Mazzi Dogz. I ask a lot of questions and one was "how long do you leave the dogs in the liquid if it's slow and there aren't many customers?" I was told up to 4 hours! This is a recipe for disaster! Remember Petrides? Bland and flavorless due to too much time in the water. Vinny thinks that the tough casing will prevent the dogs from losing flavor. This is not so. I happen to be a scientist as well, so I know. We were lucky that our dogs were not sitting in the water too long. I also saw dogs in the refrigerator that were exposed to air and risk being dried out. Curbside Grill doesn't leave the dogs in the water too long (I asked), so I'm sure they will be consistently good. Which is why I would go here rather than Mazzi Dogs if I was in the mood for this particular Hatfield dog. Compared to all places I've been to, I would consider Wally's to be mediocre, Valentina's to be run of the mill. Decent, but skinless dog, wrong roll. Geenies as ruining a good dog with bad preparation and service (what is so hard about mustard on the whole dog, chili on half?), RT's Dawghouse as being solid if unspectactular, and Curbside Cafe and Mazzi's as serving very good, above average dogs, though I see the possibilty of getting a bad dog from Mazzi's. I would consider some places I've been to as being better than these two simply because I may like the brand and method of preparation a little better. Jerry's, Boulevard Drinks, Bubba's, Jimmy Buff's (footlong), Papaya King, Frankly Burgers all serve, in my opinion, a better beef dog. Though I didn't have an Italian Hot Dog, I did see and/or ask about them. I wouldn't recommend any of them because they either use the wrong type of dog or prepare it wrong.

The hot dog trip article was delayed due to the death of Michael Jackson and the need to include the next trip (4th of July backyard cookouts) close to July 4th. It was published Friday. I had a great time sampling hot dogs with the other munchers. http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/ind...new_jersey.html

Hot dogs. And beer. Plenty of beer.

I don't knoow about the Nathan's at airports (having only flown once in the last 15 years) but overall they are hit or miss. There is a great one at the Menlo Park Mall in New Jersey. As good as Coney Island minus the atmosphere of course. Natural casing, prepared on a hot griddle for a sufficient amount of time, fresh buns and fries. Others aren't hot enough; they take them off the griddle too soon; or dried out from being on there too long. The worst transgression in my opinion are those that use the skinless version and prepare it on a roller grill. Roller grills are for movie theatres and 7-11's, not hot dog stands. And because of this many people don't realize how good a Nathan's hot dog can be.

http://www.nj.com/entertainment/dining/ind...le_hotdogs.html The Munchmobile did hot dogs Saturday. I was a part of this trip. The article will appear on Friday, July 3rd. I'll hold off on my comments (positive and negative) until after the article appears. We will probably hit a few more places soon. Out of the six, 5 were new to me.

Karl Ehmer's, Schaller & Weber both make fine German sausages.

Thanks, Rich. I usually run into Carol at the Great Eastern Microbrewery Festival at her place in Adamstown, PA though I haven't been there in 2 years. I'll try the Torpedo.

Buy Rite Liquors on Morris Ave. in Union (within walking distance of my house) has it. I've seen it but haven't tried it yet. I used to love the Celebration Ale, but my tastes have changed away from hoppy ales. I do love the regular Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and have it occassionally. Rich, I love Stoudt's Golden Lager, but for some strange reason every liquor store near me that carries Stoudt's has several of their beers, but none carry the Gold. I asked about this and was told that it's not offerred by their distributors. Do you know why this is?

A lot of franks are only available via mail order. And it is expensive when you have to pay for shipping. Which is why I only order from Usinger's once or twice a year. I didn't know that Vienna was available through Sysco. This might help restaurants and people running hot dog stands, but it doesn't do much for people like me who like to sample these dogs. Sabrett's ships; Best's does not. I know the plant manager and he refuses to ship his franks to a friend of mine in Maryland even though he is willing to pay whatever it costs for shipping. I agree with you that making product available to small distributors for niche markets would be a good thing. I know that there are a few distributors that carry Best and distribute them south of their regular market.

Unfortunately Usinger's isn't available near me so I have to order them through their site. Vienna isn't available near me either since the one guy that sold them closed. But I did have a Vienna frank yesterday at the Hot Dog Hootenanny in New York. They were shipped in for the occasion. I guess it depends on your taste but I and most others I spoke with preferred the Papaya King (Sabrett) dog to the Vienna Beef frank. Usinger's, Sabrett, and Nathan's all are more boldly seasoned than Vienna which is relatively mild in comparison. But it blends in well with all of the other ingredients on a Chicago hot dog.

I attended the Hot Dog Hootenanny yesterday and had a great time. Ed Levine of Serious Eats, Bruce Kraig, hot dog historian and author of Hot Dog: A Global History, and the people at the Astor Center did a great job running and organizing this event. There were 4 tables set up offering different hot dogs and a table where you could get beer (Kelso's brown ale) or prosecco. There was also a room that looked like a mini theatre with 38 seats. In this room Bruce Kraig talked about the history and culture of the hot dog as well as giving descriptions of the regional styles and naming some of the places that he visited. Questions and comments were encouraged and there was some good discussion. While Bruce was giving his presentation, each person was given a plate containing 7 small slices of different brands of hot dogs. Bruce talked about each brand and we sampled them one by one. Because this room could only hold 38 people, there were 4 or 5 presentations given through the course of the 3 hour event. The seven samples given out were Thumann's beef and pork natural casing, Hofmann German franks (beef and pork), Hofmann's natural casing snappy griller (spicy white dog, sort of like a brat), Usinger's wieners (beef and pork), Oscar Mayer Wieners (beef, pork, and poultry), Carolina Packers skinless red hots (Who knows what were in these; probably all pork), and Koegel's Pickled Red Hots. I've had the first 5 before; Carolina Packers and Koegel's were new to me. I had hoped that the regular Koegel's that is popular at the Detroit Coney restaurants would be included. As for the dogs, the Koegel's pickled red hot was very spicy and vinegary. Sort of like a hot dog sauerbraten. I liked my sample, but don't think I would enjoy a whole hot dog. The Oscar Mayer wiener was not bad for what it is; a mass produced national hot dog. The people in my tasting didn't like it and complained that it was too salty. I'm glad it was included because it highlighted the the difference between a mediocre supermarket dog with cheap ingredients and some quality franks made with better meat. The Carolina Packers Skinless Red Hots were pretty bad. The only bad dog (unless you consider Oscar Mayer bad instead of mediocre) in the bunch. But again, it is representative of the many brands that are offered at hot dog joints in the South where the focus is on the type of cole slaw and chili. This dog had an overly sweet, corn syrup flavor. It tasted of filler and cheap meat. The other 4 were very good. The Hofmann's snappy griller is sort of a cross between a hot dog and a brat. It's white, made of pork, veal, and beef, with a spicier flavor than a regular German style beef and pork dog. The regular Hofmann's German frank was very good, but milder than the Usinger's and Thumann's franks. Usinger's and Thumann's were the favorites of the people in my group as well as my 2 favorites. Thumann's got more votes (by a show of hands) with Usinger's second. There were a few who preferred the Hofmann's German franks. It was a great way to compare and taste the differences in the brands. In the main room were 4 different hot dogs offered that were continually being prepared and brought out from the kitchen. There were Crif Dogs with cream cheese and avocado that were wrapped in bacon. Crif's uses the Thumann's frank for deep frying that Rutt's Hut and many Jersey places do. It is prepared well at their restaurant. Some places that use this dog don't leave it in the oil long enough. Crif's does. I requested my dog without the cream cheese and avocado. A fine dog, just like I've had at Crif's in the past. The New York Hotdog and Coffee was next. They have been opened about a year in New York on Bleecker Street. The young woman I spoke with said that her mother owns the company and that there are 8 restaurants in Korea. They offer a few different hot dogs (nyhotdog-coffee.com) but for the tasting they prepared their bulgogi dog. This dog contained bulgogi, which is thinly sliced beef marinated in a Korean sauce with onions, lettuce, and pickle chips. The frank is actually a spicy sausage from Best's in Newark. At the restaurant you can get the regular Best frank rather than the spicy sausage. They switched recently from Sabrett to Best. I had mine without the onions and ate most of the bulgogi on the side rather than on the dog. I didn't expect to like this dog, but I did. The beef was sweet and delicious and provided a nice contrast to the spicy sausage. It's common in Korea, I'm told. The next dog was an authentic Chicago style dog. It didn't come from a known restaurant, but from someone in the food business who makes and sells his own sports peppers. The brand name escapes me. The dogs were natural casing Vienna's, about 10 to a lb. The rolls were poppy seeded Rosen bakery buns and the pickles, neon green relish, and celery salt were from Vienna Beef. There were also onions and tomatoes. The dog came on a bun with some small pieces of tomato on it. You added the mustard (Plochman's yellow), onions, relish, pickle, celery salt, and sports peppers yourself. I had mine with mustard, tomato, a pickle spear and some relish. It was a good authentic Chicago style hot dog. Last was Papaya King. An all beef dog from Sabrett, this one came with mustard, sauerkraut, and onion sauce. I got mine with just mustard. The frank itself was larger than what is served at the Papaya King restaurants. It was about 7 or 8 to a lb while the restaurant serves 10 to a lb. It's still the same recipe Sabrett frank, which I knew and which was confirmed to me by the guy from Papaya King that was working there. Only difference I noticed was that the casing was a little looser on these dogs than they are on the smaller ones. The dogs at the tasting were also prepared in a large frying pan rather than a griddle. They tasted the same though. A great dog and my favorite of the day. It was an enjoyable day and a great way to spend a rainy Sunday. Or a sunny Saturday for that matter. It was fun drinking beer, eating hot dogs, listening to Bruce Kraig's fine presentation, and meeting the nice people from Serious Eats. And talking about hot dogs. They might be doing it again next year. I hope so.