Hot Dog Caboose

[zhelder]

Sometimes you don't know what you have in your own backyard until someone lets you know. I saw a brief article about this place yesterday in The Record, and thought to myself, "Cool, a new hot dog place!" I was shock to find out that this place has actually been open for over a year.

This place borders on the surreal. It's a hot dog stand located in a modified rail car, next to some freight railroad tracks. You park on the dirt/stone road next to the tracks. They have a picnic bench or two, and the area has a rural vibe, even though if you look hard the views of traffic on Godwin Ave. and the shops on Central Ave. will remind you you're still in Bergen County.

This is the type of place you'd expect to find in way-out Western NJ. Or in Pennsylvania. Upstate New York. Vermont.

But in Midland Park?!? Smack dab in the middle of Bergern County suburbia?!?

Anyway, this place sells good ol' Sabrett boiled water dogs. And man are they good. They also sell special dogs, which are thicker, and have quite a potent kick to them. I was surprised at how spicy the speicals were, but they were delicious.

They sell a few other things too. Of course they have fries, but they also sell chili, soup, nachos, and ice cream. The fries are krinkle cut, and surprisingly good. Amazing Hot Dog has nothing to worry about, but I would say that the fries were a bit better than the ones you get at Goffle Grill or Johnny & Hanges.

The chili was also very good. They offer regular and Fire chili. I got the Fire chili, and it was pretty zesty. It had nice big chunks of meat and was quite good. They also offered little cups of cheese and sour cream for the chili (not sure if there was a charge for it, but probably).

Total for a regular hot dog and a special dog, both with mustard and kraut, an order of fries, and a large Fire chili (about 16 oz.) was $11. Very fair price. They have quite a few toppings for the dogs. Most are $.20 extra. (I think mustard and ketchup are free, but they charge for just about everything else, including saurkraut.) Still, the prices are very reasonable.

The woman running the stand was very nice and friendly, and when i told her I came because I saw the article in the Record, she seemed to be pretty happy and hoped that the article would attract more business.

They cater mostly to a lunch crowd, so their hours are pretty limited. But check this place out. They really are great, and when you see them, you won't believe you're in Midland Park.

Hot Dog Caboose

[Mangia Mangia]

zhelder, during the summer and into the fall season,on Friday nights there is a car show which attracts many hot rods and custom cars. Yes they do have good dogs and fries. Maybe today, lunch will be at the Hot Dog Caboose.

[John]

zhelder,

Thanks for the informative post. I never knew about this place until last week when it was mentioned on another site. The post just gave the name and asked if anyone had been there. I love a good dirty water Sabrett occasionally. I'm glad that you pointed out that these dogs are boiled because I don't think it was stated on the website. Although there are many places in North Jersey that serve this particular dog, I look for 3 things. Last summer with the Star Ledger, I went to a ton of places that served the Sabrett dog dirty water style. Since they use this dog, of course there is some similarity regarding taste. But what makes a place stand out in my opinion are a couple of things.

One, do these dogs have a natural casing? All Sabrett beef dogs (not the spicy sausage) are made to the same recipe. They have one recipe for their beef dogs, and one for their beef/pork blend. The beef/pork blend is served at The Hot Grill, Callahan's, and the Windmill. The beef dog is served at hundreds of places including carts, trucks, and establishments that grill these dogs including Papaya King, Gray's Papaya, and Katz's. However, the Sabrett beef dog comes in different sizes and either a natural casing or skinless. To me, a natural casing dog is far superior to skinless. Especially if the dogs are prepared in water. A place like Donnies Dogs in Newark serves a decent sized Sabrett dog with a wide variety of toppings. And it was voted best dirty water dog by the Star Ledger's Munchmobile team. I was a dissenter because these dogs are skinless and lack the snap of a natural casing.

Two, are the dogs served hot enough? I've had dogs that are hot, warm, cool, and even cold. A dirty water dog should be hot.

Three, are they a decent size? Sabrett dogs come in different sizes, but too many places serve tiny dogs that are smaller than 10 to a lb. I'm talking 12 and 13 to a lb and charge what others charge for a 10 or 8 to a lb dog. If I'm looking to differentiate, I'll take a 10 over something smaller. Ideally an 8 to a lb is a perfect size for a dirty water dog, but for some reason the casing isn't as tight on a Sabrett 8. It is for a Best's brand 8 which you can get at Jerry's in Elizabeth.

Another factor is how long have the dogs been laying in the water? If it's too long the dogs lose snap and flavor.

For most people, the chili and other toppings avaialable are important. You've done a good job describing them. I'm in the minority as I usually have a beef dog with just mustard, in order to fully taste the dog. Especially if it's a high quality frank like Sabrett.

Thanks again for the post. I hope to make it to the Hot Dog Caboose soon.