Andrako

[John]

I was reading an article about a hot dog restaurant in Texas that sampled frankfurters from all over the country for 2 months before settling on an all beef dog "imported" from New Jersey. The name of this restaurant is the Duke of Dogs. The article didn't include which N.J. dog was used, so I called the restaurant out of curiosity. I was told the frank is called Andrako's. It is from a small family owned business which specializes in franks and sausage. Has anyone heard of this company? All I know is that it is located in Florence, N.J. which is in the southern part. I tried calling information, but got nothing. There is a Florence in Burlington and Camden County. Does anyone have an address or phone # ?

[201]

I tried searching for this company on Google and came up with nothing. Have you checked to be sure of the spelling? Did you get the name directly from the manager/owner?

Closest lead I can give you:

Florence, NJ (Burlington Co.) list of businesses. There's an email address that you might be able to contact for more info.

[Rail Paul]

How about calling the county or local health officers for the two towns? It would seem they should have inspection records for food preparers. I'd venture it's the Florence in Camden county (old steel making town, pipe, Roebling made cable for the Brookly bridge there). Very Eastern European.

If that fails, how about the FDA

[John]

Thanks for the tips. I called Texas again to get more info, and all I was able to find out is that the brand name of the franks is Andrako's; it might not be the name of the company. The franks are produced by an Italian sausage company and shipped weekly to Texas. He said the package said Florence, Hamilton Twp, but the product may be produced in Trenton or Camden. Anyone know of a company in that area that specializes in Italian sausage?

[201]

John, I can't believe that some people from Texas found this hot dog and those of us living IN the state of New Jersey cannot. My advice is to find out when the manager and/or owner is there and ask him/her directly rather than dealing with the grunts. That's your simplest way to find out the contact info for Andrako's (or whatever the company name is).

[John]

After spending a considerable amount of time trying to track down the maker of these Andrako's franks, I finally found something. I took 201's advice and called the restaurant back and spoke to the owner.

Late Saturday night, doing a Google search, I was able to find a post on a message board made by the wife of the owner of this restaurant. Her e-mail address was included, so I sent her a long e-mail detailing my love of hot dogs and my desire to try some of these dogs without having to travel to Texas. Four days later and no answer. What started out as just a mild curiosity turned into a damn frustrating mission to find these lousy dogs. The last guy I spoke with told me that they had tried between 40 and 50 hot dogs from all over the country. From N.J. they tried Schickhaus (they liked them, but were looking for an all beef dog) also Sabrett and Best (which they loved). They also tried the dog served at Pink's in Hollywood (a little too bland) and the famous Vienna beef dog ( they didn't like it). The one that came in 2nd to this Andrako dog was the Black Bear beef frank. They also didn't sample Usinger's or Klement's from Wisconsin.

I finally called Texas again and was able to get the owner. I went through the whole story about my search for this brand. He told me that the wife of someone who works with him was from N.J. and knew the people who make this frank. They are a little mom and pop deli that makes sausage. They haven't been making franks recently, and when they did, they only made a small quantity for themselves mostly. She had them send her some, and they decided on this dog. They had to practically beg these people to make them for their restaurant and were told that they didn't want to be bothered by people(like me) to make any more. So they are not available anywhere else. And the people who make them are old and looking to retire soon, so the Duke of Dogs may not even be getting them much longer.

The owner said that he and his wife are going away for 10 days and that his wife will e-mail me when they get back to get my address and make arrangements to send me some. I'll let you know what I think of them. It's a bummer that you can't get any from the people who make them. In a way, I hope they don't turn out to be the best I ever tasted. I was told that they are made from only a few ingredients including beef brisket, pepper (black pepper, I think) and garlic. I'm glad I called back.

[201]

...so I sent her a long e-mail detailing my love of hot dogs...

I think I speak for everyone on this board when I say... I would LOVE to see that email!!

Seriously, you are our hot dog guru around here. I just bought yet another package of Black Bear beef franks today because I've got some killer pickled-habanero/habaneroed-pickle relish* that needs to go on some quality dogs. I hope this story has a happy ending for you!

*That relish was given to me courtesy of the mad scientist known as Fink... hopefully he'll add it to his menu soon!

[Kim WB]

John,

I live in the Trenton area, and am familiar with some of the locations you mentioned. To clarify, there is a Hamilton Twp, in Mercer Cty, which is very near the border of Burlington County. There is also a municipality, named Burlington, and that's near Camden. There is also a Burlington City in Burligton County. Florence is a township, and is in Burlington County, and there are other mailing adresses for Florence: Columbus is one.

For those that are not familiar with townships, Townships are more a central/southern thing: they are a cluster of different communities, with different mailing adresses, that share services and schools and government. Hope any of this helps.

[lamb]

The one that came in 2nd to this Andrako dog was the Black Bear beef frank.

I tried the BlackBear beef franks during the summer. Bought them at Shop-Rite because they were having a sale on them. Turned out to be a great purchase. One of the best franks I've ever tasted. You can boil, broil, or fry them - they are just great! I am also pretty sure that there was a hot dog thread this summer that discussed them too.

[John]

Yes, and I heard that Shop Rite will be having a sale in December. The sale price will be $1.99 per one lb package. These dogs come 8 to a lb and have a natural sheep casing. Made by Dietz and Watson exclusively for Shop Rite as is the entire Black Bear Line. All their coldcuts and salads are top of the line. I found out from someone at Dietz and Watson that the Black Bear Franks are the exact same franks as the D&W New York style frank. My favorites along with Usinger Angus Franks. Grote & Weigel, Sabrett, and Best are great beef franks also. Thumann's, Schmalz's, and Grote and Weigel make the finest beef and pork franks.

[Rail Paul]

Bought a pound of Black Bear all beef last night ($2.59) at Shop-Rite.

Grilled up very well, nicely charred exterior, warm pink center. Good mouth feel, not rubbery. Noticeable spicy edge.

Served with chopped raw broccoli and a home made vinegar-EVOO- McCormick carribean spice mix dressing over a bed of small aragula and baby collards. And a glass of Black Opal Shiraz 2000 (but not the Wolf Blass stuff).

[201]

...The owner said that he and his wife are going away for 10 days and that his wife will e-mail me when they get back to get my address and make arrangements to send me some. I'll let you know what I think of them...

John - Any progress on this? Can I uncross my fingers for you yet?

[John]

I haven't heard from them yet, so I e-mailed the owner's wife about 2 or 3 days ago. If I don't hear from them soon, I'll try again. If they still don't reply, I'll let it drop. The people I spoke with on the phone were very friendly, but I have a sneaking suspicion that they may have made this up, and probably use Best or Sabrett from Jersey.