Yocco's

[Rich Pawlak]

Alright....is there any anyone who has an opinion on the ORIGINAL Coney Island in Scranton?  (the one under the railroad bridge). 

There are those who would jam a pencil in the eye of their best friend for two with everything.

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I believe the original Coney Island is called Nathan's. (Well, that's not really right. The original was Feltman's who sold franks for a dime; Nathan Handwerker, an employee, went out on his own and priced his dogs at a nickel.)

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The original Coney Island Lunch in Scranton, my hometown, is the original Coney Island Lunch in Scranton. Under the train trestle on Cedar Ave, just below Lackawanna Ave., it is like stepping back in time, with tilework and wooden booths from the 20's, and an old world, cramped feel that is just incomparable. And the dogs, made especially for Coney Island by Gutheinz Meats in Scranton, are short fat tube steaks that are split, grilled and served on special, square Texas Weiner rolls (as they are packaged and called up that way), and topped with homemade mustard (!), chopped onions and chili sauce. As at Abe's in Wilkes-Barre, if you order enough of them at once, the counterman will dress the dogs along his forearm. Quite a sight, if you've never seen it before.

Coney Island was a semi-regular stop on my way home from high school, and is a wildly popular place on Saturdays. One of the very last vestiges of the "old Scranton" that my generation and that of my parents and grandparents knew.

[all-u-care-2]

philadining, the dawg in that picture is DEE-PLORABLE! Looks like they ruined the sauce terribly.

Supposedly there are better chili dogs over in Bethlehem, specifically South Side, at Pete's at the corner of Broadway and Carlton. I'd have to make time to go check on that, tho...

Aye-aye on 625 Liberty as the original Yocco's location...

And no offence to the guy who mentioned Nathan's, but don't they put red beans in their chili? Dawg chili don't need no beans...

Edited January 11, 2006 by all-u-care-2 (log)

[rlibkind]

And no offence to the guy who mentioned Nathan's, but don't they put red beans in their chili?  Dawg chili don't need no beans...

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I shudda added a . Just meant to bring attention to the fact that the hot dog traditionally served in Coney Island, first by Feltman and then by Nathan, bears no resemblance to what the rest of the country calls a Coney. I've never seen chili sauce applied to a frankfurther in Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY, USA. Detroit? Yes. ABE? Yes. But not where Surf and Stillwell meet.

[Tkrup]

Alright....is there any anyone who has an opinion on the ORIGINAL Coney Island in Scranton?  (the one under the railroad bridge). 

There are those who would jam a pencil in the eye of their best friend for two with everything.

←

I believe the original Coney Island is called Nathan's. (Well, that's not really right. The original was Feltman's who sold franks for a dime; Nathan Handwerker, an employee, went out on his own and priced his dogs at a nickel.)

←

The original Coney Island Lunch in Scranton, my hometown, is the original Coney Island Lunch in Scranton. Under the train trestle on Cedar Ave, just below Lackawanna Ave., it is like stepping back in time, with tilework and wooden booths from the 20's, and an old world, cramped feel that is just incomparable. And the dogs, made especially for Coney Island by Gutheinz Meats in Scranton, are short fat tube steaks that are split, grilled and served on special, square Texas Weiner rolls (as they are packaged and called up that way), and topped with homemade mustard (!), chopped onions and chili sauce. As at Abe's in Wilkes-Barre, if you order enough of them at once, the counterman will dress the dogs along his forearm. Quite a sight, if you've never seen it before.

Coney Island was a semi-regular stop on my way home from high school, and is a wildly popular place on Saturdays. One of the very last vestiges of the "old Scranton" that my generation and that of my parents and grandparents knew.

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No argument that the original Coneys came from the Island itself. I was speaking to the fact that there are now two Coney Islands in Scranton, the product of a family feud. When I asked about the original, I meant the one described above. It really is like stepping back in time. If any egulleteers and or dawg lovers should ever find themselves in the fair burgh, give it a try..you won't be disappointed.

[kguetzow]

My wife and I moved to Allentown 7 yrs ago from Chicago.

Do I even need to tell you what our opinion of Yocco's is?

When we first got here everyone told us how we must try a Yocco's!

It was the most dissapointing/bordering on disgusting hot dog we ever tasted. Well, what amuses me most is that after 5 yrs or so, these nasty little burnt greasy things are starting on grow on me. Our daughter has grown up here and loves them. I fear she'll never understand a Chicago hot dog and be caused to wonder, who the hell put a salad on this thing?.

Edited January 16, 2006 by kguetzow (log)

[Jeff L]

My wife and I moved to Allentown 7 yrs ago from Chicago.

Do I even need to tell you what our opinion of Yocco's is?

When we first got here everyone told us how we must try a Yocco's!

I was the most dissapointing/bordering on disgusting hot dog we ever    tasted.  Well what amuses me most is that after 5 yrs or so, these nasty little burnt greasy things are starting on grow on me.  Our daughter has grown up here and loves them.  I fear she'll never understand a Chicago hot dog and be caused to wonder, who the hell put a salad on this thing?.

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Let's see... a Chicago Red Hot or a Yucco's?? If I were you, I'd source a really good poppy roll vendor,(good luck here and when you do, let me know) use either a nathans or best kosher hot dog..add some nice sliced dill pickles and raw onion.. hell maybe even throw in a little relish too, slap on your favorite mustard and pretend you're back home in probably one of the best hot dog towns in America.

[rlibkind]

Re: Chicago hot dogs. Never understood why people would want to put fresh salad on top of their hot dog. Fermented cabbage, perhaps, but not fresh salad. The celery seed is a nice touch, though.

[Holly Moore]

A Chicago hot dog by one of the top Chicago dog houses is great eating. I've yet to find a great Chicago hot dog anywhere but Chicago.

However, being born and raised in North Jersey, and having spent most of my life living between Philadelphia and Boston, a "hot dog" is grilled or fried and either comes with mustard and relish or Coney Island/Texas Wiener/All-The-Way sauce, mustard and diced fresh onion.

The only thing both the Chicago and the North Jersey genres lack - and I've always wanted to speak of hot dog approaches as genres - is the proper New England top split hot dog bun with sides that can be buttered and grilled.

[Furious Flav-or]

The phenomenon of finding Coney Islands and Texas Lunches across PA is essentially the Feltman/Handwerker thing replayed from town to town, although it's principally (to my knowledge) the province of enterprising Greeks. I'd name names and towns, but, well, Holly knows why not.

The Coney Island in Shamokin, for instance, is just as you describe the one in Scranton, Rich, a total throwback to another time, and still very popular on weekends, especially at night. The dogs are done up with a beanless chili that isn't a chili, quite, and there's just something about them, and others like them acros the state in dozens of small towns that just says "you're home." Even if it's something the attraction of which I just don't get, like a Yocco's dog — it's somebody's hometown dog, and the affective fondness for nostalgic reminders of childhood tend to override one's capacity for objective consideration of real merits.

I spent the first few years of my twenties getting used to Callahan's vs. Hiram's vs. Hank's vs. Rutt's up in North Jersey, a situation that altered my hallmark hotdog ideas more than a bit. Chicago dogs are good, but to judge other dogs by their standards of jazzed-up rolls and two inches of produce on top of everything is unfair. But hand me two PA dogs from two different places with chili, mustard, and onions?

Snyder Ave., here I come!

Edited January 16, 2006 by Furious Flav-or (log)

[rlibkind]

Oddly enough, I don't think of Pennsylvania when I think of "Coneys". The non-Coney Island "Coney" seems to be most prevalent in the Detroit metro area. They are truly nuts about them there.

Holly, I think you'll just have to go the homemade route for your New England top sliced rolls. Pepperidge Farms makes and distributes them here (I've found them in the Cherry Hill Shop Rite and, I think, Klein's in the Philadelphian.

From my adolescence I fondly recall the Nedicks hot dogs served in transpor hubs all over NYC. Great orange drink, decent hot dog, excellent mustard/relish, and New England rolls, iirc.

[erie1]

Top sliced rolls are always in stock at the Wegman's near me in Central Jersey. Don't know about other Wegman's locations. My kid's love the "wonder bread" feel to them. My little guy even eats his peanut butter with them.

[mrbigjas]

the fun thing about yocco's, which i stopped at yesterday on my way back from upstate, is how you walk up to the sign that says order here, and the cashier standing there ignores you as the person in the back yells CAN I HELP YOU? and you yell your order to her, and she starts making your dogs and yells your order back to the cashier standing in front of you, who then rings you up and takes your money. it's not actually an inefficient system, but it feels like it is.

[Jeff L]

the fun thing about yocco's, which i stopped at yesterday on my way back from upstate, is how you walk up to the sign that says order here, and the cashier standing there ignores you as the person in the back yells CAN I HELP YOU?  and you yell your order to her, and she starts making your dogs and yells your order back to the cashier standing in front of you, who then rings you up and takes your money.  it's not actually an inefficient system, but it feels like it is.

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Yeah, just an inefficient hot dog James

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

Hey, if you've got a meat grinder, a cold smoker, and know where to find pink salt, pick up a copy of Michael Ruhlman's and Brian Polcyn's "Charcuterie, The Craft of Smoking, Salting & Curing"

Pages 164 & 165 have a recipe for Chicago-Style All-Beef Hot Dogs. Just don't get any stains on your investment copy (the one that'll put your grandkids through school, seeing as this classic is still a first edition)

[mrbigjas]

i would, but i am of the opinion that hot dogs shouldn't be all beef...

[Diann]

Not sure where to post this, but...

FYI, Trader Joe's sells top sliced hot dog buns! They're whole wheat, so they're not 100% authentic, but they ARE good. I'm guessing the buns are New England-style because their distribution center on the East Coast is in Massachussetts. It was the only kind of bun I found in the store when I was looking a couple of weeks ago.

[Jeff L]

Not sure where to post this, but...

FYI, Trader Joe's sells top sliced hot dog buns! They're whole wheat, so they're not 100% authentic, but they ARE good. I'm guessing the buns are New England-style because their distribution center on the East Coast is in Massachussetts. It was the only kind of bun I found in the store when I was looking a couple of weeks ago.

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Whole wheat, what were they thinking?

[Diann]

Not sure where to post this, but...

FYI, Trader Joe's sells top sliced hot dog buns! They're whole wheat, so they're not 100% authentic, but they ARE good. I'm guessing the buns are New England-style because their distribution center on the East Coast is in Massachussetts. It was the only kind of bun I found in the store when I was looking a couple of weeks ago.

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Whole wheat, what were they thinking?

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It's Trader Joe's! You gotta be whole wheat or organic or better yet, both, to make it in there.

I kid because I love. You should see my fridge and my pantry and my stash at work...

Back on topic!

[philadining]

Frank Bruni of the NY Times disses Yocco's, in a piece about fast food around the country:

Near Allentown, Pa., there was Yocco's, which proclaims itself the "hot dog king," probably because no one who has had the misfortune of eating there would...

Life in the Fast-Food Lane - New York Times

Edited May 24, 2006 by philadining (log)

[rlibkind]

Frank Bruni of the NY Times disses Yocco's, in a piece about fast food around the country:

Near Allentown, Pa., there was Yocco's, which proclaims itself the "hot dog king," probably because no one who has had the misfortune of eating there would...

Life in the Fast-Food Lane - New York Times

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If I was born and raised in the Allentown area, I'd probably be upset. Nothing tastes better than the hot dog (or hamburger) of your youth, no matter how bad it truly is. In the case of Yocco's, I've got to agree with Mr. Bruni. It's a nothing dog with a nothing sauce. The only item in any way redeeming about Yocco's is the pierogi.

[Rich Pawlak]

What Bob said. Dem pierogies are terrific! Dem doggies are, doggonnit, pretty mediocre.

[mrbigjas]

the pierogies are just mrs t's, aren't they? i mean, they have mrs t's signs all over the store. you or i could deep fry a mrs t's.

[rlibkind]

Yeah, I could deep fry a Mrs. T's, but I'm a messy guy and get hot grease all over the place.

[philadining]

That's what I was thinking. I could make french fries too, but almost never do...

[John]

Never had a Yocco's dog, but hear that they are referred to as Yucco's.