A. P. J. Texas Weiners

[Holly Moore]

Every once in a while it takes me 25 years of driving past a place before I discover it. So it goes with A. P. J. Texas Weiner Restaurant on N. 13th Street across from the Criminal Justice Center. The neighborhood ain't the best, though better now than ten years ago, and it doesn't look like all that much from the outside. All lousy excuses for my passing by it so many times without stopping.

A. P. J. stands for Arthur, Paul and James - the three guys who opened the place in 1920.

1920. That's gotta make it one of the oldest continuous running restaurants in Philadelphia. And I'm just discovering it. I'm still pissed at me. Anyway, Jimmie has owned it for the past 22 years.

The first thing Jimmie is going to say after he's laid down a plate of Texas Weiners in front of you is, "How do you like the sauce?"

Jimmie is proud of his sauce. "People come to me from the place in South Philadelphia - they think we're the same - and they say what's a matter with their sauce. No taste. I tell them sauce has to be spicy."

Jimmie's sauce is the best Texas Weiner or Coney Island sauce I've had anywhere - North Jersey, Philly, Fort Wayne IN, Cumberland MD. It's right up there with Pink's chili out in LA. That good.

And I've wasted 25 years in Philadelphia not eating APJ's dogs.

Jimmie got to talking about how things used to be. "My wife used to cook 500 hot dogs each lunch. Back when the City Hall Annex was still there. Got all the lawyers. Now, with the Criminal Justice Center - the people, they're not the same. They're afraid of the sauce. It's too spicy. They just want sandwiches." But the sauce has to be spicy and Jimmy's not changing it. "The cops, they still come in. Lots of Cops. They like the sauce."

First time in I got a couple of Texas Weiners. A Texas Weiner is a split and grilled hot dog served with sauce, mustard and chopped raw onion. Second time in I noticed a couple of fish cakes sitting by the grill. I figured I'd have a combo, like at Levis' or Johnnie's Hots. Something got lost in translation. I got a plate with a Texas Weiner on one side and a fish cake served Texas Weiner style on the other.

Took a few bites of each, then discarded one bun and made my own combo, squashing the fishcake on top of the hot dog. Damn good eating. Five grease stains worthy in my book.

[ludja]

How great that you DID find it though... thanks for a great tip. I'll pass it along to a friend that lives in the Philly burbs and hopefully I'll try it out some time soon too.

Thanks for the nice photos too... I'm craving a dog w/spicy sauce right now!

One thing makes me laugh though... too many years of German, I guess. Do they really spell the dogs, "weiners" (that would be pronounced "whiners". "Weeners" as in hot dogs and pooches, I believe, is spelled, "wiener". I'm curious to know!

(The way to remember the pronunciation/sp for German words is "EIsenhower's nIEce"...

Edited November 25, 2004 by ludja (log)

[John]

Weiners is the way the Greek owned Texas Weiner joints in North Jersey spell it. Holly, do you know what brand of dog they served? In Central Jersey, the Texas Weiners are grilled (not split) with a thicker sauce. The North Jersey places serve what is called a "Hot Texas Weiner" which is deep fried and topped with a thinner chili sauce. Most of the North Jersey places use the Thumann's dog for deep frying, while most of the Central Jersey places that grill their dogs use a Grote and Weigel. Also, the chili sauce served in most Jersey places that have Texas Weiner in the name have spices like nutmeg, cloves or cinnamon and have varying degrees of spicyness. Other Jersey hot dog joints, most notably the dirty water hot dog trucks, serve a chili that is real hot and spicy, with spices such as cayenne pepper. JJ's, Boulevard Drinks, and Father & Son Luncheonette are places that serve very spicy chili. And they use spicier all beef dogs. Does the chili at A.P.J. have the sweetish spices in them like, say, the Hot Grill? Or is it more spicy hot like Father & Son?

[rlibkind]

The sauce at A.P.J. is fine; unfortunately, the hot dog itself is second rate, IMHO. I also prefer my chili dogs unsplit. If you gotta have a chili dog and you're in the neighborhood, by all means go. But it's hardly worth a special trip -- especially when you've got all the offerings of the Reading Terminal Market just a block away, including a pretty good hot dog stand with a modest variety of franks ("Franks-a-lot", an absolutely terrible name) and plenty of fixings. Not nearly as inexpensive as A.P.J., however.

[Holly Moore]

Don't know the brand of dog and agree with rlibkind that it's not premium. But when you're talking about a dog that is split and grilled and topped with mustard, onion and a spicy sauce, premium is not all that important to me. The overall dog is first rate and that's what counts.

Philadelphia style Texas Weiners are typically split and grilled. I like it that way. More grilled flavor mixing with the other strong tastes.

A Texas Weiner isn't really a chili dog. It's a Texas Weiner. The sauce is usually thinner than chili and, with the exception of APJ and a few others doesn't have the kick of chili.

I want to spell wiener, wiener. But it's weiner on APJ's sign and has been for 84 years. So there, at least, it's "weiner."

For some reason I've never been all that excited by Franks-a-lot. No good reason other than, most likely, I'm distracted by everything else at the Market.

[gabe]

I've been on to this place for awhile. There are few better $3 meals than "two with the works" at APJ.

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...ndpost&p=574370

The waitresses will call you "hon," too. That's always a plus.