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Amazing Hot Dog

ejebud

By ejebud
in New Jersey: Dining

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Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted
Best of luck guys. I'll wait for John to give his report before I visit.

Is that a bad thing?  :unsure:

Not a bad thing, but don't you trust the rest of us, David?!? We are what you'd call GOOD EATERS, after all... :laugh:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

gbauer

gbauer

Posted
Posted

I am at work in NYC today -- so I am unlikely to make the first day. I do live about 2 miles away, though -- so I will be there soon. I stopped in on Saturday -- no food, but friendly people.

wfnugent

wfnugent

Posted
Posted

I'm sorry if I missed the info elsewhere, but what time is closing time? Need to know if I can swing by after working late. It is sort of, but not really, on the way home from work.

I drive by Johnny & Hange's every night for sure and Hot Grill sometimes. My beloved bride has managed from the shirt stains to identify most of the chili sauces in and around the tristate area. I need a new joint that will make her have to call in the detectives from CSI. (Chili Sauce Investigations)

"There are people who strictly deprive themselves of each and every eatable, drinkable, and smokable which has in any way acquired a shady reputation. They pay this price for health. And health is all they get for it. How strange it is. It is like paying out your whole fortune for a cow that has gone dry." - Mark Twain

"Please pass the bacon." - Me

tkrongold

tkrongold

Posted
Posted

just ret'd from lunch at Amazing Hot Dog. Had a Classic dog with fries - they were really good. the dog was nicely done. For my taste, the fries could have used a little more salt, but that's me...My husband had the Amazing (wrapped in bacon) which he enjoyed.

It was nice to meet some of the other eGulleteers there, too.

Good luck to Eric & the rest of the Amazing crew.

www.cookstour.netMy Blog

Daniel

Daniel

Posted
Posted

tkrongold,

I am confused by the fry salt comment.. Did they have shakers available for people to salt there fries? Its always better to undersalt because you can always put more on..

tkrongold

tkrongold

Posted
Posted

hi, Daniel.

yes, they had shakers on the table & i did add salt, but i always think fries & chips taste better when you salt them immediately after frying. don't get me wrong, the fries were great, just needed a tad more salt for me... :biggrin:

www.cookstour.netMy Blog

Daniel

Daniel

Posted
Posted

Thank you for the clarification.. I am fully aware of the crucial 30-45 seconds a french fry has to have salt applied, after being removed from the fryer.

rooftop1000

rooftop1000

Posted
Posted (edited)

Hot Dogs...git yer hot dogs

before I eat em all, that is, oh and pie but more on that later

We joined a multitude of Egulleters and the general public for the first day of feasting.

It was crazy in there from 12:15 till at least 2 pm.

My daughter and I shared a Nacho Dog ( gaucamole, salsa, and sour cream)and French Fries and my own was the Caped Crusader( chile, coleslaw, jalepenos) and hers was the BLT (wrapped in bacon with Let, Tom, and mayo).

After all that I convinced Curlz to show me where Meema's new Bakery was in Montclair.

And on we went to taste a German chocolate cake, Chocolate chip pound cake, and Carrot cake, well I tasted all that cake Curlz just looked at me in shock that I could still eat :raz:

Of course we told the owners about Amazing Hot Dog and they were contacting a family member to run right over and bring them lunch

:cool:

tracey

oopse also picked up a Schmero for my husband

Edited by rooftop1000 (log)

The great thing about barbeque is that when you get hungry 3 hours later....you can lick your fingers

Maxine

Avoid cutting yourself while slicing vegetables by getting someone else to hold them while you chop away.

"It is the government's fault, they've eaten everything."

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Holly Moore

Holly Moore

Posted
Posted

I can't wait to hear from ejebud. I'm curious to find out how well their first day went. But I also want to learn what it is like to be beset upon by a hoard of hungry eGullets. Seems pretty scary to me, in a nice, Quentin Tarantino "Hostel" way, of course.

Holly Moore

"I eat, therefore I am."

HollyEats.Com

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John

John

Posted
Posted

I was fortunate to have a rare day off, so I was able to get to Amazing Hot Dog on opening day. I was there before noon, so I'm sorry that I didn't get to meet the other e-gulleteers. But I did get to meet Eric and Matt and have a wonderful lunch.

I knew beforehand that I would like this place. I love Best's natural casing beef franks. They are, in my opinion, the best beef frank in this area, and along with Usinger's, one of the best beef dogs anywhere. Out of the many fine hot dog restaurants in the state, besides all of the Italian Hot Dog joints (almost all use Best) few use the Best frank. Some carts do, but most of the North Jersey places use a beef/pork frank. Syd's and Jerry's, 2 of my favorites, use the natural casing Best dog. Add Amazing Hot Dog to the list. And they are the only place I know of specializing in a fried beef dog. Again, I'm not counting Italian Hot Dog restaurants, which offer a product that is more like a sandwich. The Best dog tastes great fried, which is one reason why they are the choice of over 90% of the places serving Italian style dogs which are fried.

Amazing Hot Dog uses the 1/4 lb natural casing dog. I prefer the thinner, longer 5 to a lb dog used at Syd's; but the quarter pounder is actually a better choice if you're going to offer a wide variety of toppings like they do here. I ordered a Classic with brown deli mustard in order to sample the dog itself, and a dog with chili, coleslaw, and wrapped with bacon. My wife had a cheeseburger; we split a big order of fries, and washed it all down with a Boylan's Birch Beer.

The Classic was fried just the right amount of time. Since it's a well seasoned kosher style beef dog, it doesn't need to be in the fryer as long as a milder pork based dog. When I go to Rutt's, I order well done, since the extra time seems to add more flavor. No need to do this with the Classic. It was juicy, meaty, and tasty. A good roll (steamed I think) that was the right size for the hot dog, and a good spicy deli mustard. Simple and good. While Syd's has a great charbroiled dog, and Jerry's has a great dirty water dog, this is the place to go for the best fried dog.

My second dog had the toppings. I anticipated that they would be good just by reading this thread and seeing all of the enthusiasm and preparation that went into creating Amazing Hot Dog. Not to mention seeing Jason's excellent pictures. But they were better than anticipated. The bacon was a good addition (I never had a dog wrapped with bacon. Crif's in N.Y. does this). The coleslaw was much better than average, and the chili was one of the best I've had on a hot dog. Maybe even the best. Only problem was that there wasn't much on it and it had the coleslaw on top. Next time I'm going to order a dog with just mustard and chili, so I can better taste the chili and have coleslaw on the side.

The fries were fantastic. Cut thin, boardwalk style, twice fried and well seasoned. I don't recall having any I enjoyed more than these. The hamburger was good; a little small for the price.

All in all, it was a great lunch. Amazing Hot Dog is a fun place that should do well. The food is great and the place is clean. Already in the upper echelon of N.J. hot dog establishments.

John the hot dog guy

Rosie

Rosie

Posted
Posted

I had the hotdog with guacamole today. Delish! And it was so much fun to see some eGulleters. Sorry we missed you John. We even met some lurkers who we hope will join in the discussion.

Rosalie Saferstein, aka "Rosie"

TABLE HOPPING WITH ROSIE

Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted

It was so great to see everyone today! I arrived with a friend around 12:30, and was greeted by a whole mess of eG'ers, which just added to the festivites. A true show of what community means, imo, and I'm sure Eric will agree.

We got a large order of fries to share, a 6-piece order of egg roll dogs, and he had a classic w/mustard (he's a minimalist) while I ordered a Melt, which comes with cheese (I had swiss) and carmelized onions. YUMMMMM!!! Definitely a fine choice, if I do say so myself. :laugh: A birch beer and a limeade rounded out the order. Total: $18.50. Seeing the place full of happy hot dog eaters: priceless. I'm with Holly--can't wait to hear Eric's report from the other side of the counter!

And not to be outdone by Tracey at the pie store (where DID she find room at that point?!?), we stopped at Applegate Farms for some ice cream about 30 minutes later. :wub:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

dbrociner

dbrociner

Posted
Posted
Best of luck guys. I'll wait for John to give his report before I visit.

Is that a bad thing?  :unsure:

Not a bad thing, but don't you trust the rest of us, David?!? We are what you'd call GOOD EATERS, after all... :laugh:

Curlz, right you are but when you've got a chance to hear from the King....Anyway, he's posted now so I might just show up tomorrow. I would have liked to have gone today to see all the other egullet people but it wouldn't have worked out. Glad to hear that everyone was so impressed.

Blackeyedpig
John

John

Posted
Posted

Oh, it be. She doesn't really like fried hot dogs and didn't want to have a big quarter pounder. She had some of my Classic Dog and liked it though. I don't think she dislikes fried dogs as much as it is that she dislikes Rutt's Hut, which contains mostly pork. She prefers grilled all beef dogs.

John the hot dog guy

gbauer

gbauer

Posted
Posted

I didn't make it today -- but my son went with a friend. He had the hot dog with bacon; he preferred it to Rutt's -- he liked the bigger, meatier dog which, to his palate, stood up better to frying. He loved the fries (but told me not to get a large unless I had a couple other people with me...).

Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted
He loved the fries (but told me not to get a large unless I had a couple other people with me...).

This is true (unless maybe you have teenaged boy metabolisms...)! The two of us (gasp) didn't finish our order--I'd say we got through 90% of them.

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

Dana329

Dana329

Posted
Posted
He loved the fries (but told me not to get a large unless I had a couple other people with me...).

This is true (unless maybe you have teenaged boy metabolisms...)! The two of us (gasp) didn't finish our order--I'd say we got through 90% of them.

I brought my 2 teenagers so we had to get another order of fries after we finished the first 2! Anyway, WOW! I drove down from Bergen County with my kids. Easy to get to. We had studied the menu ahead of time in anticipation. The place is bright and clean and the fun starts with the strange hot dog related stuff in the window and continues with the tip box that cheers when you press to open it. The 14 yo Mexican food fanatic ( and notorius picky eater) got the Nacho-an Amazing with guac, salsa and sour cream and he "really, really" liked it. The 17 yo got the Smokey Joe-an Amazing with baked beans and BBQ sauce, downed it quickly and went back for a Hotburger-Hamdog with Cheese Whiz. I had the Classic Melt with Cheese Whiz (plus grilled onions). Everything was awesome. We also got an order of mini egg roll dogs, like pigs-in-a-blanket goes Chinese and these were great dunked in duck sauce. I tried the coelslaw, got to have good coleslaw and it was great, creamy, crunchy and great taste. Points for Pepsi intead of Coke! Both kids thought, though that the flavor of the bacon on the Amazing was not distinct next to the flavor of the dog, I'll have to try one the next time (and there will be many next times!) The fries were very tasty, but I would have like them crisper. Forgot to say my usual "well-done".

Older son (6 foot, over 200lb wrestler)thought he could compete in the contest to eat 6 special dogs, a large fries and fountain soda in one hour to get a t-shirt, his pic on the website and glory. Half way through the first dog, he turned to his brother and said "No way". This is a solid, filling 1/4 pound of goodness.

Congrats to Eric and Matt. As #2 son said on the way home "That place is gonna be busy!"

Sorry we had to pass on the dessert trip. Nice to see all the egulleteers.

Dana

porkpa

porkpa

Posted
Posted

I went yesterday. I had a classic dog, a large order of fries and a limeade. The dog was okay. It would have been much better if the center had not been cold. I don't know if it had been frozen or just hadn't been been fried for long enough. The fries were excellent. The limeade was good, but didn't have enough tartness for my taste.

All in all, it was a good experience which would have been much better if the dog had been properly cooked.

Porkpa

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