Amazing Hot Dog

[Rachel Perlow]

one more question... What is the parking situation in the immediate area. I am mobility-challenged, and find it difficult to walk long distances... is it only parallel parking along Bloomfield Ave, or is there a lot nearby?

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It is a strip mall with parking right in front. I think there may be parking in the back as well, but we haven't had to park back there either of the times we visited.

[Rosie]

There's parking in the back also.

[SueWho321]

one more question... What is the parking situation in the immediate area. I am mobility-challenged, and find it difficult to walk long distances... is it only parallel parking along Bloomfield Ave, or is there a lot nearby?

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It is a strip mall with parking right in front. I think there may be parking in the back as well, but we haven't had to park back there either of the times we visited.

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If it is a strip mall with its own lot, then they must have a handicapped parking spot. ( I hope) Thanks for the quick replies, Rachel and Rosie. Maybe I will meet some egulleters there tonight.? ( Is there a secret handshake or password I should know. ? )

[Jason Perlow]

The Wikipedia entry on "Hot Dog" now contains a photo of the Jersey Breakfast Dog, so that the deep fried Jersey species of hot dog is properly represented:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog

[Randi]

The Wikipedia entry on "Hot Dog" now contains a photo of the Jersey Breakfast Dog, so that the deep fried Jersey species of hot dog is properly represented:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog

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How cool is that!!!!

[Anonymouze]

Jason... you're the man no matter what Stripe says! (He's my dog... if he REALLY starts speaking to me, RUN!) LOL

[SueWho321]

Stopped by AHD around 7:15 tonight, and had the pleasure of meeting Eric and Matt. As my husband and I were eating I overheard others (who had just entered) discussing egullet. I feel like a member of a secret society! <g>

I had the amazing dog with whiz, and hubby had a hamdog hotburger with chili & cheese inside. We split a large order of fries. I had the limeade which was great (next time I might ask for less ice) . We polished off everything, and hubby went back up for another order of fries (to split) and an order of mini buffalo dogs.

Parking was not a problem (except we almost went in the exit) and we will definitely be back. Is delivery a possibility in the future?

Best of Luck, Eric and Matt!

[ejebud]

As the smoke clears from our opening week, I am compelled to compose this post offering a world of thanks to the Egullet community. I am truly humbled and overwhelmed by the positive response we have recieved from the members of Egullet. A special thanks to Jason and Rachel Perlow who have been incredibly supportive during our first week. When Jason is in the restaurant he isn't shy about schooling newbies (aren't we all newbies?") on the fine art of ordering off our menu. Thanks for that. Thanks for all who have gone to bat for us via their posts on the various forums with an Amazing Hot dog thread. Thanks to Rosie Saferstein and Curlz for there continued support, (and for babysitting my wife in my absence) There have been so many Egulleters in this week and we are grateful for each and every one of you. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

Eric and Matt

[Anonymouze]

ERIC you are so in trouble... I sent a friend from a "blog" site over there and they said the following (forgive my cut and paste!):

GOOD STUFF ******

(edited for anonymity - heh) !!

(This was in response to my suggesting she try your place ERIC!)

We just got back and I'm going to bust. I brought some menus back and put them in our kitchen area. I think it was Eric who helped us. In tune with Trekkie's blog, there was a box marked "Tips for cashier" at the register. I threw her a buck for taking my money and counting my change back correctly :-) YOU gotta love that!

I guess they didn't like your food (just joking) I really have to visit my grandmother in West Orange soon so I can try your delicious munchables! Thanks for not disappointing my friends.

[wfnugent]

Stopped by on Saturday on my way home. The place was packed. The Amazing with kraut and mustard was, well, Amazing. The fries were perfect. I asked for and received some mayo for dipping - delish.

Best of luck, guys. AHD is a great place.

VINCENT

But you know what they put

on french fries in Holland instead

of ketchup?

JULES

What?

VINCENT

Mayonnaise.

JULES

Goddamn!

VINCENT

I seen 'em do it. And I don't mean

a little bit on the side of the

plate, they fuckin' drown 'em in

it.

[AlisonA]

Well I went again today, despite my post that it'd be a bit because it is out of the way (it is!). But I just had to try the Amazing dog - My Schmeiro. Excellent!

Of course had the fries too, with the mayo. I had a step dad who was Dutch so I know how good the combo is.

I stopped in right at noon, they weren't too busy, but it looked like some newspaper types might have come in after me, at least someone with a big honking camera. I'm sure Eric will tell us when it is appropiate.

All in all good stuff. I admit to being a bit worried about the assembly line if things get packed but I'm sure they'll work the logisitics out.

AlisonA

[JustTia]

I was there yesterday since I was in the area, and boy I'm glad I went. My husband sat in the car with the kids, but I brought back for us to share:

2 classics (I'm boring, sue me)

1 hotburger hamdog

1 small order of fries

1 kids meal

2 limeades

My husband LOVED the hotburger hamdog and declared that we MUST come back everytime we take the kids to the dentist. I think we'll come back more frequently since that would mean a visit every six months. The fries were out of this world and I had to resist the urge to go back and order more. Next time I'll be a bit more daring and order something other than a classic, but I have to say, it was a great tasting hot dog with just ketchup.

My only request would be to sell a smaller drink size. I was the lady who asked about buying a child's drink, but not part of a kid's meal. Since my kids are small and bird-like eaters, we only buy 1 child's meal for the 2 of them, and typically buy an extra drink. It was a bit unfortunate that we couldn't just buy another small drink -- whatever price you would have charged wouldn't have been a problem since I'll pay premium for a 2 & 3 year old not to fight. BTW, super cute kids cups!

Forgot to add... since I can't remember the exact time I was there, it was when the cameraman was taking pics. I think he took a pic of my husband's hotburger hamdog. I almost feel famous.

Edited January 24, 2006 by JustTia (log)

[hitmanoo]

My only request would be to sell a smaller drink size.  I was the lady who asked about buying a child's drink, but not part of a kid's meal.  Since my kids are small and bird-like eaters, we only buy 1 child's meal for the 2 of them, and typically buy an extra drink.  It was a bit unfortunate that we couldn't just buy another small drink -- whatever price you would have charged wouldn't have been a problem since I'll pay premium for a 2 & 3 year old not to fight.    BTW, super cute kids cups!

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I think that the challenge in this is that you get free refills on your drink. If they offered a child size as a standard, more than a few people would take advantage of this lesser price, only to take even more advantage of the refill policy. With this in mind, you probably could have just ordered an extra drink but asked for a smaller cup.

[jhlurie]

I was by Amazing last week and have to say...

Until I visited and tried the thing I didn't quite "get" it.

Now I've lived in NJ for many years--a mere mile or so from Callahan's/Hiram's --so I understand the impact of a good hot dog on local culture. It's much more than mere interchangable fast food. It's a meal as often as a snack here, and ideally they shouldn't all taste alike. That said, I still didn't understand what the big deal was with one more new hot dog place...

But Amazing Hot Dog blows away all boundries, I think. First, there's the deep fried thing. I've not been a frequent attendee at places like Rutt's Hutt, but I get the idea. At least I thought I did before now. The addition of the bacon wrapping on the Amazing variants is genius. Sure, they aren't going to make any friends at Weight Watchers, but so what?

The variations I saw of toppings is the most impressive part of all of this. The cream cheese? Absolute genius. The BBQ baked beans are pretty good too. The Chipotle Sambal is wonderful, and I think ends the idea of ever using something as humdrum as ketchup.

The fries are very good. Not the best I've ever tasted, but close enough that they are well worth buying.

I rate Amazing in the same class as my favorite hamburger place, CiA do Sanduiche, in Cliffside Park. There's a way to present these old "snacky" fast-food items as truly original, worthy of travel between towns as full meals, and memorable, and both of these places do this, with hot dogs and hamburgers respectively.

Has the limeade been commented on yet? I quite enjoyed it, since they wisely made sure it wasn't overly sweet.

[JustTia]

I think that the challenge in this is that you get free refills on your drink.  If they offered a child size as a standard, more than a few people would take advantage of this lesser price, only to take even more advantage of the refill policy. With this in mind, you probably could have just ordered an extra drink but asked for a smaller cup.

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I did ask to order another drink, but in a smaller size and was told that the children's size was only sold *with* a meal. IOW, I could only buy a large drink, there was no small or large available. And my order was take-out, so I wasn't trying to take advantage of free refills.

FWIW, I wasn't trying to get a free drink or anything, I just wanted to buy an additional child sized drink.

[hitmanoo]

I think that the challenge in this is that you get free refills on your drink.  If they offered a child size as a standard, more than a few people would take advantage of this lesser price, only to take even more advantage of the refill policy. With this in mind, you probably could have just ordered an extra drink but asked for a smaller cup.

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I did ask to order another drink, but in a smaller size and was told that the children's size was only sold *with* a meal. IOW, I could only buy a large drink, there was no small or large available. And my order was take-out, so I wasn't trying to take advantage of free refills.

FWIW, I wasn't trying to get a free drink or anything, I just wanted to buy an additional child sized drink.

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My response wasn't directed as a specific challenge towards you, but rather an observation as to why the specific restaurant policy may have been put in place.

[Curlz]

Exciting news! Amazing Hot Dog is going to be featured on Eyewitness News (Channel 7) this Friday night as a "Neighborhood Eats" segment! Congrats to Matt and Eric! Great stuff...hope you're ready for the throngs that are bound to follow!

To recap--VCR alert for Friday, Jan. 27th around 5:45pm. That's Channel 7 (ABC)in the NY/NJ market.

[glenn]

Hey Eric, I'm absolootely thrilled to hear about your success! I hope to make it by today - I've been waiting for the excitement to die down, but from the sound of it, that could be a good long while. Great news about eyewitness news... did Lauren Glassberg, aka glenn's idol and object of daydreams, do the piece? Well, I guess I'll find out later.

[richl2214]

I'll be coming by Monday for a birthday dinner at the request of my GF after showing her those pictures. I love a cheap date! See you guys then!

Edited January 27, 2006 by richl2214 (log)

[Rail Paul]

Star-Ledger has an article today. Very positive.

Eat with Pete

[Jason Perlow]

I don't agree with his assessment of the Hawaii-Five-O.

Fresh pineapple doesn't work in pairing with processed meats, you need the canned pineapple in order to get that sweetness.

The dog does much better if you add the Sambal sauce to it -- The spicyness offsets the sweetness of the pineapple.

[tommy]

I don't agree with his assessment of the Hawaii-Five-O.

Fresh pineapple doesn't work in pairing with processed meats, you need the canned pineapple in order to get that sweetness.

The dog does much better if you add the Sambal sauce to it -- The spicyness offsets the sweetness of the pineapple.

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he said

the crushed pineapple could have been fresher and the teriyaki sauce more distinct. The scallions didn't seem to add anything.

sounds like, among other things, he thought the (canned) pineapple could have been "fresher". perhaps it sat out a bit too long to his mind.

[Rachel Perlow]

Good point, it probably isn't one of their most ordered dogs, so the pineapple might sit for a while. But it is good, I'd recommend it if someone wanted one of the more adventurous dogs. I preferred it to the Caped Crusader and the Nacho Dog, for example.

[Holly Moore]

Eisenbud said. "There's a reason why there's not a peanut butter and jelly hot dog. The combination doesn't work."

I'm impressed that Eric and Matt even considered a peanut butter and jelly dog.

Edited January 27, 2006 by Holly Moore (log)

[hitmanoo]

I think it's impressive that Eric and Matt even considered a peanut butter and jelly dog.

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Perhaps they encountered this in their research?

edit: Forget it, it's a banana not a hotdog... my bad.

Edited January 27, 2006 by hitmanoo (log)