New York System Hot Weiners

[menton1]

A recent weekend in RI led to the discovery of the NY System Hot Weiners. These little beauties are small-ish dogs, with an orangy tint. The key is the way they are served. The counterman lays out the dogs and buns on his forearm, while adding mustard, special meat sauce, raw onions, and the coup de grace, celery salt!

The first bite is strange, but after that it becomes very addicting. There are only maybe a dozen places left serving these, but, after all, RI is small! I suppose the name of these is similar to a midwest phenomenon, "Coney Island dogs". Probably the originators of these hot dog stands wanted to emulate the supposed standard, the New York dog. But they really did better than that, creating their own version unique to this area.

The key is the meat sauce, whose recipes are a closely guarded secret. The sauce is slow cooked, and results in its unique flavor.

We went to Harry's in Warwick, but supposedly the oldest place left is Olneyville. Any good NY Weiner stories from the RI natives here?

[Mitchell]

There are only maybe a dozen places left serving these, but, after all, RI is small!

We went to Harry's in Warwick, but supposedly the oldest place left is Olneyville.  Any good NY Weiner stories from the RI natives here?

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There are a lot more than a dozen.

I visited six on Friday and Saturday and had 2 weiners at each.

Harry's is pretty good.

Original New York Systems at 424 Smith Street, Providence claims to be the oldest (1927). Olneyville dates from 1946?.

My favourite is probably Sparky's in East Providence.

The products are very similiar no matter where you get them, with only subtle differences in the weiner and the flavor of the meat sauce.

[M.X.Hassett]

Click down to third pic to see a pictorial of NY System dogs from Chris A.'s blog http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...dpost&p=1030064

[Chris Amirault]

There are two "Olneyville" shops, one in Olneyville and one on Rt. 2 (Reservoir Ave) in Cranston. They're reputed to be the best, though I prefer the Original on Smith. However, the Olneyville ones have excellent merchandise, including t-shirts and the spice mix for the chili sauce!

There are many others, including the two already mentioned. Lots of lunch counters serve NY Systems as part of their standard menu.

[ludja]

Ok, here's a silly question. Are "New York Weiners" pronounced " New York weeners"?

Also, is there a story behind how the "ie" got transposed to "ei'?

This may have been discussed before somewhere, but I can't recall.

[menton1]

Ok, here's a silly question.  Are "New York Weiners" pronounced " New York weeners"? 

Also, is there a story behind how the "ie" got transposed to "ei'?

This may have been discussed before somewhere, but I can't recall.

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The Austrian (German) word for Vienna is "Wein". There is various discussion over who actually "invented" the hot dog in the US, but it was about at the turn of the last century; Originally Americans of German origin brought in Weinerwurst, or "Vienna Sausage". And the 1920s brought on the famous "Weinie Roasts". So it could never be spelled with the "i" before the "e". Don't know why you think it was "transposed"...

As far as pronunciation, think "Weinerschnitzel".

Edited November 14, 2005 by menton1 (log)

[Chris Amirault]

Ok, here's a silly question.  Are "New York Weiners" pronounced " New York weeners"? 

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Yep -- at least in RI they are!

[schnitzel]

The Austrian (German) word for Vienna is "Wein".  There is various discussion over who actually "invented" the hot dog in the US, but it was about at the turn of the last century; Originally Americans of German origin brought in Weinerwurst, or "Vienna Sausage".  And the 1920s brought on the famous "Weinie Roasts".  So it could never be spelled with the "i" before the "e".  Don't know why you think it was "transposed"...

As far as pronunciation, think "Weinerschnitzel".

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No. Vienna is "Wien."

And it's Oscar Mayer wiener, shortening of wienerwurst, from German Wiener "of Vienna" (from Wien "Vienna") + Wurst "sausage."

BTW, Wiener Würstchen are called Frankfurter in Vienna and all of Austria.

Same for wiener schnitzel

—Etymology: German, literally, Vienna cutlet.

In German, weiner is pronounced like "viner."

Edited November 14, 2005 by schnitzel (log)

[ludja]

The Austrian (German) word for Vienna is "Wein".  There is various discussion over who actually "invented" the hot dog in the US, but it was about at the turn of the last century; Originally Americans of German origin brought in Weinerwurst, or "Vienna Sausage".  And the 1920s brought on the famous "Weinie Roasts".  So it could never be spelled with the "i" before the "e".  Don't know why you think it was "transposed"...

As far as pronunciation, think "Weinerschnitzel".

←

No. Vienna is "Wien."

And it's Oscar Mayer wiener, shortening of wienerwurst, from German Wiener "of Vienna" (from Wien "Vienna") + Wurst "sausage."

BTW, Wiener Würstchen are called Frankfurter in Vienna and all of Austria.

Same for wiener schnitzel

—Etymology: German, literally, Vienna cutlet.

In German, weiner is pronounced like "viner."

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The reason I asked how it got transposed was that as schnitzel desribed, the word derivation originates from Vienna or "Wien" in German.

I guess it was just an accidental transposition that happened at some time in history over here and is now a charming legacy! I just wondered if there was story behind it. Note that most other large hotdog brands, for eg. Oscar Meyer, use the proper "wiener" spelling.

"Wein" in German means "wine" and is pronounced "vine" as schnitzel allluded to above.

Anyway, I didn't mean to derail the original topic. Let's hear about more favorite weiner experiences and places in RI!!!

[menton1]

That's interesting, thanks, Schnitzel.

But the plot is thicker: Olneyville spells it with the I before the e. "Wieners"

And Harry's spells it the other way: "Weiners"

So which one of them is "right"?

[schnitzel]

The confusion might be because in English "ie" is pronounced like "eye".

As in: tie, pie, die, lie...

The German "wiener" doesn't fit this rule and is easily misspelled "weiner."

And an owner can name their establishment whatever they want.

Krispy Kreme comes to mind.

Anyway, I don't want to derail the original topic here.

Back to wonderful hot dogs...

[Chantilly Bob]

One place everyone should check out is Wein-o-Rama on Oakland Ave. in Cranston, both for the weiners as well as the classic "space age" neon signage. Growing up in Pawtucket, I had no idea this place existed until last year, but it's been there since '62.

Also, no has been able to definitively trace the derivation of the "New York System" moniker that adorns many weiner joints. Even the investigative reporters at the Providence Journal couldn't do it (true!).

For the story of Wein-o-Rama, see http://www.quahog.org/attractions/index.php?id=67

Mmmmmmm, weiners.