Holly hunts, Holly eats

[I_call_the_duck]

FYI. A nice article in today's Daily News about eG's own Holly Moore, written by Rich Pawlak, with a mention of eGullet. Topic--what else? Holly's love for hot dogs!

Holly hunts, Holly eats.

Congrats to you both!

ETA: The print version has a full-page pic of Holly chowing down on a dog.

Edited March 30, 2006 by I_call_the_duck (log)

[philadining]

Nice article, Rich and Holly.

Sorry if this is OT here, but Holly, why do you think hot dog stands are almost always mom-and-pop operations? Why aren't there big national chains of hot-dog restaurants? A couple of years ago, McDonalds offered a hotdog for a few months, but I've always been mystified why the fast food chains don't have hot dogs on the menus all the time.

[Daniel]

Congrats Holly!!

As a fellow food traveler you website is an amazing resource. Love your reviews and value your opinions.. Keep up the great work..

[Holly Moore]

Rich did a great article. Thanks.

To answer Philadining - a number of companies have tried to franchise hot dogs. Der Wienerschnitzle, Dog House and Dog and Suds are top of mind. No one has taken off like the hamburger or fried chicken places, even though hot dogs have the reputation as the All-American food.

There are all sorts of reasons why it should work as a franchise. Easy to consistantly prepare. Good food cost / profit margin. Appeals to the national palate.

Maybe because it is too easy to prepare - hot dogs are everywhere - convenience stores, street corners, movie theatres, Home Depots. Too much competition.

Maybe because many people associate hot dogs with occassions like a baseball or football game and therefore don't see it as an everyday lunch or dinner.

Maybe because of health concerns - nitrates, food coloring, an uncertainty as to what is ground up into the mush (pate). People are likely to trust the local hot dog guy more than some faceless, greedy chain.

Maybe because hot dogs are more regional than hamburgers. Hard for a chain to serve the same product coast to coast.

Whatever the reason, the local, independent hot dog stands around the country seem to have staying power. A lot of them never seem busy, but they go on and on, generation to generation.

[I_call_the_duck]

Philadining, the only hot dog chain I can think of is Nathan's. I don't know how wide-spread it is, but I've seen them in malls around here. They're a major conglomeration that also owns Arthur Treachers, Kenny Rogers Roasters, and Miami Grill.

[mrbigjas]

holly, the hot dog truck on 23rd & passyunk ave--your page says it's open saturdays after labor day. do you mean after memorial day, in the summer? or is dude really open on saturdays only in the fall/winter?

[aaronwcpa]

Great article. I also read Holly's web site when I travel. I also like small places serving different food and Holly Eats is the best in the area.

When my son was small, nearly thirty years ago, he would only eat hot dogs at any fast food place and finding one was difficult. I think Burger KIng sold hot dogs years ago. We would end up at a place called Red Barn, long, long gone, in Morrisville, which always had hot dogs.

[Holly Moore]

holly, the hot dog truck on 23rd & passyunk ave--your page says it's open saturdays after labor day.  do you mean after memorial day, in the summer?  or is dude really open on saturdays only in the fall/winter?

←

As said. Mike feels there a better things to do in a sunner Saturday than sweat it out over a hot dog steamer.

[mrbigjas]

holly, the hot dog truck on 23rd & passyunk ave--your page says it's open saturdays after labor day.  do you mean after memorial day, in the summer?  or is dude really open on saturdays only in the fall/winter?

←

As said. Mike feels there a better things to do in a sunner Saturday than sweat it out over a hot dog steamer.

←

but what about MY needs?

[bigbear]

Congrats, guys.

[Sfuffy]

Maybe because hot dogs are more regional than hamburgers.  Hard for a chain to serve the same product coast to coast.

←

I think you hit the nail on the head here. There are wide variances in hot dog composition and condiments not only between regions but also within regions (think of the array of franks available at your local supermarket). Tastes vary so much it would be hard for a chain to get a large enough penetration to be profitable.

A hamburger is pretty much universal varying only in type of beef and combination of condiments which can be handled fairly readily. (The only concession I know of that McD's makes in their standard hamburgers is that in some regions they use only ketchup and leave out the mustard.)

[KatieLoeb]

Nice job Gentlemen! Great writing Rich. Love the article, love the quotes and I still have to make it over to Johnny Hots one of these days. I haven't had a Surf n' Turf since Levis' closed. That's a looooonng time.

[dbrociner]

Nice article. The best part was the guy who wouldn't give his last name. There's a movie in there somewhere. The lone hotdog guy on the run from his past, one eye on the griddle or the steamer, the other always looking over his shoulder for? Well that would be the story, wouldn't it?

[Bobby 2 Shakes]

Excellent writing, Rich. Excellent basking, Holly. Coincidental that I bought that Daily News while eating hot dogs at the new Hot Donuts place that took over the old John's Drive-In at the corner of Marshall Rd & Long La in Upper Darby. I wouldna known I was eating a Texas weiner without you guys.

Tasty cheese dogs I ordered with fried sweet peppers & onions. They make the donuts there, also yummy. Henry the owner had a donut store in Louisiana before he came back to Upper Darby.

They also sell burgers, fries, steaks, hoagies, chicken tenders. Surfless turf, though.