Super Duper Weenie

Originally a mobile truck selling hot dogs by the side of the road, Super Duper Weenie is now a stationary restaurant with indoor seating (plus mobile truck for catering). As you might suspect from its name, the house specialty is a hot dog. It is a firm-fleshed, locally-made weenie that is split and cooked on the grill until its outside gets a little crusty but the inside stays succulent. It is sandwiched in a lovely fresh-baked roll and adorned with homemade condiments, including relish made from pickles that Chef Gary Zemora has himself made from cucumbers. The sauerkraut, the hot relish, the meat chili, the onion sauce are ALL made from scratch.

You can get whatever you like on a hot dog, but Super Duper Weenie makes it easy (and fast) by offering certain basic configurations. These include “The New Englander,” which Gary devised based on his own fond memories of the superior franks served at Jimmie’s of Savin Rock in West Haven and at Rawley’s in Fairfield. It’s a dog topped with sauerkraut, bacon, mustard, sweet relish and raw onion. The New Yorker, Gary says, was inspired by what is served from Gotham’s streetcorner carts (but we dare say it is 1000% better than any street weenie we’ve eaten in Manhattan): sauerkraut, onion sauce, mustard and hot relish. There is a Chicagoan topped with lettuce, tomato, mustard, celery salt, relish, and a pickle spear; a dynamite Dixie dog that is topped with hot meaty chili AND rests atop a bed of sweet homemade cole slaw; and there is a Georgia red hot, which is a spicy sausage with the works.

Non-dog lovers who find themselves at this jolly joint can get a big, boldly-spiced hamburger made from grass-fed local beef, a sausage and pepper sandwich on a Portuguese roll, a cheese steak, or a grilled chicken sandwich. S-D-W even accommodates vegetarians with a tuna salad sandwich or a veggie burger.

Whatever else you get, you must get French fries. These are beautiful, crunchy twigs of potato that are fresh from the fry-basket and made extra-delicious by a vigorous hail of salt and pepper.

Dine indoors at the always-crowded counter, where you cannot help but feel part of the counter-culture kibitzing that never ends; or choose a picnic table by the side of the eatery, which is also always crowded.