When I sold dogs in New England I tried the split top buns and even most of the people there didnt want them either. They just have too much bread. Moe in Worcester uses them but he grills them, they are pretty good that way but I still threw half of the bun in the trash.

I use Martin’s potato rolls.They stay fresh forever.
Larry

Hello all ,

I have to say that the Galloping Hill Inn have the best buns I’ve had in an establishment that serves dogs. At home I prefer the potato buns , but I can see Brooklyn Bill getting a good bun on the house brands . Many times the house brands are just as good as the ones triple in cost .

As far as HDJ , I have not visited yet but perhaps we will have it on the 06 Spring Hot Dog Tour . I will leave the intinerary up to you all .

DJtomoaotoe good luck on your endeavor .

Benzee

I vacillate between New England style and potato rolls.
About two weeks ago, while passing through a Target Store, I stopped to purchase my first pack of Vienna Beef hot dogs. Since I was on my way home for lunch, I decided to buy a bag of the house brand rolls. They were only 69�, so what the heck.
The VB dogs were quite good but the rolls were VERY good. I even compared them to those served @ the Galloping Hill Inn (Union, NJ). I froze what was left and defrosted they were just as good!
Wow! Has Target hit a bulls-eye? Or was this a fluke??

Note: Before the  04 Hot Dog Tour, I was a member of the  a bun is a bun is a bun club but Galloping Hill Inn changed that.

Costco dog deal. I like hewbrew national dogs (I like the smaller ones better than the quarter pounders). For a $1.50 you can’t complain. Its a good deal and I have had many dogs there. But it lack "character". Nothing other than price really stands out. It’s not bad but its not great. Maybe if they threw the dog into a vat of oil instead of boiling it and offered more interesting toppings?

quote:

Originally posted by John Fox

Without a doubt, Costco is the best hot dog deal going. A quarter lb Hebrew National dog (simmerred in water) with the fixins and a large soda with free refills. For $1.50! $3.00 and you’re stuffed.

My buddy keeps trying to drag me to Costco for a simmilar deal (foot long dog w/soda). But what I picture is the local shop (that offers a dog for $1.50 w/no soda) trying to survive. I’d rather support the small mom and pop shop trying to make a buck vs. the big guy giving it away so ya spend more money in their store.

I think a decent bun is imperative to a good hot dog.

Serve me a cheap-o bun, I’m not likely to return. Unless you’re a cart and you’re on my corner, and the next cart is 5 blocks away with the same crappy bun.
Then, I’ll probably give you my $3.50 for the meal -it’s cheap. But I’m still not happy and usually have to go to Wegman’s to get New England style rolls and have a couple Hoffmann coneys (white snappys).

Mike,

I agree with you regarding HDJ. I remember going there the first time wondering what all the fuss was about. I learned later that this place is a local landmark with a lot of history behind it. On subsequent visits, I found the dogs to be decent, but unremarkable.

Without a doubt, Costco is the best hot dog deal going. A quarter lb Hebrew National dog (simmerred in water) with the fixins and a large soda with free refills. For $1.50! $3.00 and you’re stuffed.

********************************THE FOOD WARS****************************

DJ,
Thanks for the compliment.

Now, about hot dog tastes. The quick answer is, who knows?

There are some places that have acquired reputations over the years, like Hot Dog Johnny’s, Buttzville, NJ, that really don’t put out a great hot dog. But they have that cachet.

The last time I was there, people were waiting on line, and this young Gen X couple from out of state was so enthralled that they were there that they could hardly control their excitement. They bought a shirt, a hat, a this, a that. And probably a couple of dogs, too. The dogs are just OK. But gosh, you’re at the legendary hot dog Johnny’s.

However, Hot Dog Johnny’s wasn’t always famous, I speculate. I think they’ve been around since the 1940s. So, it took a lifetime or two to acquire that kind of mystique.

Probably one of the very best hot dog deals in these parts is at COSTCO. It’s a 1/4 lb. Hebrew National, free rein at the fixins’ bar, and a large refillable soda for less than $2 last time I was there.

Yet, there isn’t much history there. No great story about some fearless Aunt who carried the first hot dogs across enemy lines to feed the Resistance, and then later settled in Hoboken after the War, where FDR himself would come with his dog Fala to have a few with mustard and sauerkraut..

I know, personality helps. I’m at the point now where if the people aren’t very, very nice to me, I’m not coming back. Aside from life preservers and emergency surgery, there is no purveyor of goods and services who could win my patronage without seeming, at least, like they really appreciate my business. Of course there’s sometimes a fine line between being treated nicely and being patronized.

Personal space is important, too. And sometimes it’s not fair of the customer. But that’s show biz. Here’s what I mean. I go to a sub shop run by a very astute entrepreneur. The place is immaculate. The food is fresh, and the service is good. Sometimes I feel like talking, and sometimes I don’t. He’s learned to judge my mood. And if he minds, he doesn’t seem to show it.

I guess this is why I’ve always been very wary of going into the food business, despite coming from a family and extended family that has been involved in all aspects of the food business, from manufacturing, to catering, to being known for making the best knish in Philly. Really!

The public is fickle, the customer is always right and the work, she ain’t easy. But then, you overhear two customers wax enthusiastic—"Gee, fuhhgeddaboutit, this ScreenBear guy really makes the best Italian Hot Dog in the whole world, or at least New Jersey"—and it seems to be all worthwhile: the crossing of the Maginot line, getting across the Argonne Forest with the frankfurters, the bag starting to drip, the enemy German Shepherds smelling the franks, hot on your tail, and all along you trying to reach the resistance forces, the….the…the…

You get the idea.

quote:

Originally posted by ScreenBear

************BUN FULLY INTENDED************

On the business of hot dog buns, it depends if I’m having the frankfurter in question out or around the manse. On the road, I’m actually more interested in seeing how each individual purveyor has solved the eternal hot dog quandary: What to put it on?

Sizes and textures vary. In the Mid-Atlantic region, New England style rolls are virtually non-existent. Though, it would be a bold stroke if someone here did serve a wiener on one, preferably buttered and toasted.

Nope, aside from the occasional place that dares vary from the norm, like the Galloping Hill Inn (Union, NJ), which serves their heralded pork/beef offering on football-shaped buns, around these parts the buns rarely dare compete with what are generally acknowledged as some of the best hot dogs in the Whole Wide World.

And that just may be the problem. Like the child of the famous artist, daunted by his immediate ancestor’s creative prowess, perhaps the buns feel that to compete with the internationally renowned franks would be an exercise in futility.

And so, out and about, in this neck of the woods we have wonderful tube steak, but alas, buns that at best know their place…important indeed, but supporting players all the same.

Now at home, it is a different story altogether. That I can recall, I’ve never ever bought a package of hot dog buns. They’ve always seemed such a mass of superfluous calories. Would you eat cotton candy if it had virtually no taste? Edison sought the right filament for his light bulb. I remain vigilant in my quest for the perfect hot dog cradle. Call it a work in progress…and a rather arduous one at that.

But then again, while forever experimenting, I’ve never satisfactorily found their proper replacement. I admit it. And there s the rub.

Occasionally, while trying out something new, I’ve uttered "Eureka. However, aside from scaring the burghers in the little village below, it has generally proved a false eureka. For I inevitably acknowledge that I really hadn’t solved the quandary at all…only complicated it with another in the endless audition of hot dog bun substitutes.

Yet, like Greenstreet at the end of "The Maltese Falcon," when he finds out it’s not the falcon after all, after a brief bit of sniffling I’m off again to Istanbul, figuratively speaking, still in search of that elusive accompaniment.

It’s a lonely pursuit, but someone has to do it. Not so that they put up a statue of me someday on the lawn of Johnson & Wales or at the New York Culinary Institute (though, that would be nice), but for the satisfaction of a mission accomplished. Knowing that now there’ll be a better life for all those poor little kids who heretofore had to eat nondescript doughy nothings around their hot dogs prior to my discovery would be reward enough.

And so, in bazaars and markets throughout the world, I’m always in search.

 That there…isn t that an English Muffin? Might that work if it were shaped like a hot dog bun? It has crannies, and nooks, too. Would they aid and abet, or detract? So on and so it goes.

In the meantime, at home between journeys, this endless trial and error allows the gardens to languish and prompts the horses to neigh for attention. But save for the random sourdough baguette, which works in a love-the-one-your-with sort of way, I generally eat my dogs sans roll. Not giving in to the quotidian bun, I opt instead for plate, knife, fork, mustard and a healthy side dish of beans. To do otherwise would be to admit defeat.

Mind you, they can’t stand up to the dogs. But they make no pretense. They are what they are. Arrange them right and at least they amount to a hill of beans. You can respec,3,166233.019,1,29649,64.70.24.67
166251,166233,166233,2005-11-01 20:01:05,RE: hot dog buns”

To Eagle Eye John, you are correct! That was one of the two, actually three hot dog stands in Chicago that served lettuce on dogs. The other two were Tasty Pup in Niles(no longer in business)and Tast-E Hast-E on Harlem Avenue in Chicago. Both joints dressed their dogs with crisp and generous fresh toppings: lettuce, green pepper, cucumber, and tomato. The veggies were so abundant, I could never eat a dog without first disassembling it. My mouth just couldn’t open that wide. They also served a foot long Polish piled high with everything. I’m uncertain if Tast-e Hast-e is still around.

CSD

Just saw a picture of a hot dog at Byron’s. There is lettuce and cucumber slices on it, as well as the other toppings.

There are two places, that I’m aware of, that use lettuce and/or cucumber on hot dogs in Chicago. Lettuce and cucumber are not condiments used on a Chicago style hot dog.