It's time to get serious with these food discussions....

.... it's time to talk about HOT DOGS! Brats are great and I know we all bow towards Munich once a day while wearing our liederhosen but let's face it, a good dog on the road is absolute heaven.

So where are the best dogs on the road and what's your favorite at home?

Typically at home we prefer Groten Wegal (affectionately known as Rotten Beagles) or Deutschmacher on the grill. Some raw onion and Guldens Spicy Brown and I'm a happy guy.

Many a road trip has been spent looking for the perfect Hot Dog. I ate my first Coney Island Dog at Coney Island while it was still open so it's in my blood. The perfect road dog has meat sauce, cheese, raw onion, mustard (yellow in this case) and ketchup. Meat sauce, not Chilli. If a good meat sauce is not available Chilli will do but it should be mild; you don't want to steal the stage from the hot dog.

In CT the best I have found is

Frankies in the Waterbury area, with onions in sauce instead of meat sauce. Frankies is perhaps the only reason Waterbury has been allowed to continue to exist.

Saints in Plainville. Awesome meat sauce and Martin Rosel dogs.

These are both an hour and a half, one way trip for me but since you can't buy a good Hot Dog east of the CT river, worth the journey.

So enough of this foo foo hotsy totsy cooking stuff, put your knives away and dish out the dogs! It's time for real food.

Hot dogs aren't very popular down in my neck of the woods, with one notable exception: the Corny Dog. This is one of the most popular foods served at the State Fair (which is a pretty huge event in both size and attendance), and it is basically a run-of-the-mill corndog fried in oil. Doesn't sound like much, but every September you start hearing locals talking about how they can't wait to bite into a Corny Dog.

I also had a pretty good hot dog at a Dallas Stars game years ago. Nothing particularly special about it either, except that it came wrapped in foil that allowed the whole thing to get really steamy until the moment of unwrapping. MMM-good!

About ten years ago PBS ran a lighthearted documentary about great hot-dog places across USA. Lots of interesting stuff out there.

When I lived in San Antonio we used to get a real good Chilli Dog at a fast food joint but I can't remember which. It was just north of Lackland AFB. Texas actually had a lot of great Hot Dog places, used to ride up into the Hill Country looking for 'em.

I'm originally from LA, so I can give you some recommendations there.

As SNC1923 mentioned in another thread, a great dog is Cupid's.

I also like the Original Tommy's places for their chiliburgers, but you can get all the same stuff on one of their hot dogs, which, underneath it all, is another great hot dog.



If you're touristing around LA and find yourself in Hollywood, you might want to stop in at Pink's.

Here in the home of the 'brat', any serious discussion of mere 'hot dogs' is beneath us.

That said, look what our Deutsche Br??der have come up with:



Cheeseburger in a can!

Corn dog with mustard at the Iowa State Fair, when I can be talked into going, or George's Chili King. Chili hot dogs are the best.

Also like Bosnian chavapi a lot and Czech sausiski when in country. All are good companions to beer but not while in WI.

Extra onions. Lots of "memories" later in the helmet.

The first sign of a quality hot dog is a casing that snaps when you bite into it. Failing this test, the palate is sure to find disappointment in an product of poor pedigree a dog poor in taste and texture will follow.

Steve,
Now you're talking (I once rode 100 miles to Meriden just to eat at Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers).

Dogs. New York.

1. Nathan's Famous, Surf Ave, Coney Island, Brooklyn
2. Gray's Papaya, 72nd Street and Broadway, NY
3. Katz's Deli, Houston and Ludlow Streets, NY
4. Rutt's Hutt, Clifton, NJ

Nathan's is where the Hot Dog began and is still the best and tastiest Frankfurter going.
Gray's gets you a dog with the works for 75?ó. Katz's vends a traditional kosher style Frankfurter with a nice snap and Rutt's Hutt takes the cake for the most interesting as they deep fry their dogs: the "in and outer" gets a quick fry. A "Ripper" stays in till it gets "torn" and a little crispy and a "Cremator" takes it to the extreme.

tessler said:

Steve,
Now you're talking (I once rode 100 miles to Meriden just to eat at Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers).

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and you rode 1000 miles to call Hodag's Brawts "hawt dawgs"

BubbaZanetti said:

and you rode 1000 miles to call Hodag's Brawts "hawt dawgs"

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And I'd do it again!

My choice is Fort Wayne's (Indiana) Coney Island. It has been there since 1913, owned by the same family. Coney sauce, not that chili piled on a dog thing. They have a front door but I don't recall ever going in that way. I've always gone in the back door and through the kitchen.

Then you come upon this view, a typical Saturday mid-afternoon.

If you are hungry, four is what you order. You just say, "Four, and a Coke."


John

BallPark Franks!

I love my simple BallPark brand from Costco! Make you guys upset? Well, its not to expensive and they are good for my taste and I would love to find great dogs on the road, but this is quite a challenge. I was in Nova Scotia, Canada riding along and having a hot dog craving in '06, really enjoying the ride and needed a good hot dog lunch! Nope, really could not find one and settled for Lobster on a hot dog bun!!! Amazing, I say, as from my west coast and the south, buns and Lobsters did not really compute with me. I did it anyways and the lobster/bun combo was not a hot dog, but still quite tasty. I will accept a good hot dog anywhere, just about anytime. You ever heard such a story? Lobster on a hot dog bun? I found it! Randy13233

tessler said:

Steve,
Now you're talking (I once rode 100 miles to Meriden just to eat at Ted's Steamed Cheeseburgers).

Dogs. New York.

1. Nathan's Famous, Surf Ave, Coney Island, Brooklyn
2. Gray's Papaya, 72nd Street and Broadway, NY
3. Katz's Deli, Houston and Ludlow Streets, NY
4. Rutt's Hutt, Clifton, NJ

Nathan's is where the Hot Dog began and is still the best and tastiest Frankfurter going.
Gray's gets you a dog with the works for 75?ó. Katz's vends a traditional kosher style Frankfurter with a nice snap and Rutt's Hutt takes the cake for the most interesting as they deep fry their dogs: the "in and outer" gets a quick fry. A "Ripper" stays in till it gets "torn" and a little crispy and a "Cremator" takes it to the extreme.

Click to expand...

I used to work in Wallingford at the Suzuki store right at the Meriden town line. Went to Teds all the time. There are actually 2 or 3 places in the Wallingford/Meriden area with great Steamed Cheeseburgers. I think the trick was equal parts meat and cheese.

Polarbear said:

I love my simple BallPark brand from Costco! Make you guys upset? Well, its not to expensive and they are good for my taste and I would love to find great dogs on the road, but this is quite a challenge. I was in Nova Scotia, Canada riding along and having a hot dog craving in '06, really enjoying the ride and needed a good hot dog lunch! Nope, really could not find one and settled for Lobster on a hot dog bun!!! Amazing, I say, as from my west coast and the south, buns and Lobsters did not really compute with me. I did it anyways and the lobster/bun combo was not a hot dog, but still quite tasty. I will accept a good hot dog anywhere, just about anytime. You ever heard such a story? Lobster on a hot dog bun? I found it! Randy13233

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Those are called Lobster rolls in New England. A poor excuse when you've got a Hot Dog Jones goin' but I guess if ya gotta eat something they'll do.

Polarbear said:

I love my simple BallPark brand from Costco! Make you guys upset? Well, its not to expensive and they are good for my taste and I would love to find great dogs on the road, but this is quite a challenge. I was in Nova Scotia, Canada riding along and having a hot dog craving in '06, really enjoying the ride and needed a good hot dog lunch! Nope, really could not find one and settled for Lobster on a hot dog bun!!! Amazing, I say, as from my west coast and the south, buns and Lobsters did not really compute with me. I did it anyways and the lobster/bun combo was not a hot dog, but still quite tasty. I will accept a good hot dog anywhere, just about anytime. You ever heard such a story? Lobster on a hot dog bun? I found it! Randy13233

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I miss lobstah rolls.

And proper hot dog buns are top sliced, New England style.

PAULBACH said:

The first sign of a quality hot dog is a casing that snaps when you bite into it. Failing this test, the palate is sure to find disappointment in an product of poor pedigree a dog poor in taste and texture will follow.

Click to expand...

Add to this a carefully steamed top sliced bun and you have Mikes Hot Dogs in Brunswick Maine. It is probably not there anymore it was right on Main street across from the park. Always went there on out trips to the beach. Fond memories. Do any of you Maineiacs know if it is still there?

535is said:

Cheeseburger in a can!

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That might actually be better than Mickey D or BK . As there is grade D, but edible mystery 'meat in that cr^p..
Small high jack here, I just today fished a group of folks who are in the food coloring business, as in FD&C yellow,red etc.
What really made me sick was the Arby's story they told me, as that roast beef isn't roast beef at all but a gelatinous mass boiled in a vacuum sealed bag till it is hard and can be sliced as 'beef' slices. Same thing with Butterball turkey that is vacuum pre-packed/pre-sliced at the grocery store.......

Hot dogs are safe at my house

Last weekend my family went to a "thing" in the cities which I opted out of, and instead went to the ol grocery store to buy the ingredients for my favorite food, hot dogs done new york style (Snoone, Bubba correct me if this is not a NY hot dog, but thats what I have always called it)

Four hot dogs, extra long, all beef on big deli style hot dog buns, outside in the freezing weather to grill my boys on the grill.
Slathered with some deli style mustard, hot yellow peppers and half moon cucumbers on one side of the freshly steamed role, green pepper strings and fresh onion rings on the other side. A good homeaid dill pickle on the side (sadly my last jar)

Set down with some good ripple chips, a Saint Pauly Girl NA, and a Star Trek rerun, my slippers, and a real bitchin hot fire in the fireplace...

Burning down the house here...

I was set!

I still have a few yet, my family turns their nose up cause I told them one time that dogs were made from pig lips and pig anuses..Ruined the culinary appeal of dogs for life..thats whay I like the beef frank!

redclfco said:

I still have a few yet, my family turns their nose up cause I told them one time that dogs were made from pig lips and pig anuses..Ruined the culinary appeal of dogs for life..thats whay I like the beef frank!

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Absolutely, Lips and shnouts, nothin' but the best.

John Brase said:

My choice is Fort Wayne's (Indiana) Coney Island. It has been there since 1913, owned by the same family. Coney sauce, not that chili piled on a dog thing. They have a front door but I don't recall ever going in that way. I've always gone in the back door and through the kitchen.

Then you come upon this view, a typical Saturday mid-afternoon.

If you are hungry, four is what you order. You just say, "Four, and a Coke."

John

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Those look great. I have a sister-in-law in Indy. I'll have to go there next time I'm in Indy.
In CT Frank's in Bristol has the best chll dog's.
Doogies on the Berlin trp is pretty good. They have a 16" hot dog.