10th Annual Jersey Hot Dog Tour - Sept 21th , 2013 - past trip reports

"Deus ex machina". You never know where the gods that run this site decide to hide things...

Cheers, John

Hello all ,
I visited Father and son one last time today , somber experience but a wonderful chili dog . I even got a quart of the chili too go and they wrapped it up nice with ice cubed for the ride home .
Also swung by J 's Beef on John Fox recomendationa and talked to the owner J . nice fellow , a stickler for putting your hands on the counter . Its too high and a natural to touch . Ohg well the Chicago style dogs were great , did not have a chili one there , I will have to get one on a return trip .
Do not know if it will be added to tour , but it is a different kind of dog with pickles , tomatoes , salt and pepper among other toppings .
Talked with John but our schedules did not allow for a visit today , perhaps in a few weeks we can get together for a dog or two .

Benzee

Nice pictures! Looks like you all had a great time and the dogs don't look too shabby too.

Seafarer, thanks for identifying the suspects, as I looked at them I was wondering, "Who's who??" Now we all have faces with the names.

Hello all ,

The date is set for Sat. Sept 16th , 2006 for our next Jersey Hot Dog Tour . I have reserved an airconditioned school bus that will depart from Orange County , New York and meet everyone at the first Jersey stop .
Last year we started at Galloping Hill Inn , plenty of parking and access for the bus .
Coney Island Lou will begin work on the T Shirts shortly
John Fox will be putting together the intinerary
I will be taking the reservations for the bus .
We will also have soda and water in a cooler for those on the bus .
Father and Son is closing today . So long to a fine establishment . We visited last year on the tour , great chili dogs .
Any suggestions for stops , let us know .

Benzee

Sign up two seats for me and Gail.

As long as I can get a Galloping Hill fix and a great THW at any place John Fox chooses I'll be a happy tourist.

Cheers, John

I'd like to stop at that place serving the Chicago style dogs. And of course, Syd's.

Signman ,
I stopped at Js Beef when I visited Father and Son last week before they closed . Well worth the visit and a different type of Dog compared to the rest of the places.
We are leaving the intinerary to John , he has done a great job with picking the places .
I would put a vote in for J s Beef also .
Another for Syds of course.
I would also like to go to Mannys in Plainfield again . For those who were with us last year , we were treated like celebrities meeting Manny and his entire family .
Compare that with Tabatchnicks who were like " why are you here ?' and " why are you doing this " , and you could see why Mannys is a must .

Benzee

I would also like to go to J's Beef. They are the only place in the entire state that is serving an authentic Chicago Dog. THey also have authentic Chicago Beef. As for the itinerary, I've been to these places, and so have many of you. I don't see anything wrong with revisiting the good ones. We will try to get a consensus and go from there.

If we can, I think we should continue to include Rutt's Hutt.

Mrs Phil won't be attending this year since little "Miss" Phil arrived 3 weeks ago and I doubt she's up for a tour in Sept. (Even though it seems she was with us on the last tour and we didn't even know it!)I think my brother in law will be coming with me this time. Either way, I'll be there!

I guess I'm a minority of one that disdains Rutt's Hut's relish. However, I'm willing to stop there again - it's like if you went to SoCal and didn't stop at an In N Out.

Cheers, John

Hey Mr Phil !!!!!!

Congrats on the little "Miss " Phil . Give my regards to Mrs Phil , we have an 18 month old boy Joey , you my friend are in for the time of your life .

I love Rutts too , it will be a hard decision picking the places this year .
Hey Seafarer , I know you have a disdain for Rutts , but what if we had it at the begining of the tour instead of the end .
Would the early stop change your stomach a little ?
John , It is your call on the places , I love them all Hahahhahaha

Benzee

Oh so happy for you Mr. & Mrs. Phil! That is just wonderful news!

We're hoping to make the next tour - things have just been a little crazy with us lately (not bad things...just crazy)- we'll see if we can swing it! Sue

No, save it for the end of the tour, I'll be full and wont have to eat one of their dogs- I'll just settle my stomach with one of their beers.

Cheers, John

Hello all ,

As we sit back and celebrate the 230th year of our Independence , it is time to get the ball rolling for the Sept tour .

Cost will be $20 per person for Roundtrip transportation from either Orange County New York or the Jersey starting point . ( either Syds or Galloping Hill Inn I think )

The intinerary weill be put togehter by John Fox and out shortly

Roll call
Benzee
Coney Island Lou
Seafarer John and Gail
Brooklyn Bill and Ginny
John Fox and Mrs Top Dawg
Signman
Akavar
Mr Phil
sonjaab
Screenbear
and a few others from other threads that I will have to add

Benzee

Give me a day or 2 to post again; I will be busy the next 2 days. Tomorrow I will be going out with the Munchmobile again after work. I will propose a few places, but remember, it's your tour! I have been to all of these places. I want to please everyone, so let us know where you want to go. I'll give suggestions, but we can discuss them and perhaps vote on them.

Hello all ,

Add Screenbear to the list ,I know there are more as I go back to old posts so just add your name if you like

John ,
All yours buddy , pick away and we shall come !!!!!

Benzee

I think it would be a good idea to start at either Syd's or the Galloping Hill Inn in Union. We can hit one or both of these places. Both were very popular in the past. In the general area of Father & Son, which is closed and awaiting a new location, is J's Beef, which serves an authentic Chicago Hot Dog as well as Italian Beef. This, in my opinion, would make a very good stop. Close by, and serving 2 great hot dogs are Jerry's and Tommy's in Elizabeth. Jerry's serves a great all beef dog, while Tommy's serves perhaps the best Italian Hot Dog and sausage sandwich.

This would make a great start, although we can omit any one of those named (with the exception of J's). Other stops might include Rutt's Hutt, Libby's, which is similar in style to the Hot Grill (Texas Weiner), but a place many haven't been to. In fact, most of the North Jersey Texas Weiner joints grew out of Libby's. It is an old fashioned diner that opened in 1937. Across the street is a beautiful view of the Falls. We checked this out while on a Munchmobile outing. You walk over a small bridge with a drop of a hundred or so feet below you. Other possibilities might include Manny's Texas Weiners as some have expressed a desire to return, or maybe a trip to Newark, which is convenient if travelling north on the Parkway. We could check out the fairly new Amazing Hot Dog on Bloomfield Ave. in nearby Verona, which serves a 1/4 lb deep fried Best's dog with a wide array of toppings, and Dickiee Dees in Newark, a classic Italian Hot Dog joint. We can maybe substitute Newark for Elizabeth. A few blocks away from Dickiee Dees is Tony's, a truck serving boiled, or dirty water dogs. Tony is known for great chili and the hottest onions around. I'll have to check and see if he's open Saturday. Your thoughts?

The itinerary sounds good. Sign me up.
The Bear

Hello all ,
Great job picking out these spots John .
I weill throw my two cents worth in .
Start at Galloping Hill Inn
Visit the following
Syds is a must , we can also venture over to Tabatchniks too
Jerrys and Tommys in Elizabeth we can hit two in one stop also
J's Beef is a must I think , and the idea of Libbys sounds good too with the falls right there
Also Dickie Dees and Amazing Hot Dog in Verona I've never been to .
I loved Mannys but hey I'm only one vote . Also I'm a Rutts Hutt guy but the reviews were mixed from there too last time . Either love them or hate them . No problem if they are left out .

Just a few thoughts , butr I will leave it up to John .
I do not think there are any wrong answers

Benzee

I vote to include Libby's - the place sounds great to me.

Cheers, John

Ok, I suggest that we start at Galloping Hill Inn. Convenient, enough parking, and a great grilled beef/pork dog. Then head down to J's. From there we can either go to Jerry's and Tommy's; or we can skip these places in favor of Dickiee Dees (another Italian Hot Dog place) and Tony's, if they're open. If Tony's isn't, we can hit JJ's, another popular truck known for very spicy chili. Or we can hit both the Elizabeth places and the Newark ones. I think it would be a good idea to hit Amazing Hot Dog in Verona, since that would give us at least 2 new places and maybe 4 if we hit Newark. Again, all of these places are fairly close and accessible from the Parkway. Amazing Hot Dog is actually on the same street as Dickiee Dees and JJ's, but a few miles away. Newark is a few exits away from Libby's, which would be a good substitute for the Hot Grill.

As for Manny's, it's only a few blocks away from Syd's, which is between Linden/Elizabeth and Newark. We can do a lot of places in a little time. It might be a good idea to hit all of them. You can pick and choose what you want to try, or share.

A rough outline: Galloping Hill Inn, south to J's, a few miles to Elizabeth, Jerry's/Tommy's (optional), north to Syd's/Manny's, north to Newark, Dickiee Dees/Tony's, JJ's,(optional) which are mere blocks from each other, west a few miles to Amazing Hot Dog, north to Libby's. And, if anyone still has room, a few miles away to Rutt's Hut

Sounds even better than previous tours. Really looking forward to J's. Have heard about Libby's and Dickee Dees many times. This is going to be great.

Hey Sonjaab !!

Whats happening guy . I too would like to have Rutts as the last stop , those that do not like it can skip the eating , those that want a dog will keep a little space open .

Mannys is apparently opening in the old Father and Son location so we shall see how that works .

Manny showed us the love and we should show it back to him by visiting his place in my opinion

Benzee

I spoke with the owner of J's recently. He opens at 12:30 on Saturdays. I thought it would be a good idea to go there second after Galloping Hill Inn, as it is on the way to Elizabeth and the farthest point south before we make our way northward to Manny's, Syd's, Newark, etc. If we meet at GHI at 11:00 or 11:30, we might be too early for J's. He has agreed to open at 11:00 the day of the tour. In return, I agreed to go there before Tommy's and Jerry's in Elizabeth. These 2 are walk up storefronts where we can be quickly served. Again, you don't have to eat at either one or just take a bite, but I think it would be good to visit these 2 since they are only a few minutes from J's.

guess I should should start thinking about a shirt.....

Hello all ,

Good idea John . I like the idea of going to J 's after we meet at Galloping Hill Inn. The fact that he will open early for us that day , gives us a little , shall we say " star power " .
Kudos to J's for offering the early opening . I like the idea of Tommys and Jerrys after J's , you get different style dogs at back to back locations.

Hey C . I. Lou , get on that buddy . Is there any way to make the shirt a dark blue or darker color than last year . I know some that have the two previous shirts and they look pretty similar .
Just a though buddy .

Benzee

The shirt needs to be the color of mustard - or grease satins...

Cheers, John

I'm up for trying more new places on the tour.
If you don't, it's just the '04 or '05 tour revisited.

quote:

Originally posted by Benzee

Hello all ,

Back to the tour shall we .
We discussed a lot at our mini meet at Coney Island last Thurs to prepare for our Fall Hot Dog Tour
We have a tentative date for Sat . Sept 16th , 2006 for the 3rd annual Jersey Hot Dog Tour .
We will be reserving the bus this coming week and once I get a price will pass on the per person cost .
The starting point in Jersey will be Syds or Galloping Hill .
Anyone from Upstate NY we are looking at a pickup location in Newburgh that was suggested by Brooklyn Bill . If it does not work than we can always use last years pickup point in Harriman NY.
John Fox will be tweaking the intinerary this year . Any suggestions either email him or post here .
I will be starting a list for signups soon , if you are interested let me know .

Benzee

If it was the following weekend, I would forego my birthday trip to Florida and come there, ONLY if Unclevic comes!
Have to compare a chili dog with him!

quote:

Originally posted by long dog

I'm up for trying more new places on the tour.
If you don't, it's just the '04 or '05 tour revisited.

Looks like we will have a few new ones. Amazing Hot Dog in Verona. A big beefy dog with perhaps the widest variety of toppings I've seen at a hot dog joint. And maybe my favorite chili. J's Beef in Linden, serving an authentic Chicago Hot Dog and Italian Beef. Dickiee Dees, one of the original Newark Italian Hot Dog places. Tony's Truck, serving a quality dirty water dog. I don't eat them, but they have a reputation for the best and hottest onions. Hope you can make the tour.

John ,
You have outdone yourself with picking these new establishments to go along with the favorites of the last two years .

Benzee

There was an article in Wednesday's Star Ledger which discussed the closing of Tabatchnik's. Syd's was also talked about. The article even mentioned our hot dog tour. I am having trouble finding a link. If I can't get one, I'll include some quotes from the article.

John, can't seem to find the Star Ledger article, but I did come us with this one.

http://www.njjewishnews.com/njjn.com/071306/njStaplesMovesIn.html

Should be good for Syd's.

I found the article: http://www.nj.com/search/index.ssf?/base/living-0/1153292733257580.xml?starledger?livfd&coll=1

Hello all ,

We will make the start for those meeting in Jersey the Galloping Hill Inn , say 11 or 1130 am , on Sept 16th .

For those from Upstate NY and points north we will have a Bus leaving around 9 30 am from the Monroe / Harriman area

Benzee

Hello all ,

Hot Dog Nation presents

It is that time again to start collecting for the Jersey Hot Dog Tour .
The date is Sat. Sept . 16th
Bus departs Orange County NY at 930am
Pickup at Galloping Hill Inn , NJ at 1100am
We will have an airconditioned school bus for our tour like last year and the cost will be $20 per person .

We will also have soda and water on the bus to quench your thirst inbetween stops.

To ensure seating please send a check or money order payable to Erwin Benz or cash to


We are limited to the first 40 paid .

Coney Island Lou is working on a tour shirt .

John Fox is finalizing the intinerary and order of visits.

I have sent out a few press releases to the media , so if you see any out there let me know , under Hot Dog Nation .

Thanks for your interest

Benzee

PS - Anyone interested in Saratoga Races we will have a Motorcoach leaving Monroe NY on Mon Aug 14th for $40 per person .

Hello all ,
I'm cohosting a radio show this evening ( Tues) 6- 7 pm on WTBQ 1110 am out of Florida NY.
A small local community station but I have become a regular .
You can listen over the internet at WTBQ.com
I plan to mention the Hot Dog Tour and if anyone would like to call in on the air feel free . Between 630 and 7 would be good .
845 651 1110 .
The show is called " Prime Time with Uncle Buck and Dr. Litner "
The Doc is on Vac this week , should be a lot of fun .

Benzee

That's great, Benzee! I just checked to see if I can get this station online with my old computer (I can). But I'll be out tonight on the Munchmobile. Let me know when you will be on again.

Hello John ,

I will be on the show every Tues from 6 - 7 pm .
I was the cohost with Uncle Buck and we had a few guests so we did not discuss Roadfood or the tour .
I would like to do a segment on it one of these Tues. and get a few Roadfooders to call the station .
Let me know if you can call in next Tues , or any other Hot Doogers and we will set this up .

Benzee

If I'm home Tuesday, I will definitely call in. Although we go out on the Munchmobile every Tuesday, we may not this coming Tuesday because we will be going to New York on Sunday. I will find out our schedule for next week on Sunday, so if we don't go out, I'll be home and will call in.

John ,

Sounds good , if you can try the call in at about 645 pm .
We have a few guests and have another call in , so this should be good .

Start sending in those checks everyone for the Hot Dog Tour - Sept 16th

Benzee

Benzee,

Unfortunately, we did not go to New York Sunday. Hopefully, we will soon. We wound up going to a few places in the southern part of the state. We will not be going out Tuesday, so I will call in.

Hello all ,

John Fox was a great call in guest to "Prime Time " with Uncle Buck , Dr. Litner and myself on Tues night .

The show airs from 6 - 7 pm on Tues evening on WTBQ 1110 am out of Florida NY.

You can listen at www.WTBQ.com

This is a new show and we talk about everything .
We went from Weight Watchers discussion right into the Hot Dog Tour with John .

I mentioned the Hot Dog Tour and Uncle Buck may be joining us for the event and we are gonna do a live remote from one of the stops .

They loved John and will be checking out Roadfood this week , anyone else interested in calling in let me know .

Checks are starting to come in for the tour .
CI Lou has a great new design for the shirt .

Benzee

Benzee,

Thanks for having me on the show. I really enjoyed listening and then calling in. You are definitely a natural for radio. I can tell that you guys have a lot of fun doing it. I'll be tuning in regularly and urge others to do so.

The new shirt is available now!!!

http://www.zazzle.com/exapno/product/235761916026751053

went for a different type design this year......

Good looking shirt.
The Bear

Hello all ,

1) Great shirt Coney Island Lou . I will be getting one shortly .

2) Anyone interested in calling into the radio show on tues 6 - 7 pm on WTBQ 1110 am , www.wtbq.com , 8456511110 . Let me know and I will set it up .
I will also be the cohost next Fri from 9 to 10 am filling in with Uncle Buck for a sick host .

3) Here is a list I have so far . Let me know if I need any additions or subtractions .

Benzee
Coney Island Lou
John Fox
Pat Fox
John Logan " Seafarer John "
Gail Logan
"Brooklyn Bill " Esser
Virginia Esser
Sonjaab
Mr. Phil + 9 guests
Leo Fontanella
Jonathan Tan
umbada
Linda
Signman
Screenbear
Long Dog
Little Dog
Aleswench ?
Alersrus ?
Scallion 1 ?
Meozwart ?
Crvissiam ?

Payment received for 6 persons so far .

Cost is $20 per person includes the bus refreshments onboard , and the guest commentary of Mr. John Fox
Payment details on this thread in previous post.

See you all soon

Benzee

Hello all ,

Here are the locations we will visit on the tour .
The intinerary is courtesy of John Fox .

Galloping Hill Inn
J's Beef
Jerrys and Tommys
Mannys Texas Weiners
Syds
Dickies Dees
Tonys Truck
Amazing Hot Dogs
Libbys
Rutts Hutt

We have added new stops like J's Beef , Dickie dees, Tonys Truck , Amazings Hot Dogs and Libbys.
We are keeping Galloping Hill Inn as a starting point
And of course , we have to visit Syds , Rutts Hutt and Mannys Texas Weiners and Jerrys and Tommys , the mainstays from the past two years.

Join us if you will

Benzee

We still can't commit yet - trying to re-arrange our schedule. Will let you know asap. Shirts look great! And Benzee and John, you are doing a great job organizing this, as usual! Really hope we can make it. Sue

Hello all ,

I will be doing my radio talk show this evening Tues from 6 to 7 pm .
1110 am WTBQ
www.wtbq.com

845 6511110

John Fox may call in again
Anyone else interested feel free to give us a call .

Benzee

Hello all ,

We have 27 on the list so far for the Jersey Hot Dog Tour and the bus can take about 40 .

Checks are coming in , so do not get shut out of the 3rd Annual jaunt

Coney Island Lou has made up some nice shirts

We should have radio personality Uncle Buck with us doing a live remote for WTBQ 1110 am .

We also have releases to the print media to join us . Last year a photog and reporter from a Passaic Daily paper joined us and we ended up in the Sunday paper .TOOOO cccooolll

Benzee

Hello all ,

Checks are coming in for the Hot dog Tour .
CI Lou has a great shirt made up for the tour , different than last two years.
A lot of new friends are joining us so do not wait till the last minute to decide to hop onboard.

John Fox , Coney Island Lou and myself may get together for a pretour lunch . Any questions or concerns let us know .

Benzee

Hello all ,
Updates for the tour
The radio show is now on from 1 - 2 pm on Fridays . Today we were on from 9 to 10 am and 1 to 2 pm . Starting next week its 1 to 2 pm .
Coney Island Lou and John Fox both called in . Great stuff guys .!!!
John was on his Munchmobile tour and gave us a report from Newark .
Once again www.wtbq.com anyone that wants to call in next week

Tour shirts are ready to go . Thanks to CI Lou
Intinerary set thanks to John Fox

Seats still available on the bus for the tour
$20 per person includes refreshments on bus

Pickups will be Harriman MTA Train Parking Lot off exit 16 on the NYS Thruway ( same as last year ) 930 am

Galloping Hill Inn , Kenilworth , NJ ( start point for the tour ) 1100am

Recent checks received from
Umbada and Linda
Leo Fontanella
Jonathan Tan
John Fox

Room for about 15 more so let me know if interested

Benzee

Benzee, reserve my seat. Was planning to settle with you at Crabstock, but will get a check off next week.

Just a reminder that the semi-Official Tour Shirt (and all the shirts from all of the Dog Runs)is/are available at: www.zazzle.com/exapno - various colors, sizes and styles are available!

I am so bummed.. I have the following week off.
Still drooling over that chili dog from the mini meet photos.

Signman ,

I put you down on the list . Sorry I missed the Crabstock but work got in the way . Was so looking forward to that and the ballgame .

CI Lou , nothing semi - official about those shirts , great job , and if you want to call in or visit the studio next week let me know we will get you on the air again.

Benzee

My check is in the mail...really.
The Bear

Benzee -

I did not disappear from the face of the earth - just been off on my own food adventures this summer.

Around Jersey and Philly for hot dogs, cheese steaks, roast pork sandwiches, and breakfast places. To upstate NY for barbecue chicken in the southern tier, Buffalo for beef on weck and wings, Syracuse for Dinosaur's BBQ, Utica for some of their unique cuisine, and the finger lakes for hot truck sandwiches and a great cheeseburger. Also, down to Johnson City, TN for east Tennessee BBQ an up to Cincinnati for chili 5 ways, some great ice cream, and goetta.

My check in in the mail. I will be meeting the bus in Kenilworth.

If anyone is interested in my some explorations I will be glad to expound on them in another thread.

Akavar

Let's hear about the dogs!