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

Only a week to go, but I have some concerns. This is the largest crowd yet (2 full buses!) How will some of the smaller places be able to handle the crowds? Even prepping in advance, just the time to do transactions will be quite long.  I'm really wondering about some of those stops (I think GHI, jimmy buffs and Rutt's will be fine, but some of the others....)
 
Will we stagger the buses so there isn't a rush of people. Looks like it's close to 100 people.
The days of 5-6 cars following each other are long over.

Mr Phil ,
Dont worry buddy , we have been in contact with all of the stops , they will have extra staff on hand and will be notifying  each on our estimated arrival as the tour is happening .
John and I have taken extra care in making sure each and every place can handle  our large group this year .
 
Benzee

will see , who can handle the crowd , my money is on RUTT'S............ the rest will see !!!! 

Papaya King and the Rahway Grill will have plenty of dogs on their griddles and will be ready for us. The owner of the Getty Grill assured me that he has handled bigger crowds than ours. I also spoke with owner of the Garage and stressed the importance of prompt service. We did ok with 2 buses once before. I think it will be the same this year. If not, we will either go back to one bus or make other adjustments. And any place that provides less than satisfactory service will be made aware of it and won't be included in future Tours.
 
I remember one bad experience on a past Tour. It was the last time we went to Syd's. The new owner not only didn't do a good job serving us quickly, but was less than enthusiastic when he got my call that we would be there shortly. There was no way Syd's was going to be on the following year's Tour. They ended up going out of business in less than a year, in large part because of the owner.

Dog Boss


will see , who can handle the crowd , my money is on RUTT'S............ the rest will see !!!! 

 
It goes without saying that Rutt's will be quick with the dogs. They have plenty of counter help and just pluck the dogs out of the hot oil. Galloping Hill has a big griddle with many dogs ready to be served. They probably have the biggest crowd of any Jersey joint at lunch time and are used to it. Jim at Jimmy Buffs will be ready I spoke with him yesterday.

Hello all ,
All of the stops will be ready for us and I expect another spectacular tour .
John has taken great care in the process , as have I , right down to picking our two motrocoach drivers  .
Benzee

I wish all of you hot dog lovers well on this years tour of north Jersey joints - I know John Fox will have prepared well and you'll have a great afternoon of too too many hot dogs.
 
I was one of the lucky few who went on the first tour - Brooklyn Bill, Coney Island Lou, and me driving, got lost more than once. Lou would get on his cell phone and call John Fox for directions - they were always like: "Turn at the Burger King, and , go three block to the  Pizza joint and make a right to the hot dog truck and we'll be there at our next stop...". It was a wonderful afternoon - except for those weird Italian Hot Dogs ( I mean, who the hell wants home fries on his hot dog?) . John Fox was, and is, a wonderful generous host and he provided this Roadfooder with a lasting memory of a well spent Autumn afternoon.
 
Good luck this year and Cheers, John   

I remember that first tour, (7 years- and two kids later! wow) Trying to convince my wife to meet "internet people" for a hot dog tour. It was a blast.  First tastes of places I'd only heard of. I remember sheepishly mentioning it to others only to find out they all wanted to come on the next one!

Hello all ,
Here is your chance folks , we have had a few cancelations for next Saturdays  Tour , and the waiting list is exausted so if anyone  else is interested , or thosae attending have a friend that may be interested let me know ASAP . First come first serve .  PM me or email me at benzee95@hotmail.com
We have four seats
 
Benzee
 
PS -
Concerning the first tour we have a celebrity from that tour onboard this year also
1999 Nathans World Hot Dog Champion Steve Keiner
 

John Fox

Dog Boss


will see , who can handle the crowd , my money is on RUTT'S............ the rest will see !!!! 

It goes without saying that Rutt's will be quick with the dogs. They have plenty of counter help and just pluck the dogs out of the hot oil. Galloping Hill has a big griddle with many dogs ready to be served. They probably have the biggest crowd of any Jersey joint at lunch time and are used to it. Jim at Jimmy Buffs will be ready I spoke with him yesterday.

rutt's will do fine,  GHI  will do it just based on the timing upon arrival  of all attendees , rahway grill, may have the grill space , but the people space is going to slow it down..... Jimmy Buff's , not sure there either...... east hanover , the store is a good size , will just see if the kitchen can roll............. the garage , is new ,and from pictures , they need to be rolled and slowed !!! .........  the smaller places would  sure benefit from a delay in the busses ................ JMO .............but we all know this going to be a GREAT DAY  no matter what happens !!!!! 

 
Hello all ,
For anyone who has been on a past  tour  and visited Jimmy Buffs East Hanover location with us is in for a treat .We  have had the back party room , Jimmy himself taking the orders and a competent staff to handle everything ,no worries there  . GHI and Rutts is used to the crowds and always have handled the group very well .
John has been in contact with the others and will be prepared for our group ,  at least if there is a delay you are on line with fellow hot dog connoisuers , (:
Benzee

Hey all, just wanted to see if anyone will be driving in from NYC.  I am planning to take the NJ Transit Rail to Roselle Park and then walk or take the bus to GHI, but if anyone from NYC needs a carpool buddy...  let me know!  Thanks!

Don't walk from the station. Call me and I'll get you. It's 2 minutes by car.

Benzee, here's a little press for you on the Digest!    Chris

Ayersian, thanks for featuring the Tour on the Digest.

 
Big thanks to Ayersian for the mention of the tour on the digest .
He will also be joining us as well
 
We will be departing at 10 am Saturday from the Harriman NY MTA Commuter Train Lot of Rt. 17m .
Arrival expected by 1130 am at Galloping Hill Inn
Any questions feel free to email or PM me or John
Benzee

The piece which aired on News 12 New Jersey.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=1519679005275
 
I spoke in depth about the Tour and all the work Benzee does. Unfortunately that wasn't included. I'm glad they did a piece on Jimmy Buff's and mentioned the Tour.
 
I did a dry run yesterday and spoke with the owners of the places we will be visiting. Everything is set. One place, The Garage in Millburn, is very close to where the legendary Syd's used to be. They get a lot of Syd's old customers. Syd's opened in 1941 in Newark and had many owners. In 1967 Syd's moved to the Millburn Mall in Union and remained there until they closed for good 2 or 3 years ago. Lenny and Betty Weiss owned Syd's longer than anyone; from 1967 to 1996. They will be at the Garage to say hello to us Saturday.

Hello all ,
Tommorrow is the big day
Looking forward to seeing everyone again and to all the new friends joining us
Benzee

I would just like to request that you arrive between 11:30 and noon. Grab a dog and be ready to depart as we have many stops and want to get them all in. If 7 hot dogs are too much, I suggest sharing and not filling up on things like french fries. Pace yourself. Mingle and enjoy the day.
 
It's easy to get to the Galloping Hill Inn. Exit 138 off the Garden State Parkway. When you get to the end of the ramp, turn right. Doesn't matter if you're coming from the north or south. The GHI is about a half mile down the street on your left. Make the left at the light right after the GHI and a left into the parking lot.
 
Can't wait for tomorrow. See you all then.

News 12 New Jersey may be sending a news crew. Look nice for the camera!

Great!  I just wasted 45 bucks on a sweet set of mesh Speedos for nothing!  Thanks a lot!

Hello all ,
A few last minute questions asked of me and I will pass along
Coolers are allowed , we have storage space underneath in the Motorcoach for those wanting to bring their own refreshements and for goodies picked up along the way .
We will have soda and water on the Motorcoach , I have found though that most will either purchase at the stops or bring their own .
You  do not have to eat at each stop !! It is not a requirement , and yes I was asked that question .
The entire tour will take 5 to 6 hours from experience and past trips .
Yes bring a camera if you like and take many pics .
You may make life long friends on this tour ,  I know I have (:
Benzee

Yeah so I've been up since 6am. Too excited about the tour and I couldn't sleep. See everyone in a few hours!
 
Dave

Have a great time folks.  We will be waiting for the pics.

Hello all ,
Another  great  tour , the 7th Jersey Hot Dog Tour is in the books .
We have already scheduled the 8th Annual and it will be on Sat Sept 24th ,  2011 .
Some notes from the tour
Once again John Fox is to be comended on the fantastic intinerary . Different style dogs at each stop and a great variety .
To 1999 Nathans World Hot Dog Eating Champion Steve Keiner  for joining us and signing autographs  and his kindness . A true Champion !!
To Screenbear for handling the commentary on the second motorcoach , a fantastic job and great  descriptions
To our great motorcoach drivers Dennis and Edwin  who  handled the directions and navigated the streets and highways of Jersey with ease  .
To Ayersion from Roadfood who joined us for the first time and bought  some of the best donuts I have ever  tasted .
To all the newbees that attended  , it was great to meet new firends .
As far as the stops .
Thanks to GHI for allowing  us to use their place as the step off location every yr .
The Rahway Grill was again highly rated among the attendees
The Garage with their extra staff and great atmoshere helped us enjoy the experience
Jimmy Buffs , what can I say , Jimmy does a great job every yr , with his sont hey handled our large group very efficiently . We had the back party room and  complimentary refreshments . Great job as always .
The Getty Grill handled our group efficiently as well  and offered discounts on their dogs
Papaya King offered the first dog on the house ,  and free smoothie samples , great job by them
And Rutts Hutt ,  quick efficient service , they did not miss a beat with our large group  , always one of my personal favorites .
I wish there had been more time to sit and chat with everyone , although a long day , it seemed like it flew by .
 
More to come
Benzee
 

Amen to everything you said  Benzee. I would like to thank you also for doing the lion's share of the work in preparing for this trip. Coordinating the Tour, handling the details and travel arrangements, collecting the money, keeping track of who registered, who paid, handling cancellations and maintaining a waiting list. And running the 50/50. Without you and all your work there would be no Tour.
 
Thanks also to all who attended and made this a fun day. It's always fun to see old friends and make new ones. Jerry Katz (Umbada is his screen name) made the trip from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada! It's actually the second time he's attended the Tour.
 
Thanks to the people who own and run the hot dog eateries we visited for serving us and working with us to insure that everything ran as smoothly as possible.
 
Thanks to Coney Island Lou for designing the Hot Dog Tour tee shirt.
 
Thank you to Pete Genovese of the Star Ledger, Chris Ayers of Roadfood, and Hawk Krall of Serious Eats for attending. Look for write ups soon.
 
I encourage feedback, both negative and positive. We are always looking to make improvements and to keep the Tour fresh. And I love hearing others opinions of the hot dogs and the places we visited. Almost as much fun as eating the hot dogs. As I mentioned on the bus, the people who run the establishments we visited read these forums and are interested in feedback. 
 
Galloping Hill Inn: I did not sample a dog here as I live down the street and eat here often. They are consistent and serve one of the best grilled German style dogs in the state. They got some votes as favorite of the day on my bus.
 
Rahway Grill: Second year on the Tour and again they got the most votes for favorite hot dog of the Tour on both buses. This year the voting was a little more spread out than last year. They serve a unique dog made by Hatfield specifically to appeal to hot dog lovers in our area. The beef dogs here, those at the Garage and Buff's (Best's), and at Papaya King (Sabrett) are all top quality dogs with their own spicing. Depends on what you like and what your taste is. I do love the dogs at the Rahway Grill and their chili is one of the best I've had. I do like the Sabrett and Best dogs better, but on this trip I'm in the minority. The Rahway Grill was liked so much last year, they were included again this year. And they are primarily a breakfast/lunch spot. One criticism of the Rahway Grill. They prepare their dogs well for the Tour, but people who have gone back at other times (myself included) have gotten dogs that have been sitting on the griddle too long and were dried out and not served hot enough. It's nice to serve a great dog on the Tour, but I wish they would maintain the same standards at other times.
 
The Garage in Millburn was a new stop this year. And one that was well liked. I would say that they received the second most votes for favorite dog of the day on both buses. Most had the Syd's dog. I did. It was well prepared and hot. The same as Syd's. As good a beef dog as there is anywhere. A few people on the Tour had the hamburger and raved about it. My wife had it, loved it, and reluctantly gave me a bite. Fantastic!
 
Jimmy Buff's was next. Some had the Italian Hot Dog, some the Syd's dog, and some the pushcart. I usually get the Italian or Syd's dog. Today I had the pushcart as I was trying to save room. An excellent Best's natural casing dog that was fried and topped with the best chili of the day. It got rave reviews. It's always nice to get the opinions of people who are having an Italian Hot Dog for the first time. And there are always a few. The people I spoke with loved theirs and signed up for the Tour largely to get to sample one. Jimmy Buff's received a lot of votes and his chili was the favorite chili of the Tour.
 
The Getty Grill was another new stop on the Tour. They serve a traditional Paterson/Clifton area Texas Weiner topped with the thin cinnamon/clove/nutmeg flavored Greek chili sauce. For some it is an acquired taste. I really enjoyed my Texas Weiner and it was a nice contrast to the beef dogs I had at the last 3 stops. A few people had this stop as their favorite, but most others enjoyed the dogs here. Good service and at 99 cents a better bargain than the Hot Grill.
 
Papaya King was next. Frank gave everyone a free dog! A great gesture from a popular stop that we visited once a few years ago. I thought it was time for a return visit and I'm glad we went. The dog was perhaps my favorite of the day; up there with the natural casing Best's franks I had at 2 stops. The Papaya King frank was hot, very flavorful, juicy and extremely fresh. Perfect preparation. Their Mango drink was my favorite of the day. Well, second favorite after beer.
 
Last stop was Rutt's Hut, the most well known hot dog joint in New Jersey and one of the most well known in the entire country. It's been quite a few years since we were there and it was time we threw it back into the rotation. We were served quickly as they are used to large crowds. As usual Rutt's elicits the widest range of opinions when it comes to hot dogs. They have their die hard fans who place it above all others. There are also people (on this Tour included) who think the dog is disgusting and who won't even eat it. I love this dog. I wouldn't say it is my favorite, but it's up there. And sometimes I get a craving for a couple. Similar to the craving many get for White Castle hamburgers. Maybe not the best burger, but sometimes you have to have some. I skipped this stop partly because I was getting full and partly because I had 3 dogs there 2 days ago when I finished a dry run of all the stops. Opinions were mixed on Rutt's although most loved their relish. It is unique, homemade, and easily my favorite relish. In fact it's the only one that I will put on a dog although I have sampled other homemade relishes on the side. An excellent complement to the deep fried dogs at Rutt's.
 
Thanks again to all who made this day fun and the one I look forward to more than any other.
 
Let the comments, opinions, reviews, posts, and suggestions begin.

Below is a post that was put on the Restaurant Forum at nj.com by a first time attendee on yesterday's Tour.
 
 
trying to take advantage of the casual / outdoorsy things like yesterday Hot Dog Tour...what a great time! two big busloads of NJ Foodies including Pete Genovese, John Fox (hotdoglover) who really made the trip an experience, and Benzee...some new stops and some old...the way a tour should be...a chance to discover and an opportunity to revisit....my favorite stop hands down was The Garage in Millburn...its my favorite because I cant wait to go back....it was just a fun stop and I have to say the owner went out of his way to make everyone feel welcome ..Rahway Grill was rustic and interesting...they were the favorite again...Papaya King was terrific....that being said there wasnt a bad stop on the tour, a beautiful day and lots of fun friends and neighbors...if I had one 'developmental' it would be bun-related....the buns were not always the best quality and considering these places knew we were coming, they did fall short on the buns for the most part...(The Garage was consistent in quality) I re-discovered Rutt's...never cared for Rutt's but was delicious yesterday and it was the last stop so it had to be good...
For people who cringe at the thought of a 'bus tour'...this was totally stress free, orderly not organized, fun not manic, casual not indifferent and CLEAN...you can stay on the bus or hit the next stop...there is no herding and no barking orders....if you wanted to mingle, that was great, if you wanted to ipod, that was great, too....
5 Cherries

i caught up to the buses @ THE GARAGE in millburn ,nj , we ordered two syds with chili ,mustard and onions , one with kraut and mustard , the dog's were better then ok, i had a problem with the roll's, as mentioned by a small group that were speaking outside............... chili was bit above most in flavor and taste.  i did order a milk shake that was loose (no biggie when washing down dog's ) , but, i still enjoyed it, nice taste. some said they wished it was thicker, well, if it's a simple hot summer day treat, yes thicker would be preferred. next stop , JIMMY BUFF'S in east hanover , this is my second ride there, this trip was a shared double sausage , on the "famous" pizza bread......., i still think the bread is wrong........ back in the day, i understand how the bread came into play, the  components  are  what's it's really about, i believe theres better bread's and roll's to handle  this sandwich................... i'm out to make the perfect "Italian hot dog/sausage sandwich" LOL next was the "GETTY AVE. GRILL" in clifton, nj ........ i did not taste or have any of there offering's , i looked and saw and took pictures............. i went from what folks were saying, seems the hot dog "coney island" texas wiener  were ok, no real displeasure's , now the hamburgers, i have no idea what that was........... my god ,flash back's to the school day's of lunch hell !!! next PAPAYA KING.... nice clean friendly  place , free hot dog's " yes" drinks were paid for........... chili mustard and onions, not bad, but my one thing, little much on the tomato in the chili ....... drinks were great !!!! next RUTT'S HUTT also Clifton, nj.  well, i like this place, alway's have from very first trip there......... love the relish , like the basic offering's of a plain simple hot dog !!!! i'm a condiment freak , love all thing's on my dog's,  i hang with RUTT'S  just cause it's simple.  i did hear plenty of' i don't like this place' ,  more then some very funny insults . but that's ok....... cause, i've done my share of expression's on some places......... rutt's not a wow type of place it's simple and it fast , the price is right, no thrill's old school....... i think most  have  a problem because there's really no condiment's to help, add to there dog !!! ......... i have grown up with galloping hill,  didn't go during the tour  or rahway grill ............. my thing with these two places , GHI  good dog good roll , but in my book, there no good together.................... rahway grill has plenty of fine eat's soup to nut's, but been there for dog's on other private trip's , has been so hot and cold , hit and miss........ a real shame because when there on, there on............. couldn't be touched by 80% of what's out there today !!! i love the rahway grill , i just don't like being disappointed !!!!!!!!