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

Hello all ,
Everyone is right on the money , thanks for the great tour pics on FB Dog Boss , and to the newbie mention from John , fantastic , thats how we would like to make the trips an enjoyable experience .
Benzee

Hi everybody, I just posted Part 1 of 4 reports on the NJ Hot Dog Tour right here -- hope you enjoy it, and please leave us your comments!    Chris

ayersian


Hi everybody, I just posted Part 1 of 4 reports on the NJ Hot Dog Tour right here -- hope you enjoy it, and please leave us your comments!    Chris

just looked at part 1 ............ pictures .... keep them rolling ...... i did mention you in my photo's posted on facebook

I throughly enjoy reading about the NJHD tour. As a lifelong Garden Stater I have hit many if not most of the places along the way. It was getting to the point with my fellow roadtripper that we had hit so many of the "legendary" places, we made our own 7-11 HD mini-tour. It's amazing how many differences there are from store to store. Quality/age of the condiments, length of time the dogs have been on the rollers, crust on the "cheese" dispenser  , etc. I guess it was more of a survey of the various 7-11 staffers and whether they cared about putting their best foot forward with a less than mediocre dog. At most, it's a fun little thing to do with your kids without having to roadtrip too far from home. Gently bring them in to the fold so to speak. :-) I suppose you can include other chain convenience stores as well. Just my 2 cents. Have an edible day!
Barless

Barless


I throughly enjoy reading about the NJHD tour. As a lifelong Garden Stater I have hit many if not most of the places along the way. It was getting to the point with my fellow roadtripper that we had hit so many of the "legendary" places, we made our own 7-11 HD mini-tour. It's amazing how many differences there are from store to store. Quality/age of the condiments, length of time the dogs have been on the rollers, crust on the "cheese" dispenser  , etc. I guess it was more of a survey of the various 7-11 staffers and whether they cared about putting their best foot forward with a less than mediocre dog. At most, it's a fun little thing to do with your kids without having to roadtrip too far from home. Gently bring them in to the fold so to speak. :-) I suppose you can include other chain convenience stores as well. Just my 2 cents. Have an edible day!
Barless

i'm going to say, your a brave and adventurous eater ........................... more  gut's then I ....

Barless


I throughly enjoy reading about the NJHD tour. As a lifelong Garden Stater I have hit many if not most of the places along the way. It was getting to the point with my fellow roadtripper that we had hit so many of the "legendary" places, we made our own 7-11 HD mini-tour. It's amazing how many differences there are from store to store. Quality/age of the condiments, length of time the dogs have been on the rollers, crust on the "cheese" dispenser  , etc. I guess it was more of a survey of the various 7-11 staffers and whether they cared about putting their best foot forward with a less than mediocre dog. At most, it's a fun little thing to do with your kids without having to roadtrip too far from home. Gently bring them in to the fold so to speak. :-) I suppose you can include other chain convenience stores as well. Just my 2 cents. Have an edible day!
Barless

This is a joke, right?

Oh come on...do they even allow 7-11's in Princeton????

That's just plain sick!!! I don't go to 7-11 for anything!!! Especially not a hot dog!!! I was daring enough to try one at a gas station/convenience store in FL in July and was suprised that it wasn't all that bad for 25 cents with mustard and chili ;)  Didn't get a second one though!!!

  
I will try to post some pics soon, had a little trouble after 1/2 hour of entering them here. 

I've heard that a lot of people who attended the Tour did not get a discount at the Garage. The prices here are high for a hot dog joint and their inclusion was with the understanding that extra staff would be added for the day (it was) and that we would get a considerable discount. The food was not a concern as I've scouted out the Garage and knew the dogs would be high quality and well prepared. It was made clear to the owner a few times that we were to get a discount and he promised me we would.
 
I've found out that many, if not most, did not. I e-mailed the owner and expressed my displeasure. He apologized and promised a 50% discount in the future. To me it is too little too late. He blamed the problem on "internal miscommunication among my staff." I don't see how this could happen and to me it is inexcusable.
 
I apologize to those who had to pay the high prices for their food. Every other place we've been to charged less for the Syd's dog. We were given discounts at most places as well as freebies. I would like to hear from attendees regarding their experience at the Garage. Post here (preferably) or send me a private message or e-mail. My e-mail address is salempost1@aol.com. Attendees pay an admission price for a luxury motorcoach. I try to get hot dog establishments who not only provide a quality hot dog, but will do something special for us. I speak to many people who own hot dog restaurants be they stands, carts, restaurants, luncheonettes, trucks, etc. They literally beg to be on the Tour. Many I do not consider to be up to our standards whether it's quality, preparation, price, or service. Others do a great job and want to be back again, but the stops must change and/or rotate or else it will be the same old Tour. I am disapointed when we don't get what I expect from a stop. Fortunately this has rarely happenned in 7 years. Unfortunately this was one of those times. Again I apologize.

My son said he did get a discount at The Garage. Like 20%. In my opinion The Garage has just a "fair to good" dog but I wouldn't go out of my way to go there again.

 


Thanks Hot Rod. Always good to see you, a fellow Colonia High School graduate!

Hello all , Good to see Hot rod Ford posting , dont be a stranger buddy .
Once again all of my feedback was positive on the tour except for the ones that did not get the discount at The Garage
As far as 7-11 's go , the Big Gulp and possibly a newspaper or Magazine is about all I'll get in there .
Benzee

Hey John, I believe ayersian and I received a 20% discount at The Garage.

First off, ya gotta love The Slurpee!!
 
Overall I had a fantastic time on the tour.  And I'll include The Garage in that statement as well.  I won't say it was a perfect situation, but I wasn't displeased.  
 
We had a seat right in the middle of the first floor.  WHILE placing our order another waiter came by and asked if we ordered the two dogs he was holding.... But obviously they weren't ours.  My friend Dave and I split a Syd's Dog with Chili Mustard and Onions, and a Burger with Cheddar.  Dave ordered a Chocolate shake, and I ordered a Chocolate Egg Cream.  Another gentleman was seated at the table with us as well, his name was also Dave.  He ordered a chili dog and a soda.  
 
Our food came out relatively quickly, but not all at once.  My egg cream came with all of the chocolate syrup at the bottom, which I enjoyed because I like to stir myself anyway.  They definitely used UBET because you can't get a taste like that from any other syrup.  Dave's Shake was good, but a little thin.  To be fair, he didn't order the more expensive "Thick Shake."  Two dogs came out in the same basket, one was ours and one was Dave's.  Unfortunately ours came with Cheese Wiz on it as well.  A small mistake but I can look past something like that in a place that was as busy as we made The Garage.
 
Both the burger and the dog were fantastic.  The Cheddar on the burger was very good, and it didn't even need ketchup!!  The thought the the dog itself was one of my favorites on the day, but I didn't care for the chili with beans that much.  Then another waiter brought over another chocolate egg cream and asked if it was mine.  I told him that I already received mine, so he gave it to me on the house.  
 
So after a half a chili dog, half a cheddar cheese burger, and two chocolate egg creams I was stuffed.  The bill for Dave, Dave, and myself came to $21 and change after a discount of $6 and change.  We were in and out of there fairly quickly and the staff was friendly.  I can honestly say that I left without any real complaints.  
 
Well, except that I was too fully to really experience our next stop, Jimmy Buff's.  Dave, Billyboy, and Aersian ended up splitting a single Italian Dog.

I got the 20% discount and have a very good experience at the Garage.

Speaking for myself and my brother, our food  was on one check and  came to fourteen dollars and change. When I went to pay, the owner adjusted the check to eleven and change. I think the Syds dog was ok, the hot relish was really good, but both of our egg creams were lousy and not worth the money
Steve "The hotdogterminator" Keiner

I received a 25% discount at the Garage.  When I took my check up to the register to pay, the gentleman at the register informed me of the discount and adjusted our check.  The folks we were sharing our booth with paid the waiter directly and did not get the discount.  When we compared notes back on the bus they realized they had lost out on the discount by paying the waiter directly instead of going up to the register to pay.

 

On future tours I guess you could announce  it on the bus if owners have made commitments to offer discounts or freebies to the tour so everyone knows what they should get.  I know that may ruin the pleasant surprise when you're told you're getting a free dog or a discount at the establishment but it will prevent mix-ups like at the Garage.

Bossa Nova ,
We usually get a free dog or free refreshments or a set reduced price on a hot dog . I believe , and I could be mistaken that this is the first time we actually had 20 or 25 % off entire bill as an option .   You do have an excellent point
Benzee

I prefer to keep it a surprise when we are going to recieve a free hot dog, or in the case of Papaya King, free tee shirts a few years ago. I tried to get us shirts again, but there are new corporate owners of Papaya King and they turned the request down. I did mention the discount on this thread at least twice because there are some who are familiar with the Garage and their high prices and I did not want them to think we would have to pay $5.00 for a Syd's dog, which was their price until they lowered it to $4 a few weeks ago. Still too high when other places are charging $3 or $3.25

Benzee,
It sounds like the tour was a great success and I am disappointed I was unable to attend.  I had an accident with a truck in Montgomery on the 23rd and ended up at Albany Med Ctr for the past week and a half.  I hope we did not cause any major delays, but when I got hurt I was unable to contact you and my group kind of fell apart. I was really looking forward to the tour and I can at least get some enjoyment out of these pictures.  It sounds like it was a great time and I look forward to next year. 

J Buff Combo ,
First of all I hope you are feeling well after your accident , it was a great tour . We did wait in Harriman for you  ,  but this did not cause any major delays .  Hope to see you soon
Benzee

Hello all ,
 
I have gotten many requests already for next yrs tour , we do not have motorcoach costs or intinerary and wont till at least the Spring time but we do plan to have two motorcoaches again .
For those that are interested in next yrs tour  I'm starting the list now , we will start collecting  in early 2011 once we have prices down .
The date is set Sat Sept 24th , 2011 for those  coming from a distance to plan vacations
Benzee

stryyk
 
both of our egg creams were lousy and not worth the money
Steve "The hotdogterminator" Keiner

My MILKSHAKE was very WEAK !!!  Way too MILKY !! It was supposed to be chocolate shake , but so much milk in there , that it looked like vanilla shake ....(I even asked waiter "This is a CHOCOLATE" shake ???"
 
I like thick shakes the best, heavy on the ICE CREAM....

Hi everybody, I just posted my final HDT report here, and I thank you for all your enthusiasm in the comments and on our Facebook page!  Yesterday I was wishing I was back in NJ eating more dogs!    Chris

Hi Ellen,
 
I had a vanilla malt at the Garage and it was thin. The thin malt is traditional in New Jersey, at least where I grew up in Paterson. This was an excellent malted. I also had malts at Holstens and Bishcoffs during my stay in NJ. Bischoffs was even thinner, which was fine with me. Holstens was thick. I thought the Garage had the best malt of the three, by a notch. Btw, one of the owners at Bischoffs told me that Carnation is now the only maker of malted milk powder. Horlick's went out of business. There are malt alternatives but they're not the same. Sorry to take this off the hot dog track, but people have mentioned drinks and I ain't lettin Ellen get away with it! haha
 
Jerry

ayersian


Hi everybody, I just posted my final HDT report here, and I thank you for all your enthusiasm in the comments and on our Facebook page!  Yesterday I was wishing I was back in NJ eating more dogs!    Chris

You did a gr8 job on your 4 part "Hot Dog Tour" series on the Roadfood digest , Chris !!!
I got that same hot tip to try the cole slaw at the Rahway Grill, and boy, am I glad I DID !
Perfect cole slaw, hot dog, and chili !!!  I called it the "trifecta" ...!
 
Thanks for the honorbable mention for my 2010 Hot Dog Tour photo album I posted on Facebook...!
Here's the link, in case anyone else wants to take a peek !!
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/album.php?aid=221133&id=655043895
also can be accessed from the Facebook search engine "2010 NJ Hot Dog Tour, Sept. 25th, 2010"...or google it!
 
till we meat again , Chris !!!

umbada


Hi Ellen,

I had a vanilla malt at the Garage and it was thin. The thin malt is traditional in New Jersey, at least where I grew up in Paterson. This was an excellent malted. Sorry to take this off the hot dog track, but people have mentioned drinks and I ain't lettin Ellen get away with it! haha
Jerry

glad u stepped up to the plate, JERRY , to defend  the "THIN MALT" faction, and educate me a bit , lol !!
I realize now , that it was probably SUPPOSED to be like that.....(and I was apparently too harsh on it)
espescially now that I've looked at the menu and noticed there is a "Shake" for $4.50, and a "THICK shake" for $5.75.....   so next time, I'll just get the thicker version... as thin was'nt really my thing ...not what I was expecting, anyway...
 

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Another year, another NJ Hot Dog Tour and it was a great one!  I couldn't believe they had 2 full motor coaches this year!  Once again, huge, huge thanks to John Fox and Benzee for putting this all together, keeping it very organized, John's endless fountain of hot dog knowledge, Coney Island Lou for designing the awesome t-shirts, the supply of water and sodas on the bus, etc...  Just  great time.  I started out by taking the PATH train from World Trade to Newark Penn Station and then NJ Transit to Roselle Park where Mr. Fox picked me up and whisked me away to our first stop, Galloping Hill Inn.  There I met Steve Keiner (the 1999 Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Champion) and his brother in the parking lot and a few minutes later met up with Chris (one half of the dynamic RF duo known as ayersian).  We made our way in for our first hot dog of the day and the strategy was to split a dog at each stop, a move that wisely paid off at the end of the day!  

I suggested to Chris that we get a double with mustard and chopped onions as last year I felt that the single dog had gotten lost in the large bun.  It was definitely an improvement.  The beef & pork blend dogs were great.  Nice snap and a mild flavor complemented by the assertive mustard.  I do like my onions chopped a bit finer so there isn't so much of a powerful onion flavor/crunch so I might opt for fried onions or another topping on the next tour.  I still think the bun is better suited to a sausage & peppers sandwich but that's probably because I grew up eating Freihofer's New England style split top rolls buttered in grilled.  It's still a great roll, fresh with a nice chew to it.  I might experiment with other parts of the menu next year to see if something really jumps out at me.

And the obligatory shot of a Roadfooder (Chris) taking a shot of his food!

Our 2nd stop was at the Rahway Grill.  Much has been said about the location of this place and I can only echo the sentiments.  It really feels like it is in a quiet little neighborhood and there definitely was a sense of a local neighborhood calm to it...until about 100 or so hot dog heads stormed the castle, as it were!  

And the gang queued up for their dogs and that tasty chili!

I love that you can walk up and see what you are about to eat being made right before your eyes.  Nothing to hide here!  I wish I had gotten a decent shot of the pot of chili.

Chris and I split a chili dog with mustard & topped with slaw.  Normally I'm not a mayo slaw kind of guy, but this was homemade not too wet.  There was a nice crunch to it and it had a fresh taste as well as a cooling effect that countered the thick, dark, rich chili quite nicely.  As Chris had said in the RF Digest, the dog had a nice snap to it and I enjoyed the assertive flavor.  That chili had haunted me since the 2009 tour.  There was a quality to it, a richness and thickness that I couldn't put my finger on but I could see applications far beyond hot dogs (chili fries?  chili burgers?  just a straight bowl of it?  the possibilities are endless!!).  If I lived close by I'd be having chili dogs 3-4 days a week, no doubt.  The owners are really nice too and I definitely got the feeling as I did last year that this is a place with a regular "locals" clientele.

I spied some Pennsylvania Dutch brand red birch beer in the case so Chris and I grabbed a couple of cans.  I've have come to love the charms of the dry, white birch beer made by Foxon Park rather quickly (many, many thanks to Chris & Amy for that one!) but "P. Dutch" in all of it's overly sweet goodness will always have a special place in my heart as it's what I grew up drinking with my dad.

Natalie hot dogging it up for the camera.  I met her last year on the tour and she is a fun person to be around!

 
More to come...