6th Annual NJ Hot Dog Tour - TRIP REPORTS from 9/26/09

Hello all ,
 
(ADDED June 1st , 2009 ) Hello everyone . This is the beginning of an amazing thread that will show you our hot dog tours and meets . As I will be retiring in mid july , anyone that would like to get together for a mini meet feel free to email or pm me on here .

( ADDED NOV 11TH , 2007 This is the first post in what has become an amazing thread on Hot Dog Tours and meets . I know some of you try to read the first to last , enjoy , but for most up to date info go to the last page or two to find out what we are up to )

There is a lot of interest in organizing a Western Jersey Hot dog Tour in the Spring of 06 . I had originally posted under the Food Misc. section , but I think it is better served here.

Establishments are up for discussion , but it would appear that Hot Dog Johnnys and Charlies Pool Room will be on the list .

I will looking into a motorcoach with lavatory or a school bus for this one also .

I was hoping for last Sat. in April - that too up for discussion.

Any thoughts feel free to post .

Benzee

Benzee,
Frankly, I'd also add Frankly My Dear and Toby's Cup to Hot Dog Johnny's and Charlie's Pool Hall. Probably need about two more.

ScreenBear ,

Sounds good to me buddy , I'm not familiar with any of them except for the reads on here and Hollyeats.

I suggest you coordinate with John Fox the locations and directions as you have the West Jersey connection . We also need a date and I will suggest the last Sat. in April as one possibile date for the Tour.

We will need a pickup location in North Jersey for the City , Island and north Jersey doggers .

If we decide to use the same Bus line and Driver , which I will suggest we do , the Orange County NY pickup spot went well for us from the North .

We can than have another pickup at the first Western Jersey Dog Stop for the West Jersey , PA and from the south folks .

I will look into motorcoach prices along with school bus , as we may want to look into a comfort factor being this trip will be longer traveling wise .

So for now we have

Hot Dog Johnnys
Charlies Pool Room
Frankly My Dear
Tobys Cup

Impressive start to the list.

Benzee

I possted this on another thread but I think it got buried there at the tail end.

In addition to the usual places mentioned, my son and I really like the Chili Dogs at Davy's Dogs in Mt. Arlington. Great roadfood type cabin-like structure, eat in (small) or eat at outside tables (only a few) or in your car. It's only about a mile north of I80 about midway across NJ (on the way to HD Johnny's if you're taking 80/46 to get to Johnny).

---Ken

I know where South Jersey is & I know where North Jersey is but can you tell me where in the heck is West Jersey? Is Cherry Hill in West Jersey? Is P'burg in West Jersey? Is Salem in West Jersey?

I always thought Western Jersey was Pennsylvania

Hello all ,

I removed the sarcasm from this response .
Those of you that read it know what I mean

Ah , the heck I removed the whole thing .

We are trying to give each tour its own identity , thats the best way to put it .

Benzee

Yo geographically challenged New Yorker. Try to find a good or even average hot dog place in south west New Jersey..... you can't find one ask any REAL Jersey guy the best hot dogs are found in NORTH JERSEY. Again get out your atlas. I think you mean NORTHWEST JERSEY, ie Johnneys for Dogs in Butzville which is located in White Township along the Pequest River not too far from Jenny Jump Mountain. My advice to you is that you run out tomorrow(black friday) & get another atlas. Any Questions, your geography professor, Creek Rat

Yo Creek Rat ,

I agree that the best dogs are in the northern part of the state my dear rat.
We conducted a Hot Dog Tour earlier this year that included Syds, Hot Dog Grill , Rutts Hutt , and Father and Son Luncheonette to name a few .
I will not Quibble with you over northwest , west , east or south as it were .
Perhaps if you join the tour next year we can have a chili dog and discuss the geography of it all .

Your geographically challenged tour director ( not)
Benzee

"What'll It Be Mac?"
Yesterday was the first day of Winter. Yay, only about 115 days until the New Jersey Western Hot Dog Tour.

"What'll it be Mac...mustard, onions, pickle spear? What'll it be Mac? Nice day, ain't it? Sheesh, glad the Winter's over. What'll it be, Mac? Yeah, go ahead sit over there on the benches, overlooking the river. See the swans, ha, ha. What'll it be Mac?"
The Bear

Hello all ,
I have reserved a motorcoach for Sat. April 29th , 2006 .
The date can be changed if we need to , we are not locked in .
The Deluxe Motorcoach has a lavatory and video screens and we have once again requested Gary our 2005 Chauffer . The Bus can hold about 45 comfortably .

Should we decide on a school bus instead we can always change.
I'm guessing at between $25 and $30 per person for the Motorcoach and $20 to $25 for a school bus . I have not gotten a price on either .

Coney Island Lou and myself and John Fox if available will try to do a pre tour run of the establishments we pick . We will explain the number of persons expected and see what kind of response we get about bringing the group .

I know I'm hoping that the owners we meet have the same exuberance as Manny from Texas Weiners II . I still get the joyful feeling just thinking about how he welcomed everyone like we were part of his family .

We will also do some media work and hope to get similar coverage we had this past year.

Any thoughts ??

Benzee

Davy's in Mt. Arlington makes a terrific dog, and nice salty, thin, fresh french fries. Their version of a Chicago Dog, made with a Sabrett frank, actually works pretty nicely.

I haven't been there for a while, but I understand from my friends who go very often that the standards are kept up. There's a Cracker Barrel next door, for those of you who want small portions of mediocre food with a minimum of taste---except for the breakfast menu.

hello all ,

Any reason why this topic was moved from the Hot Dog Sausage and Brats section . ??

Please email me if anyone has the answer .

Not me this time....
AL

I'll be there, George. How's things upstate?
The Bear

Hi Benzee --

We will not be able to attend. Our 4th and 5th April weekends have long been booked.
Will enjoy reading reports.

Bill

One other place that I just remembered about is the Stewart's Root Beer on Rt 22 near Lebanon NJ. It's on a picturesque stretch (yes, I said a picturesque stretch) of Rt 22. OK, it part of a samll chain, but Stewart's has the rep of giving thier individual operators wide latitude in menu, ambiance, etc, and this one is very well run. Plenty of picnic tables for a large crowd, better than average dogs (we like the foot longs).

It would be a good stop on the way to or the way out of the Philipsburg places. ---Ken

quote:

Originally posted by ken8038

One other place that I just remembered about is the Stewart's Root Beer on Rt 22 near Lebanon NJ. It's on a picturesque stretch (yes, I said a picturesque stretch) of Rt 22. OK, it part of a samll chain, but Stewart's has the rep of giving thier individual operators wide latitude in menu, ambiance, etc, and this one is very well run. Plenty of picnic tables for a large crowd, better than average dogs (we like the foot longs).

It would be a good stop on the way to or the way out of the Philipsburg places. ---Ken

I grew up just down the road from this Stewart's stand in Whitehouse. I remember back in the early 70's when it was opened by a guy whose father had previously operated a Stewart's on Rt. 22 in Mountainside that was, I believe, torn down to make room for some kind of road construction. Anyway, the son had installed his father's original root beer "plumbing" from the old stand and, according to the son, that's the reason his root beer was so tasty. And it was really tasty! Less carbonated, creamier, and more "rooty" than could be had at other Stewart's.

The hot dogs here were also superior although I have no idea what brand they were or even how they were prepared. In those days, things like that didn't concern me too much.

I haven't sampled the food or drink there in almost 30 years so I have no idea what you can expect. I doubt very much if the original owner is still there though. He'd be pretty old.

BTW, if you all do stop there and if you still intend to try the dogs at "Frankly My Dear" in Flemington, your bus driver can take a "shortcut" from Rt.22 to Rt. 31 that brings you along the edge of Round Valley Reservoir. A nice drive in the spring. pb

As regards the Stewarts in Lebanon, N.J., Eastbound, US Highway Route #22:
If I'm not mistaken, the fellow who ran the place, who was so proud of the flower-adorned decor that made his parking lot and picnic area so festive, died a while ago.

A young lady who worked for him bought it and has pretty much kept everything status quo. I think she uses a Dietz and Watson all-beef for her foot-long.

It was once the 9th hot dog of the day for me on a tour with a local newspaper.
If partaking, have the bun toasted.
The Bear

I would like to propose another possible stop for the West Jersey Hot Dog Tour.

It would be Corbin John's
661 South 25th Street
Easton Pa

The reason is Simple; Corbin John's (which only recently opened) serves Texas white and Texas red hots.

For those that don't know this is an upstate new york style of preparation where the dogs are split and grilled.

Corbin John's uses Zweigles which are brought in from Upstate New York.

I tried a white. split down the middle, it was mild and flavorful.

The location is only about a five minute drive from Toby's Cup in Phillipsburg NJ (Easton is just across the river), and about one-half mile from Jimmy's which is reviewed on this site.

Brook,
Might be worth a look-see. Could you describe the place?
Bear

quote:

Originally posted by ScreenBear

Brook,
Might be worth a look-see. Could you describe the place?
Bear

Its in the new Palmer Town Center shopping Center. It's a small strip mall location. Basic fast food decor. Order at the counter get food on trays ,sit down.
Owner is apparently from Rochester NY area- he also features the famous Rochester 'garbage plates' although he calls them 'trash plates' (see my post under the "Garbage Plate " thread in the recipie forum)

Just saw that there is a photo of one of Corbin John's garbage plates in the 'Pennsylvania ' forum of egullet (In the thread 'Rochester food comes to Easton')

Is it against the gastronomic law to eat a "garbage plate" outside of Rochester and environs?

Benzee
Let me know when you are planning to do your test run
If available I would be happy to help[ with coordination/directions.

Brookquarry ,
As a matter of fact I have been in contact with John Fox and am awaiting a list of possible dates from him . Looking at early Feb, I think .
Coney Island Lou will also join us if he is available .

I would like to do a dry run from my starting point and get an idea of times and distances involved .

When we shore up a date I will let you know

Benzee

Hello all ,

John Fox is off the second week in Feb , so we are looking at a mini meet run for the Dog tour around then . Feb. 11th looks good for me , should we try to ccordinate for that date ?

I will be leaving from Orange County , NY again and will probably have CI Lou with me . We will have to pick a meeting point in Jersey that will be easily accesible to Interstate for the Western trip through Jersey.

Benzee

Ordinarily I would volunteer to meet you part way, and help you navigate the area, but the 11th is bad for me (wife's birthday) Let me know if you need directions.

Brookquarry ,

Still awaiting word from John about the date , can always be changed . I will leave it up to him because I'm pretty flexible.

I will let you know soon.

Benzee

Hello all ,

It looks like a mini meet for Sat. Feb 11th , hosted by the one and only John Fox .

Since Callahans in Ft. Lee will be closing first week in March , we may be using that as one of the stops .

We will have more info within the next week .

Are we moving to another forum again ??
Gues we will know tommorrow

Benzee