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Thanks CSD. As I said, I thought it was common knowledge that Superdawg used the Sinai 48. My experience has been that many owners of hot dog restaurants are not forthcoming regarding what they serve. To an extent I see their side of it. But as a consumer, I'd like to know what I'm eating. If it's fair game for them to be secretive about what they're serving me, it's also fair game for me to try to find out. And when I do, I have no qualms about sharing and posting the information. The exception is when someone is kind enough to reveal the brand under the condition that I don't post it on a forum.
I can give you many examples where not only the owners of hot dog establishments, but delis and specialty stores are not honest about what they are serving or selling. Where I come from it's called lying. I've heard everything from "we make the franks here" where there is absolutely no way this can be true in a tiny walkup storefront where there is no sausage making equipment, to "we get them specially made for us" which is the more common lie. For fun, I like to call them on it. In rare cases, a hot dog manufacturer will make a dog especially for one place. Grote & Weigel does it for the Galloping Hill Inn. But many times a place will request a dog that is a certain size (but the same recipe as the regular dog). The manufacturer will make it and the distributor will sell it to anyone (including me walking in off the street) but the restaurant will claim it is made special for them.
The last owner of Syd's who only owned it a few years was fond of saying that the 5 to a lb natural casing dog was made just for them. Although this wasn't true at the time, I wouldn't go so far as to call him a liar since I think he believed it. But I told him that the dog was made at the plant and sold to a few vendors at the N.J. shore as well as at least one restaurant and a bagel shop.
Marathon Enterprises, who own Sabrett make only 2 recipes. One is all beef, the other beef and pork. Different sizes and skinless or casing, but only 2 recipes. No exceptions. A higher up there told me that anyone claiming that the company made a special recipe just for them was lying. Recently someone told me that Sabrett did indeed make a special recipe dog just for them. When I told him what I recounted above, he led me to believe that they changed their policy and even said he would invite me to the plant when they picked up their next batch of dogs to prove that their dog was specially made for them. The invitation never came. I spoke with the person at Marathon I knew who confirmed to me that this person bought their standard recipe beef dog. Bottom line, take what these people tell you with a grain of salt. I think the main reason they say what they do is to try to convince you that their product is unique and only available at their place.
By the way, I never had a Superdawg or Sinai 48, but know it is more heavily spiced than Vienna. However, it is skinless. So I must amend my statement that "I believe I would prefer Superdawg to the others." I think I might prefer a good fresh natural casing Vienna to a skinless dog.
