My first stop after picking up a rental car at LGA was at a hot dog stand in Mamaroneck, NY.
WALTER’S HOT DOGS 
You have to love the architecture. The web site states that they have been in business since 1919, but I don't know whether it was always at this location.
There is a pleasant area on the side where one can dine outdoors on some picnic tables.
OUTDOOR DINING AREA AT WALTER’S:
I got a basic dog with Walter’s special mustard, and some french fries.
WALTER’S HOT DOG: 
WALTER’S FRENCH FRIES:
This was a medium-spiced dog, split and grilled. The mustard had some horse radish in it, and was outstanding. Thumbs-up on the hot dog. The fries were frozen, purchased from a restaurant supply house no doubt, but they were properly fried and were tasty. I’d return if I were in the neighborhood.
http://www.waltershotdogs.com/ I then stopped by
Leno’s in New Rochelle, NY. Bruce Bilmes wrote a review of this place, and stated that it is known as “Greasy Nick’s”. I took a peek inside at the kitchen, and decided it was too greasy for me that day. If the burgers were flame/char-broiled, I would have gone for one, but they’re cooked on a greasy flat-top. Maybe some other time! Rumor has it that the founder, Nick Leno, is/was a relative of Jay Leno.
Leno's Clam Bar, A.K.A. "Greasy Nick's": 
http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurant/Reviews/2012/greasy-nicks Next was
The Little Spot in White Plains, NY
LITTLE SPOT: 
I ordered a hot dog with grilled onions. Splitting and grilling the hot dog is an extra dime, so I splurged and went for that.
LITTLE SPOT GRILLED HOT DOG WITH GRILLED ONIONS:
As Michael Stern wrote in the above-mentioned Roadfood.com review, it mostly tasted of the grill grease. Maybe it would be better not grilled? Not recommended.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=2233 I finally made it to the place where I was to stay for the week.
CHEZ RUTHERFORD BED & BREAKFAST:
The next day, I made a little run up I-95 into Connecticut, stopping at three Roadfood places.
SUPER DUPER WEENIE: 
You can't miss the sign!
This place, in Fairfield, Connecticut, has been reviewed on Roadfood.com, and has appeared on Diners, Drive-ins & Dives. Evidently the dining room to the far left in the photo has been newly enclosed. I ordered a “New Englander” hot dog and French fries.
NEW ENGLANDER:
The New Englander was served in an ordinary (not New-England-type) roll, with cold condiments. The hot dog was put on the tray, wrapped, long before the fries were up, which kind of made a mushy mess of it. I felt that the hot dog was lost in all of the condiments. I cleaned off a piece, and tried that. It was what I call a bologna-dog. Not very good by itself. Maybe grilled more, with some other condiment choice(s) would be better.
FRENCH FRIES
The menu boasted of the house-cut, fresh French fries. They needn’t have bothered. The result, no doubt due to improper cooking, was mealy. I’ve had better at chain fast-food joints. They look great in the photo, don't they?
Maybe the increase in business after being on national television has harmed the food preparation standards. There were a lot of people there.
http://www.superduperweenie.com/ Next was Swanky Frank’s, in Norwalk, Connecticut. Much less busy than Super Duper Weenie.
SWANKY FRANKS:
They fry the dogs here, and will split and griddle them upon request. Each table has mustard, ketchup, onions, relish, etc. for the diner to add to the dogs, so I ordered a plain hot dog.
FRESHLY FRIED, SPLIT AND GRILLED HOT DOG:
I went for the relish, mustard and chopped onions. The mustard looked as though it had been doctored-up a little.
DRESSED SWANKY FRANK: 
This was a more crispy than the hot dog from Super Duper, although also quite mild, but it seemed to not have the bologna taste I noticed up the road on Fairfield. (someone will probably tell me that they’re the same brand!) According to Holly Eats, what I got was a deep-fried hot dog that was then split and grilled. It was good; I'd return for another one, perhaps with the chili.
I also ordered some onion rings.
SWANKY FRANKS ONION RINGS:
The onion rings were obviously of the frozen variety. They were a little crispy on the outside, but spongy on the inside. Maybe they were sitting around cooked, and were dropped back in the oil to heat them up? Not recommended.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=270 Lastly for the day, I headed to Stamford for Royal Guard Fish and Chips.
ROYAL GUARD FISH & CHIPS:
This fry-house received a favorable review on Roadfood.com, so I gave it a try.
ROYAL GUARD MENU BOARD:
I ordered fish and chips.
ROYAL GUARD FISH AND CHIPS:
The price was $8.85 for two pieces of fish, and French fries. The order actually was served with three pieces of fish. The fish was covered with a crunch, tasty batter, but it enclosed a flavorless, pasty fish. Perhaps it was cheap frozen fish? There were no off tastes, just no flakey texture. The “chips” were thin, soft, French fries, with nothing much to recommend them. Looking back at the menu, perhaps the haddock would have been a better choice.
http://www.roadfood.com/Reviews/Overview.aspx?RefID=3921 Next was an afternoon in New York City.
In the early 1960s, I lived five blocks from the original Papaya King on the corner of 86th Street and 3rd Avenue, but never went there. It is my understanding that this is the original place that had "papaya" in the name, and sold hot dogs. The others are copycats.
PAPAYA KING: 
The interior is very small, with stand-up dining only.
PAPAYA KING INTERIOR:
There are so many signs, inside and outdoors, that I think that one could spend a half hour reading them all. I ordered one hot dog, and (of course!) a papaya juice.
PAPAYA KING HOT DOG AND PAPAYA JUICE:
This was a good, spicy hot dog. No doubt the papaya juice made it a healthful meal. Recommended!
http://www.papayaking.com/ I walked the five blocks to my old apartment building to work off a couple of calories. One block to the west is the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Guggenheim Museum.
GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM:
When it was being built 50 years ago, I thought it looked like an upside-down wedding cake.
http://www.guggenheim.org/ Seven blocks to the south is the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
NYC METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART:
This is an amazing building, with wonderful collections on display. There's a lot to do in this neighborhood between hot dogs!
http://www.metmuseum.org/ A century ago, a few miles to the south, at the lower east side of Manhattan island, there was a Jewish immigrant enclave. Some remnants still exist, such as this famous delicatessen.
KATZ'S: (borrowed photo)
We were there on a Saturday, and somehow I had never understood what a mob scene it is there on a busy day.
KATZ'S INTERIOR:
We ordered ordinary pastrami sandwiches with mustard only. Here is a shot of the slicer guy at work. On the left are the steam bins where the meats are kept. Not the famous "tip jar" on the counter. My brother ostentatiously stuffed a couple of bucks in, and we were rewarded with a couple of plates of samples to nosh on.
KATZ'S SLICER DUDE: 
Here is the "meat" shot.
KATZ'S PASTRAMI SANDWICH:
This was a very, very good pastrami sandwich. The rye bread was good, and the meat was tender and juicy. My brother stated that it was the best pastrami that he has ever had. I thought it was very slightly under-salted, which is odd for a cured meat. It still was perhaps the best that I've had. Not as big a sandwich as those in the ubiquitous photos from Harold's NY Deli!
http://www.katzdeli.com/ Close by up the street is a 99-year-old knishery.
YONAH SCHIMMEL'S KNISHES:
We got kasha, cheese, spinach and potato knishes to go. No photos, but they were very good warmed up in the oven. There is a dining area in the back of the shop.
YONAH SCHIMMEL'S INTERIOR: 
I saw a photo on the wall showing the neighborhood a century ago.
OLD LOWER EAST SIDE NYC: 
http://knishery.com/main.htm To wash down the sandwiches, we headed through the tunnel to Brooklyn, and ended up at a brewery. I believe that this is in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn.
BROOKLYN BREWERY:
Luckily for us, the tap room was open for business! We entered though here:
BROOKLYN BREWERY ENTRANCE: 
My photos inside did not come out well, as somehow the autofocus got turned off inadvertently. This is the best of a poor lot.
BROOKLYN BREWERY VATS: 
BROOKLYN BREWERY INTERIOR: 
A mostly young crowd, but well-behaved. I had the East India Pale Ale, which was good.
http://www.brooklynbrewery.com/beer/ A Brief Visit to New Jersey My first stop was in Upper Saddle River to take a couple of photos of this house. It was built by my several-greats-grandfather 270 years ago. The original house is the section on the left. The rest was added later in the 1700s.
ABRAHAM HOPPER HOUSE:
After reading about them on Roadfood.com, I wanted to try the New Jersey regional dish known as a
Taylor Ham, Egg and Cheese Sandwich. My Roadfood buds said that any Jersey diner would have them. The first diner I went to was being renovated, and had a line going out the door (in the rain!), so I moved on to the next town, and stopped at the Westwood Diner at 301 Old Hook Rd, Westwood, NJ
WESTWOOD DINER:
I ordered the sandwich, along with coffee and OJ, and this is what I was served:
TAYLOR HAM, EGG AND CHEESE SANDWICH:
The sandwich was made with a cornmeal-dusted kaiser roll, which was pretty good. It was rather mild, which surprised me, because I was expecting more pork roll flavor. I think that it would have been better with more slices of pork roll. I added salt and pepper to the egg, which helped. I did enjoy it!
Thus fortified, I headed to the Paramus Dutch Reformed Church to search the graveyard. I was fortunate to find the grave markers of my Dutch great-great-great-great-great-grandparents.
Gerrit & Mary Hopper:
All that walking back and forth looking at gravestones made me hungry, so I put myself in the hands of my GPS and headed for...
RUTT'S HUT:
Evidently the bar and regular restaurant is in the sections to the front, and the fast-food outlet is in the back, where I entered.
RUTT'S HUT IN BACK:
I bellied up to the counter, and in my best imitation of an experienced Jerseyite asked for a "Ripper and onion rings." The hot dog was immediately put on the counter, indicating to me that it was sitting around, not freshly fried. (Bummer!) After a modest wait, the rings came up. There were some bowls of condiments on the counter, so I spooned some of the famous (infamous?) yellow relish on the 'dog.
RIPPER & RELISH:
The deep-fried hot dog had an interesting texture, but was pretty mild in flavor, and was overwhelmed by the mustardy relish in my opinion. I did enjoy it, although a freshly-fried hot one would have been better. I think that I would have enjoyed a Cremator more with the relish.
RUTT'S HUT ONION RINGS: 
These were obviously house-made, freshly-fried onion rings, and were very good.
THE END
<message edited by MiamiDon on Fri, 05/29/09 11:48 AM>
