Supper's Housemade Hotdog

Any restaurant that is so committed to building a great hot dog that they make their own dog and, more significantly, bake their own New England style hot dog bun rates way high in my eyes.  Supper, on the 900 block of South Street in Philadelphia does both.





The description from their menu - "Our housemade 100% pork shoulder hot dog bacon wrapped and deep fried - served with kraut, barbecued onions and beer mustard on a house baked bun, served with buttermilk fried pickles."

That looks good; minus the onions of course. I wonder if they really make it on the premises. Although it's not unheard of, it is extremely rare. You need special equipment. It would be easier to just source the dogs from somewhere. I checked their site and this looks like a place that may very well take that extra step to produce their own. Interesting. I'd like to find out for sure.

I've been told by more than a few hot dog establishments that they make their own. Mauis in Wildwood is one. But they had to admit that they didn't after I asked to see the sausage making equipment. Then again, they (and others) were smaller hot dog joints. Supper looks to be a somewhat fancy restaurant.

How was your dog? I guess this must be the place to hit in Philly if you're just going to have one dog.

that place def makes it on premises  i would think!! its got a great menu

I think there is a good chance, though I have been mislead so many times in the past. I spoke with someone at Supper who will have one of the owners contact me soon. I'd like to find out more.

John, Supper also has a catering business and they told me that they make it in the catering kitchen.  I thought it was a very good dog, and I really respect their commitment to the product, especially baking the right bun for the dog.  The texture of the dog was a little strange.  I prefer beef dogs though a beef dog wouldn't be all that good deep fried.

The one dog to get in Philadelphia - that's tough.  I'd probably point you do the Hot Dog Truck at 24th and Passyunk, especially if you like hot - their hot sausage with pepper hash is both great and representative of Philadelphia.  But I think you're going to have to do a hot dog tour and hit a bunch of places.  Philadelphia has enough dogs and great variety - maybe we should set something like that up.

That's a great idea; a Philadelphia Hot Dog Tour! Definitely something to consider.

I'm thinking that maybe the texture is strange because it's all pork rather than beef and pork. Most places that fry their dogs offer a beef/pork rather than all beef dog. Though it does fry up better than a beef dog, some beef dogs are good fried. The Best Provisions dog that is used in over 90% of Italian Hot Dogs in Jersey is very good deep fried.

Holly that looks great, I've been wondering about Supper... 

John I bet they make them there..  Although the roll looks suspiciously like a loaf of brioche cut in half, slit down the middle and toasted, or at least that's how I would do it if I were a line cook.

A lot of the time when we did specials with "house made lobster hot dog" or whatever (when I was cooking) we really just made a mixture of meat & flavorings, rolled it up tight in plastic wrap, poach or steam it for a few minutes, let the shape set; unwrap it & finish in a pan. But the photo above looks like the real thing.

Also Mid-Atlantic in west philly has a Wed. night Hot Dog special, maybe add that to the tour?

Holly if you didn't see it already I did 24th & Passyunk for serious eats this week, you might be right about being the best in Philly!!

Great write-up Hawk.  But, like the line isn't long enough already?  Now there will be cab-fulls of New Yorkers making the line even longer.

I suspect you'd have a lot of fun with Supper's dog.

Here's their web site:
http://www.supperphilly.com/restaurant.shtml

There's another thread on here that talks about this place. Title of thread - $9 Hot Dog?

That does look insanely good. I think $9 would be alright for that if the taste stood up...and if they served about 3x more deep-fried pickles.

That looks and sounds great, Holly.  If it's all-pork, and does not have that finely-ground, emulsified texture customarily associated with a hot dog, wouldn't it be better labeled as a pork sausage?  Maybe a bratwurst?

The texture is "finely-ground, emulsified."  It just seemed to firm up differently from a regular hot dog.  This dog is made totally from pork shoulder.  That could be the reason it binds differently than a dog made with assorted pig parts.

I didn't have a chance yet to speak with the owner of Supper, but he did respond to an e-mail I sent him. The restaurant does have it's own sausage making equipment. As mentioned, it is made in house from 100% pork shoulder. No trimmings are used.

An article in today's Philadelphia Inquirer:

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/columnists/rick_nichols/20091108_Beefing_up_the_hot_dog.html

Hello all ,

You guys are great , I  love the idea of a Philly Hot Dog Tour , with  two roadfooders like Holly Moore and John Fox we cant go wrong !!!

Benzee

This is a hot dog I will definitely try when I go to Philadelphia next week. The Supper put it on their lunch menu, and declared it "housemade":
http://www.supperphilly.com/menu/supper_lunch.pdf

Their catering business does have a website:
http://www.theglobaldish.com/home.htm
I, too, suspected hype in that thread back in September, talking about the breeds of pork they use. Indeed, the name of Global Dish's PR agency is listed on the web site. But the Global Dish's kitchen appears on an archived list of establishments inspected by the Philadelphia DOH.

Being made of 100% pork shoulder, I'm curious if I would call it a hot dog, or call it one of the many sausages made by German or Italian meat markets. Being made with restaurant cuts of meat certainly justifies the price.

Suggestion: 

 Since we have to travel back and forth to Philly, anyway, why not get a price from our regular carrier...the one who does our New Jersey Tour, hence forth to be known as "The Official Carrier to the N.J. Hot Dog Tour...and Beyond"? 

  Most likely we won't need a big bus. That is,  unless this catches on like wildfire.  Thus, start off with the idea of a small bus or large van.

  Leave Galloping Hill, Union, N.J., by about 10 a.m....do six Philly Dog places, zoom back around 6 p.m., or so.

   I'd include these two or three "gourmet haute franks," that famed one on Passyunk, and whatever those Philly natives in the know consider should round out the even half dozen. If there's a place purveying the Hatfield all-beef, I'd include that.

   I doubt we could get it together by mid-December. Thus, Spring would be nice.  It would be oh so much fun.

   The Bear

I'm always suspicious when a hot dog establishment claims that they make their own. More common is the claim that they have the dogs made special for them. I've given numerous examples of this and will not exhaust the subject here. I will though, point out the latest example of a place making this false claim. That would be Bark in Brooklyn. I've gotten to know someone who works at the place where they get their franks who told me that they absolutely use the same German style frank that you can get at Wegmans.

I point this out because I believe a place should either be totally honest or refuse to give any info. Don't mislead. Which is a nice way of saying don't lie to me. Because of my experiences, I consider places making claims which I have found to be untrue over 90% of the time guilty until proven innocent.

Mitch Prensky, owner of Supper, was kind enough to respond to me and back up his claim.

Screenbear,

I'd love to go to Philadelphia for a Tour. If we can't manage it with a bus, perhaps we can carpool. The Hudson Valley to Philly is a long way, but I'm up for it if it can be arranged. 

Benzee.......

I'll be glad to help with the organization. 

One idea would be for everyone to meet at a central point - such as the parking lot by the Hot Dog Truck at 24th and Passyunk.  Then, maybe, charter a Trolley Bus for the tour.  Some of the places we would hit would have parking availability issues for car pools.   I can check on Trolley rental rates to see if it is practical.  It would have to be on a Saturday as most places are not open on Sunday and  would need to start relatively early unless we can get some places to stay open past their normal early afternoon Saturday closing time.

Some places to consider:

24th Street Truck
Texas Wieners
Nick's Charcoal Pit
Moe's
Supper
Cafe Fulya
Johnny Hot's
Paesano's
Tony Luke's

Wonder if Hawk would consider a trolley full of hot dog eaters worthy of his sketching skills?

I love the look of the boxy bun. Very unique. Does it seperate on the bottom when you eat it?
 
It seems to form a triangle and the hot dog looks like it is a heavyweight.

Wonder if Hawk would consider a trolley full of hot dog eaters worthy of his sketching skills?

Holly Moore



absolutely! 

I actually haven't been to Paesano's yet so this would be a great opportunity. 

CCinNJ


I love the look of the boxy bun. Very unique. Does it seperate on the bottom when you eat it?
 
It seems to form a triangle and the hot dog looks like it is a heavyweight.

It stayed together well most of the way.  At some point - not sure when - it evolved into a hot dog sandwich.  Even then it wasn't all that messy to eat.  (Not sure that is a good thing.)