Hoffman hot dogs?

Has anyone heard of or use Hoffman hot dogs?  A friend from NY raves about them and says once you have had one you won't eat any other hot dog.  Lots of people make that claim with their favorite dog.

I grew up on Hofmann's  hot dogs  and coneys  (the white  snappy's)  and they  will always be  my favorites.  I used to have my family  bring  them  down when they came for a visit  but  now  I  have to drive only  34 miles to a Wegman's  to stock up on them!
 
http://www.hofmannsausage.com/home/

It's "Hofmann"
There are two types of natural casing hotdogs they produce:
 
1- Franks, also called red hots (which has to do with region names) which are your regular hotdogs. It's a german style hotdog, so they have a bologna type flavor. They are not over spiced. They are a mild hotdog. Flat grilling them brings out the flavor - much in the same way of grilling bologna.
 
2- Coneys, also called white hots, and snapper, (again, depending on your region) Coney - in CNY is a white hot. The taste would be akin to a bratwurst, but the texture is smooth like a hotdog. No grit. It's also kicked up a knotch with some spices.  This is my favorite hotdog.
 
Hofmann also makes other sausages, including brotwurst, kielbasa, brockwurst, italian sausages. But it's the Frank and Coney department that has made Hofmann a Central NY tradition.
 
What's the best? Well, I've come to believe that one's taste, is based on the kinds of flavors one was brought up on. What hotdog was available at your first baseball game? or on the local street cart? or served at the local hotdog stand where people stood in long lines just for a couple hotdogs. Therefore, for me, a native Liverpudlian (Liverpool, NY) where the famous hotdog stand Heid's of Liverpool sits and sells Hofmann products, Hofmann is the standard of which all other hotdogs are measured. And none really measure up, except for , you guessed it: another syracuse sausage factory, Meier and Ranz, who make an excellent frank. A little more spice and a different mix of meat.
 
However, I can say that the good people of Rochester swear by their Zweigles, and the good people of Buffalo swear by their Sahlens. And ne'er the twains do meet.
 
So, is it the best? or, will you never eat another brand? nah - it's all dependent upon the taste buds you've been developing your whole life, and the expectations created therein.
 
Still, I've yet to find a White Hot/Snapper/Coney that is superior to Hofmann. And there nothing like the snap of a perfectly flat grilled Frank, with some char on the outside, snap to the tooth, and silky smooth interior enhanced only by a dab of german mustard. It's hotdog heaven, IMBHO (in my biased humble opinion), of course. 
 

Well said, Scorereader. Have you ever tried a Hartmann's? They were located in Rochester for years until they moved to Canandaigua last year. An excellent German style hot dog. Smokier and a little more flavor than Hofmann's. A favorite of mine.

Have not tried Hartmann's. Frankly (haha) I'm not sure I've seen them in stores in CNY, including Auburn.
 
I'll probably be back in the Finger Lakes next summer, so I'll have to give them a try.
 
BTW - I did not care for Sahlens franks nor Zweigles White Hots, which I bought for my Erie Canal vacation a couple years ago. Sahlens frank had some odd taste, like bad garlic, and Zweigles White Hots did not contain the spice of Hofmann. Again, I'm sure expectation played into my disappointment - but my wife, agreed, and she doesn't carry a bias on hotdogs as much as I do. She flat out refused to eat the Zweigles.
 
I do like Glazier Natural Casing dogs, though - which I came to know as an undergrad in Potsdam, NY.
 
Oddly enough, a 50s style diner called The Hop opened in Potsdam (which has since closed) - and they sold Sabrett, which I liked - but couldn't believe they didn't go with a more local brand.
 
 
 
 

Wegmans  carry  Hartmann's hot dogs.  They  are excellent.  I do  prefer Hofmanns

ps303


Has anyone heard of or use Hoffman hot dogs?  A friend from NY raves about them and says once you have had one you won't eat any other hot dog.  Lots of people make that claim with their favorite dog.

they do just fine in my house , !!!!!

The regular Hofmann hots are my favorite, I just can't stomach the coneys for some reason. The jalapeno sausage is also amazing, and my good friend who works there brought out some sausage dogs, I didn't see them listed on the site... it's spicy Italian sausage in the snappy hot dog casings, they weren't thick like the traditional sasuage. Outstanding.

If only they were not so hard to get here in Texas.
 
Seamus, are those jalapeno sausage dogs available to the general pro piblic???  If so I think a few Texas hot dog guys I know here could maybe get rich offering those.
Joe

I may not have typed clearly enough, there is a jalapeno sausage, and then the Italian sausage dog, two different products. The jalapeno sausage is a little thicker and not as long, and a bit hotter with the jalapenos very prominent in the flavor. The Italian sausage dogs are not as hot, and have just a good Italian sausage flavor. Whether they're available to the general public I don't know, I've never seen them in stores.
 
According to the Hofmann website, there's a store in Dallas that carries at least their German franks (the standard dog that is my favorite):
Eatzi's Gourmet
3403 Oak Lawn Ave
Dallas, TX 75219
 
There's also this place in The Woodlands, TX: http://www.dougiedogs.com
There are plenty of testimonials, and a few pictures of the dogs on that site. There are also two places in The Woodlands that serves them, they're listed there too. They're calling them "Dougie Dogs".

Hofmann Hots just opened in Dallas last week. A friend and I are going to try it for lunch today
 
http://sidedish.dmagazine...just-opened-its-doors/

That place looks interesting. I've read good things about those hot dogs. It would be nice of they opened one around here.

mmmmm..... tater tots!

We have a couple in town here, but I can get the products from the store and make them at home cheaper. Plus, the last time I went to one I wasn't impressed with the level of cleanliness.

As promised above, a friend and I had lunch at the newly opened Hofmann Hots in Dallas today.
 
Although I still prefer the snappier Thumann's pork & beef dogs, the dogs at HH themselves were pretty good.
 
Most people there (95% men-5% women) loaded their dogs up with all kinds of available toppings. How can you taste the dog when it's smothered with everything but the kitchen sink?
 
Being the ex-New Yorker that I am, I had one plain with their German style mustard and one with mustard and I have to say, "meh" kraut.
 
My only real objection is with their buns. They're not regular hot dog buns but more like the bun you get with a lobster roll. A thick split, almost cake like bread bun. I personally think I would have enjoyed the dogs more had they been on regular hot dog buns. But, that's just my opinion.
 
The tot's were just, "OK". Nicely cooked but, all crust. However, I probably wouldn't order them again.

Those are hot dog buns. They're split-top, New England style buns. Anything else is pitiful.

Here in Plattsburgh, Clare & Carl's use the New England "split top" type buns, but they are sliced on the side not the top for their wonderful Michigan Red Hots.
 
BTW, a Michigan made with a Hofmann dog would be spectacular!
 
Wally
only 2 months till Clare & Carl's opens for the 2013 season !!

albertson's in texas carries them

I really do like that type of bun. But, stuffed with lobster not hot dogs. 
I felt like I was eating a loaf of bread with a hot dog stuffed inside. Too much bread to hot dog ratio!

One more thing. Hofmann Hots (in Dallas anyway) is a slick, clean, very well run fast food operation. I would consider it, the In-N-Out of hot dogs. I noticed many similarities.

We in Central New York are lucky to have a quality dog like Hofmanns. I grew up on Oscar Myers and Tobins first prize franks and not surprisingly never really liked hot dogs as much as I did hamburgers... My dad turned me on to Hebrew Nationals because they reminded him of the dogs he used to get as a kid in Brooklyn. I lived in Chicago for 8 years and developed a taste for Vienna Chicago Style Dogs.
 
When I moved back to Syracuse I found I loved Hofmanns. I like the German and the Coney (which is really more of a bockwurst). It is a flavorful quality dog. Oscar Myers always reminds me of bad meat, whereas Hofmanns have a fresh, full flavor. I have since discovered Liehs and Steigerwalds and absolutely love them (sold only in their meat shops). John Fox's raving about Thumans led me to try those and they are indeed awesome.
 
So are Hofmanns the best in the world? Maybe not, but they are a great dog and I recommend them to anyone. It remains to be seen if they can maintain their high quality and consistency with  their recent expansion on the national market. I hope they can.

I hate to be wrong about this but I think Hofmanns are now carried at the Walmart deli.