Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Shmaboo)

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:25:03 GMT

Despite the small turnout, I thought yesterday was a very nice outing. Tim and Terri are a lovely couple, and I'm glad they came. My apologies for not bringing a camera (rookie mistake), but I know that Tim got quite a few good shots.

We started at Gus's in Watervliet. The weather was gorgeous, so eating at the picnic tables seemed like a great idea. At this point, I was pacing myself, not wanting to get too full too fast, so I got three and a chocolate milk (about $3). Yes, three dogs is pacing yourself at Capital District hot dog joints. The dogs are about the size of your finger. A small child at the table behind me got six. Another fellow left the window with a pyramid of dogs, two on top of four on top of six, making a rather impressive plate. The dogs were good and had a nice snap to them. The sauce at Gus's seems a little soupier and the buns may be a tad bigger than at the other places. Still, a tasty hot dog. If I were grading, I'd give it a B+.

We headed north up Route 32 to Hot Dog Charlie's in Cohoes. The distance between them, according to Google Maps, is 1.2 miles, so they're close. I had five here ($3.75), and would have been happy to have had ten more. The dogs have the same nice snap, but the sauce is thicker and more vibrant than Gus's and really balances well with the onions and mustard. Point of disclosure: Charlie's are the dogs I grew up eating. I probably had Charlie's hot dogs twice a week throughout my childhood. They are my reference standard, and as such, I will always have a bias toward them. A+, obviously.

We came back down into Watervliet and took the left over the Congress St. bridge into Troy. We came up the Congress St. hill, pulled a u-turn of questionable legality, and parked a couple of doors away from Famous Lunch. A little side story here... For years, Famous Lunch and the original Charlie's Hot Dogs were two doors apart. Famous is still in the same location that's it been at since 1932. The original Charlie's is now a parking lot. That might be an indication of who won the "Battle of Congress St." I had four and an RC cola at Famous ($4, including tax). The sauce is the darkest and has the richest flavor of the three places. It's an excellent sauce, but I think it overpowers the hot dog a little. In my biased grading system, an A-. However, out of the three places, I think the atmosphere at Famous Lunch is miles ahead of the others. The wooden booths, the counter and the general feel of the place are a genuine blast from the past.

Tim and Terri, I look forward to seeing the photos and reading your thoughts about the places. I hope you got to Snowman for ice cream. Matt, I hope everything is okay with you.

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Benzee)

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 13:02:35 GMT

Hello all ,

Have not heard from Matt myself , but if any of you are interested in joining us in Sept , we will have a pickup location off Exit #16 of the NYS Thruway in Harriman .
Glad those that attneded had a good time and loking forward to the trip reports

Benzee

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (TnTinCT)

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 11:17:30 GMT

Matt, what happened to you, hoping everything is ok. We showed up just before noon, and met up with Tim (Shmaboo), had a few dogs, and hung out until just after 1230. We hit a couple more of the places on the list (pics and report to be posted) since Shmaboo was familiar with the area, but it was a lonely crowd of 3. The dogs, however, were terrific, and it was a beautiful day to cruise around Eastern New York state.

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (ynotryme)

Sun, 15 Aug 2010 01:14:31 GMT

I'm looking forward to the report and especially pics.

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Benzee)

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 22:18:24 GMT

Hello all ,

Hope you guys and gals had a great time today , we could not attend but I do hope to see everyone on the 7th Annual Jersey Hot Dog Tour in Sept .
Trip reports ?

Benzee

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Shmaboo)

Fri, 13 Aug 2010 18:55:45 GMT

Matt,

I'll see you tomorrow. Is Hembold's confirmed? By the way, I'm bringing you a jar of sauce from Texas Hot in Wellsville, NY. It's a little different recipe from the Troy sauces, but it definitely shares the same heritage.

Tim (Shmaboo)

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (waltpiii)

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:28:30 GMT

Unfortunately, Denise and I will not be able attend. Family comes first. Everyone enjoy a dog with the works (mustard. onions and Chili) for me

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Benzee)

Tue, 10 Aug 2010 19:07:48 GMT

Hello all ,

Dont know if we are coming on Saturday or not , have two fundrasiers to attend and a promotion for the station . We will play it by ear . These all came up within the last week

Also the 7th Annual Jersey Hot Dog Tour has added a second motorcoach for Sat Sept 25th
Any of you fine folks interested in joining the group let me know

Have fun if we dont see everyone Sat

Benzee

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Foodosaurus)

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 14:43:34 GMT

I'm sorry to say that I'm going to have to withdraw. Everything sounds amazing, I just won't be able to travel this weekend.

That said, I was in Pittsfield, MA last week and ate 3 dogs at Teo's. They were good, but there was too much bun.

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (TnTinCT)

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 08:47:19 GMT

Hi Matt - confirming that Tim and Terri will attend, and meet up with the group at noon at Gus's as noted. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (billyboy)

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 22:47:22 GMT

Hey Matt, just wanted to let you know for sure that I'm not able to attend. Wish I could but other commitments ended up getting in the way. Have an extra hot dog or two in my stead!

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Matt Gleason)

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 21:28:17 GMT

@Shmaboo... I did know about the inside seating, never tried it though because from the order window it looked dark and very small. We can check it out during the meet next week.

Regarding Schenectady, a meet up for that area sounds great. Sometime in the fall would be nice!

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Shmaboo)

Tue, 03 Aug 2010 00:09:33 GMT

@englw... thanks for the info on the Schenectady hot dog joints. I'd love to try them sometime. Mike's really intrigues me; I like a spicier sauce. I also love that a place called "Newest Lunch" has been around since 1921. Maybe we'll have to work out a Mohawk Valley tour after this one. We could do the grand tour of Schenectady and possibly toss in a couple of spots farther west. I had some really good little dogs in downtown Johnstown a few years ago. The sauce was definitely a family recipe. I'd like to go back there (I think it was Hot Dog Hut, but I'm not sure), and I'd like to try Dean's in Gloversville.

@Matt... about your rain or shine comment... Gus's actually has an inside. I ate there last winter. I went up to the window to order my dogs and the counterman looked at me like I had three heads. He came out to the door on the left hand side of the building and told me to get inside. There is a counter that seats 3-4 people and there are a couple of booths, too. It's dark and smells like 50+ years of hot dogs and meat sauce, so it's pretty much the perfect ambiance for the cuisine.

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Matt Gleason)

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 19:10:27 GMT

@englw... That's some great information! I'll be in touch.

Are you attending our Meet, Greet and Eat on the 14th?

Matt

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (englw)

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:32:56 GMT

Im origionaly from Schenectady area,about 25 min west of Troy, and there are three hot dog joints that have been serving fantastic dogs for decades. All three make the mustard, onions and homemade chilli sauce style dogs. Mikes is on Erie Blvd, their sauce is on the spicy side ,I remember my dad taking me in there in the 50's, my mouth is watering. Newest lunch on Albany Street and Broadway Resturant and Lunch is located at 2103 Broadway. Newest and Broadway make a Greek meatsauce that is less spicy with just a very slight hint of a sweet spice. I have been to Gus and Charlies and they are very good---but they don't compare to the Schenectady joints. Email me if you have any questions,englw@yahoo.com

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Matt Gleason)

Sun, 01 Aug 2010 14:16:19 GMT

Ok, so we're two weeks away from the meet. At this point it looks like everyone is going to be meeting at Guss' at 12pm Saturday.

When we are at Guss' we can discuss adding Helmbold's into the mix, they close at 2pm on Saturdays.

If you have any questions, reply here or send me a PM.

Matt

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Matt Gleason)

Sun, 25 Jul 2010 19:13:35 GMT

I added a picture of Helmbold's deli case displaying some fresh beef/pork hot dogs and other goods.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/fb.ashx?m=599491

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Matt Gleason)

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 20:18:22 GMT

Hope to see you there Shmaboo!

Re:Eat and Greet, Troy, New York Area Hot Dog Stands (Shmaboo)

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 23:25:21 GMT

I'd like to attend. I live out by Syracuse now, but I grew up in Troy. We'd argue over who was better, Charlie's or Famous Lunch. (For years, they were two doors apart on Congress St.) We never discussed Gus's, mainly because it was on the other side of the river, so we never went there.

I still go back home 3-4 times a year to get my fix. Only problem is, on recent hot dog pilgrimages, I've been adding Gus's to the rotation and they might be the best of the three. It's kind of like football, "on any given Sunday" any of these places can give you the best little hot dog you ever had. I bet that's true on Saturdays, too.

I'll see you at Gus's.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (Matt Gleason)

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 20:32:30 GMT

Okay billyboy.
I understand TnTinCT.

I added Helmbolds meat packing to the list as a possible visit. I have asked them in the past if they provide tours but the answer was no, I will ask again LOL. They close at 2pm on Saturday so the issue would be timing. One good part about this tour is that all of the places are within 1 to 3 miles of each other. We could hit the first two, jump down to Helmbolds and back up to Famous Lunch. Anyway, you can check it out on the Google map I made. See above.

Fritz Helmbolds is the local provider of many of the mini hot dogs that are sold in Troy.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (billyboy)

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:37:48 GMT

HDK, please mark me as a maybe. I'd like to attend but I'm not sure if the transit will work out. I'll let you know as the date gets closer.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (TnTinCT)

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 09:25:03 GMT

I think since we are so far north in CT we would normally head up to Mass Pike and west from there, rather than south to go north again.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (Matt Gleason)

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 22:38:33 GMT

TnTinCT and BillyBoy...
TnTinCT, I assume you are taking I-84 West into NY and then taking I-87 North?
I am just throwing this out there... there is a Metro North train on the Hudson Line that goes to Beacon. The Beacon station is not far from I-84 (about a mile), it's the exit right before the Beacon Bridge.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (TnTinCT)

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:35:27 GMT

We are a definite maybe - waiting for some family reunion plans to firm up, but we will plan on joining if there is no conflict. billyboy - if it makes sense for you to get to Hartford via Amtrak we could provide a lift to/from the train -

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (waltpiii)

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:00:37 GMT

I am not sure yet. But if I attend, I will meet you at Gus's.

Walt

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (Matt Gleason)

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 18:49:13 GMT

So far the following folks have replied:

Me
Foodosaurus
Benzee
Shmaboo

Possible:
Seafarer John
Waltpiii
TnTinCT
Billyboy

Rain or shine unless there is a major hurricane, volcano or earth quake. All except for Gus's are indoors.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (Matt Gleason)

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:55:10 GMT

BillyBoy, I added the bus depot to the map I created for the tour.

Map of Troy New York Meet, Greet and Eat

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (Benzee)

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:03:28 GMT

Hello everyone ,

This date looks good as of now , Sat Aug 14th will pass the word around

Benzee

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (billyboy)

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 10:22:08 GMT

HDK, I just looked up Trailways online and the bus station in Kingston is at 400 Washington Ave. On Google maps it is just east of Forsyth Park in Kingston. I'm not sure where that is in relation to the park & ride. Don't change the schedule on my account.

Re:Albany New York Hot Dog Tour 2010 (Matt Gleason)

Sat, 03 Jul 2010 08:46:00 GMT

I don't mind changing the schedule to accomodate a few folks.

@Billy Boy... Unfortunetly not. A direct link to Kingston would be a Trailways bus from Port Authority to Kingston, NY.

Foodosourus showed interest...