Entries tagged with 'Pennsylvania'
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"The dogs are your standard Deitz & Watson, but what really makes them stand out is the steamed buns and homemade pepper hash." Tucked away in a corner of South Philadelphia, right around the corner from Philip's, one of my favorite cheesesteak joints, lies what just might be Philly's best kept hot dog secret. Hollyeats.com calls it the best hot dog in Philadelphia, and I think I might agree. I parked in a nearby half-abandoned strip mall near a guy selling bootleg Phillies t-shirts, found a battered newsstand and a cart selling fish sandwiches, but that couldn't be it. Maybe this legendary hot dog man had disappeared, or simply went home at 2 p.m. or "when the bread runs out"...
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"Philly is greatly underrepresented in the hot dog history books." [Original art and photography: Hawk Krall] Past Weeks' Dogs Philly Dirty Water DogChicago DogDetroit ConeysSeattle StyleHalf-Smoke This week we take a look at another Philadelphia hot dog—one that seems to have slipped through the cracks of hot dog history. Popular with 1950s housewives and on almost every greasy spoon menu in Philadelphia, Eastern Pennsylvania, and South Jersey, the Texas Tommy is a grilled and split hot dog loaded with bacon and lots of cheese. Other condiments are optional but not necessary. The earliest Texas Tommys were wrapped in bacon before being cooked and grilled, or deep-fried like they used to make them at The Cup in Pottstown, Pennsylvania (now closed)....
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This week's hot dog is more of a technique than a regional style. That's because finding a really good hot dog in the Philadelphia area is almost impossible. Legend has it that some manufacturers even make a special extra-bland wiener for the region. To jack up the flavor, I marinate my Pennsylvania hot dogs in beer, garlic, onions, herbs and aromatics not unlike what you would use to make a classic choucroute. Then I throw the dogs in a small pot of chili on the grill, toss the dog into a bun, cover it with chili and heaping piles of shredded cheese, diced onions, and maybe some scallions if I'm feeling fancy. Mustard is optional though I prefer yellow,...
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"While many folks wouldn't touch a gas station hot dog with a ten-foot pole, it inspires a cult-like following for others." Past Weeks' Dogs Slaw DogPuka DogThe Philly ComboTijuana DogsTexas WeinersFlo's Hot Dogs Over the last few weeks we've highlighted some fascinating regional hot dogs. But for most of us, eating a hot dog does not mean traveling halfway across the country to a roadside stand in a half-abandoned coal mining town. This week's dog is a style that many will be familiar with, possibly more so than we'd like to admit. While the object of much ridicule—the term "gas station hot dog" being a common euphemism for anything on the bottom of the culinary barrel—the 24-Hour Dog can be...
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Past Weeks' Dogs The Philly ComboTijuana DogsFlo's Hot Dogs, Cape Neddick, Maine The first, possibly most important thing to note about Texas Weiners is that they have absolutely nothing to do with Texas. Originating in Paterson, New Jersey, at Greek-owned hot dog restaurants, a Texas Weiner is deep fried and served with Greek sauce—a smooth, slow cooked meat sauce spiced with cayenne, cinnamon, allspice, cloves and cumin. It's more of a Greek Bolognese or Saltsa Kima than anything resembling Texas Chili. Legend has it the recipe is a closely guarded secret to this day. A Texas Weiner "all the way" includes mustard and diced onions. Texas Weiners also spread to Philadelphia and across Central and Northeastern Pennsylvania, where they...
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"This is Zummo's Café—Pennsylvania's, and perhaps America's, best coffee shop." If you're the sort of person that doesn’t know why they should visit Scranton, Pennsylvania—except to see if the Dunder Mifflin office really exists—I'm here to help. Imagine you're lost in a sort of run down neighborhood. You spot a café, and pull over. It’s across the street from a church, down the street from a storefront courtroom, Catholic school, and rectory and in an old wood-frame house. A police car is parked outside and construction workers are having a smoke out front. What do you expect? Plastic-wrapped danishes? Week-old doughnuts? At least you'll get directions. When you walk in though, you notice the Clover machine. Yeah, they make coffee...
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Note: Please welcome Hawk Krall, a Philly-based illustrator who will be chiming in with his hot dog wisdom and original artwork on a regular basis. Take it away, Hawk! The Philly Combo is a hot dog variation unique to the Philadelphia area. Believed to have originated at Levis Hot Dogs, which was open between 1895 and 1992 on 6th and South Streets, this kosher-inspired concoction consists of an all-beef hot dog and a potato fish cake topped with mustard and onions. Moe's Hot Dogs here in Philly still serves up this classic, and even has Levis Champ Cherry soda to wash it down. Over the years, variations have evolved including the addition of pepper hash or pepper cabbage, a Pennsylvania...
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The first episode of Salt, Pepper, Ketchup went up on Tuesday. Host Rob Rawlings and his friend, director/writer/editor Brendan Huffman, promise a new episode each Tuesday. Looks like it has potential, but as with the first few episodes of Vendr.TV, which covers similar ground but with a wider geographical range, the seven-minute debut is a bit long for web-based videos. Still, it’s nice to see someone documenting the rich street-vendor scene in Philly. In the premiere episode, Rawlings visits a breakfast cart on 8th and Walnut—the very first Philly cart he ever visited—with his street meat mentor. The video, after the jump....
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Dan Delaney of vendr.tv tries the best falafel in Philadelphia when he visits Christos' Falafels run by Kostadinos "Gus" Hristis. Besides his signature award-winning falafel, Gus's other offerings includes charcoal-grilled chicken, lentil and carrot hummus, and roasted red pepper salad. You can visit his cart on the corner of Market Street and North 20th Street. Watch the video after the jump....
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