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try burger 'n que's 1/2 pound cheeseburger in orland park--it beats them all

@toad3000:
I completely agree about never writing off an establishment on opening day...that's why, if you read the rest of what I wrote, I went back again about 2 weeks later and had the EXACT SAME EXPERIENCE. Some of the things that I had a problem with really should have no bearing on when I went...the quality of the ingredients like buns and cheese are not going to change and should have been INCREDIBLY fresh on opening day. They should never be more fresh than when I went the first time. Those were two of the biggest problems for me. Gummy buns and cheese that tasted worse than what they use at McDonalds is not going to win any points. And they were the exact same the second time, which tells me that there's no reason to expect that they'll be any different in the future.

But the other things like getting an order wrong, possibly seasoning the meat wrong and cooking it poorly...I can understand that being done on opening day. So I went back and tried again...and it was all the same. Almost exactly. Should I try again and expect it to be different? Possibly, but why when there were so many other things that I didn't like about the place. There are too many good burger places in town, why waste time going back again and again that I've already been to twice and have not enjoyed?

And my biggest complaint was the price. So, if I have now waited a couple of months and go back again, do you think the price will have dropped by 1/3 to be more in line with the quality? I'm fairly sure it won't.

But thanks for the "rocket science" comment. I think I really gave them a fair shot. I didn't just go on opening day and then bash them. I went twice, had two OK experiences, but nothing that I feel that I need to have again. After all of the hype I've read about the place, I was quite disappointed. And I was blown away by the price! Thanks for trying.

I had my first 5 Guys burger at the DC airport a few week ago. It was mediocre. Neither the burger nor the fries compared to In-n-Out, not to mention the 10 other places in LA, SF, and Chicago that are better than In-n-Out. You all should travel more.

@hungryone, you're absolutely delusional. Just in 5 Guys' own native DC/NoVA region, the burger at RAY'S HELL-BURGER is utterly sublime, cooked to order rather than burnt, (even if not always perfectly accurately), deliciously-seasoned, juicy and 10 whole ounces of ground-on-premises top quality prime beef for a price of $7.

And they have REAL cheese, not that flavorless processed american cheese crap. You need to get out more.

Thank you for the great post! I've been to plants where hot dogs are made and have seen the process before, but it wasn't explained to me like you did. I do know that a beef or beef/pork frank has to use fairly high quality meat as you stated.

There is a science and art to making hot dogs. Beef franks require a little more of the art than chicken and turkey. Let me be Alton Brown for a moment.

The slurry you see going into the casings is best described as a meat batter. It looks little different from and performs the same way a cake batter does, you wouldn;t call cake batter gross, would you?.

The protein in the meat is solubilized to coat the fat and spices and creates the bouncy texture of the meat when cooked. Beef hot dogs, and pork and beef, use sheletal trimmings and low demand primal cuts of meat, lots of chuck, belly meat, and light colored beef muscle. These large muscle chunks of meat are ground down to expose as much surface area as possible so the protein can loosen with the addition of salt and water. When fluid enough, the fat is added, coated with the meat protein, and size reduced in one of several ways, bowl chopper or meat emulsifier, an ultra high speed grinder which cute the meat into pieces a fraction of a millimeter in size, this creates the baby food paste you see in the video. Special stuffers are used to remove any air that gets mixed into the batter prior to stuffing, otherwise the hot dog can have the texture of a sponge, a meat marshmallow. I've seen them made this way, and trust me a meat marshmallow would only sell at Alinea, what a concept a $2000 a pound hot dog, I must go to my marketing group.

The turkey and chicken used in hot dogs is a different matter. this is primarilly meat which is removed from chickens after they have had the breast, legs, wings and thighs removed. Run through a grinder and pressed through a sieve, It looks like baby food right from the start.

If you are dealing with all beef or beef and pork only dogs, the meat quality must be fairly high to make a hot dog. Gristle/ collagen at high levels makes them fall apart, so the meat may be scraps that are too small for a roast or steak, but they are clean and fresh otherwise they become your hamburger. Forget Upton Sinclair, the laws were changed almost a century ago, no rat hairs are allowed and only rarely a missing worker.

I just went back and read the review of Max's by Ubereater. Wow! The review, pictures, and descriptions of the dog at Max's would have a vegetarian drooling. Unfortunately Max's is seasonal and they aren't open now. They open for the season sometime in March and close shortly after Labor Day. From speaking with people in the business (distributors, restaurant owners, hot dog plant people, etc.) I've found out that Max's is 3rd in amount of hot dogs sold. This is quite impressive given the fact that they are closed almost half of the year.

The Hot Grill in Clifton sells more hot dogs than any place in Jersey. A fairly mild dog deep fried and topped with mustard, onions, and a thin chili sauce. They sell what is known as Texas Weiners. The chili has cinnamin, nutmeg, cummin, and other spices. Popular in and around Passaic County, this chili may be an aquired taste. I love it. The Hot Grill is open until 1 AM which in part accounts for the large amount of hot dogs sold here. Former President Richard Nixon was a customer.

The Galloping Hill Inn in Union is second in terms of hot dogs sold. No place sells more at lunch time. There is always a line, but it moves quickly as this place has been doing great dogs for years and are experienced at serving a lot of customers quickly. They would probably sell more dogs than The Hot Grill, but they close much earlier. While The Hot Grill's dogs are similar to Rutt's in preparation and taste, the Galloping Hill Inn's dogs are similar to Max's. A flavorful beef and pork dog prepared on a griddle and topped with a great Dusseldorf mustard and put in a harder football shaped bun. The GHI is known for it's hot reslish. I've never tried it (my wife loves it) as this dog is so good that I enjoy it with mustard only. The roll is unique. People either love or hate it. It's specially made for the GHI by Pechter's bakery, which is owned by the same people who own the GHI. People from the Hudson Valley in New York who attend the Annual New Jersey Hot Dog Tours love this dog more than any other that we've sampled in the five years we've been doing the tours. The roll is a little big so I get a double dog; 2 dogs on one roll. The frank is made from a recipe that was originally made at a local German butcher.

The tasty dogs at Max's are Schickhaus brand. There was a Schickhaus plant in Kearny, New Jersey that made these dogs and other meats. In fact, they sponsored the New York Mets in the 60's and 70's. They even had a jingle. "A frank by any other name can never, never taste the same as Schickhaus, Schickhaus Franks!" The plant closed, but the recipe was preserved and made by a number of different meat companies. Grote & Weigel of Connecticut made them for years. They lost the contract and Russer out of New York was making them. Grote & Weigel again started making them 5 or 6 years ago. As of about a year ago Schickhaus franks (and bologna) were/are being made by Armour-Eckrich. But nothing has changed in terms of taste and quality. Still the same great dog.

Many places down the shore and on the boardwalk serve this frank and prepare it like Max's on a hot griddle. Few, if any, do it as well as Max's. The dogs are prepared perfectly, spending enough time on the griddle. The buns are toasted. I can't wait until March. BoardWalk Dogs in Brick serves this particular frank. Jimmy Buff's in East Hanover offers it in addition to their Italian Hot Dogs, footlong (the old Syd's dog) and pushcart style. At Buff's it is prepared on a griddle and finished off on a charcoal grill. Both places are worth seeking out if you can't wait until March and need your Max's fix.

I was always told they were from lips, @$$holes and elbows. Maybe the elbow meat was the clincher. I love a hotdog on occasion, but it has to be all beef...I guess beef lips, eyelids, ankles and buttholes? sorry

Ubereater,

Nice site! I love Max's also. Did you know that you can get these same dogs at many supermarkets to prepare at home? The brand is Schickhaus and they are a top quality beef and pork dog. It's hard to say which is the BEST dog, since there are many styles. A beef dog has a different flavor profile than a beef/pork dog like those served at Max's and Rutt's. Not to mention different ways of preparing them. Rutt's dogs are specially made for deep frying. Max's are prepared on a griddle.

Have you ever tried a beef dog from Syd's? It was boiled, then charbroiled. Made by Best Provisions, it was a 5 to a lb natural casing frank that was my favorite beef dog. Now gone, but you can get the same dog at Jimmy Buff's in East Hanover or Bubba's in Lyndhurst.

For a grilled pork/beef dog similar to Max's, there are 2 that I like even better that I recommend you check out. The Galloping Hill Inn in Union (close to Elizabeth) and Karl Ehmer's in Hillsdale. The Galloping Hill Inn uses a special recipe frank from Grote & Weigel of Conn. that was originally produced at a small butcher shop in Union. A tasty natural casing beef/pork dog griddled and served on a sturdy harder bun.

The Karl Ehmer's cart in front of their store serves products from Karl Ehmers out of College Point, N.Y. with the exception of their German style franks. These dogs are made by Kocher's Continental Provisions out of Ridgefield, Park, N.J. and are one of the best franks produced anywhere. The people at Karl Ehmer's main office aren't happy that one of their stores serves (and sells for take home) a product not made by them, but this particular frank is superior in flavor. It was named the best beef and pork grilled dog by the Star Ledger's Munchmobile S.W.A.T. Team 2 years ago. I was a member of this team and we reviewed hot dogs from 87 places including Max's.

You can read my reviews here: http://www.thegourmetchilidog.com/vendors/nj/JohnFox_2006_01.html

Have you gone to the Windmill just down the street from Max's? A very similar dog (Sabrett, but beef and pork rather than all beef) prepared the same way and the same size. In my opinion the dog at Max's has slightly more flavor while the dog at the Windmill has a tighter casing with a little more snap. Perhaps you would like to join us next September on the 6th Annual New Jersey Hot Dog Tour?

A local plant near me makes great quality hot dogs. The natural casing franks (sheep intestines) are only made once a week. They are harder to produce then skinless franks and are more expensive. But worth it in my opinion. This place also smokes the dogs in a smokehouse using real wood, not liquid smoke. Rather than trimmings, this plant uses whole cuts of lean and choice beef. It makes a difference. Call it elitist; it just tastes better. I also buy German style franks from old fashioned European butchers. They still have a few of them where I live. German style has beef, pork (and sometimes veal) rather than just beef. These pork stores also have real smokehouses and use good cuts of beef and pork. Prepared the right way, there is nothing I like more.

What was that-meat slurry?

I am NEVER eating a hot dog again.

I don't understand why they have to remove the casings, they make them better!