Hot Dog Of The Week- 24th & Passyunk

Down on Passyunk Avenue west, between 23rd and 24th streets, right in front of the Dunkin' Donuts this guy sells probably the best hot dogs in Philadelphia. Actually the thing to get is the hot sausage on Jersey's finest Del Buono Bakery long roll. He's got all kinds of toppings but go for the homemade pepper hash.

Get there early - he's probably gone by 5pm, weekdays only, and the line gets long. This is for a reason.. He's been there maybe 10 years cranking out good dogs. There's also supposedly a Carribean food truck down there but I didn't see it. There was another cart with fish sandwiches and fish cakes and a guy selling bootleg T-shirts in a vacant parking lot.




Found some old (1913) recipes for Pepper Hash via Google Books. It really started as more of a pickling process. I always thought it was exclusively Pennsylvania Dutch (German) because my grandmother made it, and the PA dutch certainly made it but it wasn't exclusive to their cooking. But it seemed to hit its height of popularity in the Philadelphia area served with fish dishes and eventually hot dogs.

Anyway you can read the whole article on Serious Eats.

More Philly Hot Dog Research

Gus' Hot Dog Cart on 5th & South

While "researching" half the hot dogs in Philadelphia over the past few weeks I came across a few surprises and a bit closer to my goal of trying every fish cake combo in the city.

Gus' Hot Dog Cart on 5th & south is a great stand and one of the few street vendors to serve the notorious combo. Steamed jumbo dog, grilled fish cake & mustard on a half of a hoagie roll. Gus' location is appropriate because he's about a block away from where Levis' hot dogs- birthplace of the fish cake combo - was located.

Fish Cake Combo from Gus' Cart

I also hit Johnny's Hots for the first time. I was a little stuffed from Gus' combo so I just got a dog with pepper hash. It was OK but didn't blow me away quite like the truck on 24th & passyunk. The bun was interesting though, more tooth than your standard bun - holds up to mounds of toppings - but not too bready or tough. I think the thing to get is the sausage- next time.

Hot Dog with Pepper Hash from Johnny's Hots

Bubby's Brisket and Bugsy's Weiner

Bubby's Brisket and Bugsy's Weiner, a newer place on 15th street just north of Arch also does the combo, here the fish cakes are deep fried and served on top of a split dog on a steak roll. Great fish cakes, deep fried might be the way to go - but 2 of them plus the big roll is sort of an overwhelming amount of starch.

Deep Fried Fish Cake Combo from Bubby's Brisket

I finished it at home with extra mustard and hot sauce and a jug of iced tea. Also tried their plain hot dog which was a decent standard split & grilled dog. A casual walk-up take out joint catering to the local lunch crowd, nothing spectacular but probably the only place less than 5 years old that has the combo, good to see them keeping it alive.

Cross-section of Bubby's combo

I still don't really get why the only people who have any chance of eating decent hot dogs in Philly are construction and dock workers having them for breakfast. Moe's, Johnny's Hots, Passyunk Guy, Texas Weiners, all closed by 5, some as early as 3.

Little Pete's Texas Tommy to go

Little Pete's - a great place for a milkshake or a reuben at 4 in the morning - has a killer Texas Tommy as well. Toasted bun, split dog, lots of bacon and melted american cheese, came with a bag of chips and a neatly wrapped pickle. Tony Luke's also has a terrific Texas Tommy with wiz, and something called the Texas Smoked Hot that I wrote about a couple weeks ago, both of which are up there with my favorite Philly hot dogs.

Shiny Foil and Crispy Bacon

There's a few local hot dogs out there I'm still itching to try - Michael's Deli on 4th and Wolf apparently has a jumbo double Philly Combo with 2 hot dogs and 2 fish cakes on a full size italian roll. Also something called the Animal Farm which is a combo cheesesteak with beef, chicken, piles of bacon and cheese. I think after that it might be time for "salad of the week"...

Danish Hot Dogs

Copenhagen is home to some of the greatest hot dog carts I think in the world. The Polser the the original fast food of Copenhagen and the carts are everywhere.The traditional Danish hot dog is a seperate sausage with a roll that you dip into a blob of mustard or Ketchup.

But to me a Danish hot dog is the baguette like bread pocket filled with mustard and mayonnaise that perfectly fits a long skinny hot dog.Which is ingenious because you can put as many condiments as you like and it's very neat and you can walk around.

All the hotdog carts toast your roll, have 3 different kinds of mustard and you can get a side of pickles and deep fried onions. I'm craving one right now. The best part is that you get to stand in line with these beautiful Danish supermodel looking people who are also getting a hotdog.

Philly Hot Dogs Of The Week

Out hitting the streets searching for hot dogs worthy of "hot dog of the week" illustrations. I don't know if Philly Dirty Water Dog is really a regional style but you know what I'm talking about. When you forget breakfast and stop at a food cart on the way to work and grab a 1/4 pound hot dog on a cheesesteak roll that you devour on the street while the dirty water steam is still rolling off the dog.


And then the Texas Tommy. My mom used to make these (and maybe yours did too).A big thing in ladies magazines in the 50's & 60's but pretty sure the name Texas Tommy is a local thing because these suckers are on almost every sandwich, deli and diner menu in Philadelphia.

I never really thought of the Texas Tommy as a Philly thing but it's hard to find them anywhere else. Mother Burger in NYC has a "Kobe Beef" Texas Tommy that's 9 dollars. Johnnie's Dog House in Delaware and a few spots in Jersey have them, but like most Philadelphia classics, the Texas Tommy is best consumed leaning against a gleaming stainless steel ledge or diner counter.

If you really want to get into it check out the full articles here-
Serious Eats - Philly Dirty Water Dog
Serious Eats - Texas Tommy

Texas Smoked Hot - Tony Luke's

Been doing some exhaustive local hot dog research lately... After months of painting & writing about hot dogs from other cities I realized there's a lot I haven't eaten right here in Philadelphia, and as long as the Phillies are going strong I want to continue featuring Philly dogs for my Serious Eats column.

Headed down to South Philly this morning in search of some new & exciting variations. Never even really considered ordering a hot dog at Tony Luke's before... I looked over the crazy menu and my jaw dropped for a second when I saw the listing for the "Texas Smoked Hot" with onions and special sauce.


The Texas Smoked Hot is an extra long split & grilled smoked dog... covered in onions and Texas-Weiner style chili sauce, with a really strong cinnamon taste, stronger than most I've had in Philly, all on a long steak roll. Sort of a cross between a Texas Weiner and a Half-Smoke. Awesome. I'm a huge fan of the "split and grilled" style, especially when there's a good char on there.


So the Texas Hot was a little close to stuff I've done before to make it as hot dog of the week but it's still a fantastic hot dog. Tony Luke's menu has all kinds of wild items I've never noticed before, like the "Papa Luke" steak sandwich with sliced tomatoes and cream cheese and "hot dog fries". I don't love their steaks as much as some (standing by my current favorites - Philip's on 24th & passyunk and George's on 9th street) but this was a killer hot dog. I've heard that their veal cutlet & chicken cutlet sandwiches are also pretty amazing.

Tony Luke's
Front & Oregon
South Philly

Pine State Biscuits

I've never been a big breakfast person, and for most of my life I've totally ignored the whole breakfast is the most important meal of the day thing. The only times that I make an exception to my no food before noon rule is when I'm on vacation, and oftentimes I end up kicking myself for not venturing into the world of breakfast foods more often.

On my last day in Portland I found myself awake pretty early in order to make a flight and have one last meal with the friends that I was visiting. We made our sleepy way over to Pine State Biscuits for an obscenely early breakfast that was one of the best that I've ever had. Their signature sandwich, the Reggie, sounds like a prime candidate for This Is Why You're Fat but it tastes like a dream come true. A giant flakey biscuit topped with fried chicken, bacon, cheddar, and the best country gravy I've ever had. The biscuit is tinged yellow from all of the great butter that goes into it, the bacon is cooked perfectly, treading that fine line between chewy and overdone, and the gravy has enough coarsely ground black pepper to make it borderline spicy. This sandwich would have been great even if the chicken wasn't, but the chicken itself was amazing. It was a boneless breast which tends to dry out easily, but this one was a triumph. Moist, crisp, and perfectly seasoned with hints of vinegary hot sauce and the tang of a possible buttermilk soak.

It's been a week since my last Reggie and I have to say that there hasn't been a morning that I haven't woken up and craved it. Next time I'm in Portland I'll have to go for the Reggie Deluxe that tops the whole thing with an over easy egg.

Brauhaus Schmitz

Initially I wrote this place off as another college sports bar with a fake theme, expecting something like a Bavarian Fado. The 45 flat screen TV's and dudes banging on the table and chugging car bombs sort of confirmed this. But I arrived half drunk myself after a long week of drawing hot dogs and was ready to give it a go.

The food surprised me - pretty much the real thing. The Schlachtplatte (butcher's plate) was as good as any choucroute I've had anywhere. A heaping pile of saurkraut with a pork chop and 3 different serious German sausages (a few of which they make in house) including blood pudding.

Turns out the chef earned his chops at a German Club near Reading, PA and picked up some old school craft from the kitchen elders. Also a million different German beers on tap and well-informed waitresses decked out in Bavarian rennaissance-faire attire. Awesome.

Brauhaus Schmitz
718 South St
Philadelphia, PA 19147

Skyline Chili

My friend Tim just brought back some Skyline Chili in a can from Ohio.
Cooked it up with some spaghetti, shredded cheese and raw onions in the real deal Cincinnati style. Apparently you're supposed to eat it with oyster crackers but I was all out. How something popular in New England made it onto Ohio chili blows my mind.

Anyway the taste is kind of insane but really good. It was similar in flavor to the "Greek Sauce" I've had at Texas Weiner style hot dog joints in PA and New Jersey, but much stronger. It's really hard to tell what's in there but I would guess cloves, cinnamon, maybe even chocolate? This kind of Chili has nothing to do with mexico but it sort of reminds me of mole sauce. I always thought chili on spaghetti sounded disgusting but guess what it's great.

Washed it down with some Philadelphia Brewing Company Coffee Porter.. talk about pairing food with beer. I still have 2 cans of chili left, next step is putting that stuff on some hot dogs.


Perfect timing because I just featured the Detroit Coney for Hot Dog Of The Week, which uses a very similar chili traditionally made with beef hearts & kidneys but almost never served with cheese.

Otto & Crif Dogs

So I've heard a lot of mixed reviews on the pizza at Mario Batali's Otto in NYC. Didn't exactly blow me away but it was decent. I would say Tacconelli's and even Osteria here in Philly are a notch above.

But what they don't have is probably the best salted caramel gelato I've ever had, pretty ballsy it's more salty than sweet and tastes like something you might rub on a rack of ribs. Awesome.

We also don't have Crif Dogs open for pork-roll wrapped hot dogs at 3am. And the best tater tots in the world, I don't know if they make them by hand or fry them in peanut oil or what but they're always perfect.

New Prints

4 brand new Hot Dog prints available! From my Hot Dog Of The Week series for Serious Eats.
Pick them up at my website, $27 bucks a pop.

Asian Market Report

Every time I go the asian market I can't help but pick up some exotic items to try out. Also I feel sort of guilty going up to the register with my gringo coconut milk and sriracha. So I always grab a can of fried wheat gluten in fermented sauce or whatever. A few weeks ago I decided I was going to eat healthier and picked up these vegetarian meatballs for $1.50.

The label proudly says "No Borax" and I cooked them in some broth with noodles.. the broth was great but these meatballs literally smelled like canned dog food and tasted even worse. The texture was like chewing on a rubber ball and they messed up my stomach for three days. Anyway if you want to make Pho broth at home they have these bags of mixed Pho spices for 75 cents full of cinnamon, star anise and crazy ass hunks of tree bark.


Fortunately these $2 Durian popsicles were awesome. Highly recommended if you aren't ready for the real thing, you still get the durian funk taste but not so much of the weird ammonia aftertaste. I haven't actually had straight durian fruit yet but they've got em and it's only a matter of time.

Seattle Cream Cheese Hot Dog

Latest "Hot Dog Of The Week" illustration and article on Serious Eats.

This week it's Seattle's Cream Cheese Hot Dog, which apparently started about 10 years ago at vendors outside the Mariners stadium. They take a split & grilled hot dog, smear a toasted roll with cream cheese and add on a pile of grilled onions. Other toppings include everything from grilled cabbage to jalepenos and BBQ sauce, depending on what vendor you go to.Recently it's become a late night thing with makeshift hot dog stands setting up outside of bars on weekends.




The article got a nod from the Seattle Stranger's blog and is generating lots of hot dog controversy. It blows my mind that there was / is almost no coverage of the Cream Cheese Dog by the local alt-weeklies or food blogs. The most I found was a short list of favorite stands from Seattle Magazine.

Anyway many thanks to Garrett Morlan for tipping me off to the Seattle Dog and sending some great photos. Check out his awesome illustration work at Garrettmorlan.com

Kong

The idea behind Kong is Chinese street food. I don't know if it really lives up to that ..the offerings were a little bit "safe" compared to what I might expect on the street in Hong Kong, or even Philly's Chinatown. But this is coming from someone who actually wants to eat blackened fermented chicken gizzards and durian shakes, so take it with a grain of salt..

Anyhow any issues I had with the concept were gone as soon as I ate the food. Went with a large group and I think we went through half the menu. Everything looked great..The crab & rice omelette with chinese sausage and splattered with sriracha was gone in 2 minutes. Simple and awesome... the kind of thing I would make at home with leftover rice. Sauteed longbeans were also nice & simple. Softshell crab was kind of lost in a big salad, I dont think I got any crab but I just might have been the last person to get to the bowl. Lamb / pine nut / eggplant dumplings were also delicious.






We also tried the short rib buns, really good, there was a kind of "slider" thing going on with the presentation, and we passed around various noodle and rice bowls, I think I had about 5 different styles of pork belly and chinese bacon- crispy, star anise braised, etc etc.. - that were all terrific. Oh and the pork ribs were great. And the tofu / edamame dumplings, surprisingly good for vegetarian stuff, nice texture, etc. Velvet corn soup - really wanted to try it but it was kind of warm out still... next time.

So even though I wasn't exactly transported to a busy market in China - you can't seem to go wrong with anything on the menu, I believe the noodles are all made on site, the prices are reasonable and the beer is cold, good service... good deal.

KONG
702-704 North 2nd Street
Philadelphia PA

Hot Dog Of The Week- Half Smoke

Washington DC's delicious Half-Smoke. I had one at Ben's Chili Bowl in January. What the hell is a half smoke? Read the full article at Serious Eats.

Aritisan Boulangerie

I don't think I ever posted about this amazing gift from Andre at Artisan Boulangerie, but it was unexpected and of course I had to heat the entire thing up in the oven and consume it in one nite. It was salmon with creme fraiche wrapped in pastry dough shaped like a fish with coffee bean eyes. It was amazing.

Jose Garces

Here is an illustration of Jose Garces for Eat Beat in the Philly Weekly this week. I can't wait to eat at whiskey tavern, which combines my 2 greatest food fetishes, pickled things and mason jars.