(Photo of a Stewart's (NJ) Hot Dog - Plain)
Botsford Drive-In - Newtown, CT- A favorite place for some good, inexpensive, deep-fried dogs. ( $.99 plain foot longs!!!) I'll pass on the seafood side orders, portions are a bit too small (quite a bit...)
Bill's Drive-In - Monroe, CT - A good all around place for dogs, seafood, etc., and at good prices too!!!
Super Duper Weenie - Fairfield, CT - Good tasting, locally made, dog. In it's plain form, a little dry, but still a good taste. Problem I encountered was that they do not have "yellow" mustard, only "brown", hence the plain dog here...Also no seafood...
Swanky Frank's - Westport, CT - Another good all around place for dogs, seafood, etc. Dogs are deep-fried and tasty. Seafood has a good taste and there is more to the portions than others give.
Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale Drive-In - Madison, CT - Here's where I'll differ from most of the people I've spoken with. This place is highly overrated. Portions were small. (Had a double order of scallops and a single order of whole belly clams, and they all fit on a small oblong take-out plate. Taste? If I could have gotten beyond the fact that they were very, very greasy, they might have tasted OK I guess, but I'll definitely pass by L & J next time through. Hot dog was not too bad though, but the rest of the meal ruined the overall experience...
Festival Buffet @ Foxwoods Casino - A regular stop just about every time we go up there. Plenty of fresh, plain & good food. (Unlike Mohegan Sun Buffet, too spicy and tries for too fancy...but, doesn't work...) My usuals: fried clams strips (and plenty of lemons), beer battered fish, baked cod, Chinese fried dumplings and spring rolls, prime rib, and gravy over it all...And I try to leave at least a little room for dessert. (Usually cherry pie with a big shovel of whipped cream on top, and of course, loads of sprinkles over it all...) The only problem I noticed recently is that they have cut out the "sprinkles" in the dessert toppings section...BOO HISS!!!
- RECENT UPDATE (12/22/04) Sprinkles were back today, Hey, Let's keep it up!!!!!!
Speaking of Mohegan Sun Casino, like I said above, forget about the buffets and check out some of the small specialty take-out places in the two food courts. The one we like is "The Grill". Try the Chicken and Beef Cheese Steak ($5.25). Depending on who is working that night, you may get a little, or a lot, of filling on the roll, but try the one under the Winter Entrance. Also, don't forget to get a Mohegan Sun coffee/soda mug when you go to the food court, just $4.95 and they are good for refills for life...
- RECENT UPDATE (12/22/04) "The Grill" is getting to be "The Cheap". The "Philly Steak" sandwiches AKA Chicken and Beef Cheese Steak touted above has gotten VERY, VERY, scant on chicken and/or beef, along with hardly any toppings such as peppers and onions...Guess it's just a sign of the times, but pretty soon, the beancounters running these fast food places will be expecting us to pay good money for just a plain roll that just happened to be in the vicinity of any fillings...( What, You Expect Meat In Your Sandwich??? Just What Era Are You From Man??? )...
Mike's Dog House - Oakland, NJ - Hot dogs and sausage and not too much else. Two deep-fat fryers that they toss Sabretts into and nothing else. But I have to say, they don't need anything else. Great tasting, big dogs, deep fried, at a good price, what else do you need??? They also rent hot dog carts (small and big), along with hot dogs and supplies, for parties, etc.
- RECENT UPDATE (03/06/05) As this was a Sunday, and Mike's closes at 5PM, I drove like crazy coming back from my meeting to the South. Got there about 4:45 and started talking to the kid behind the counter. Asked if they still had the Jumbo dogs, he said yes and Steve and I were ordering a few to go, and all of a sudden (without even looking at the deep fat fryer, he says "Oh the fryer just went out, so I can't make you any Jumbos...". Now a fryer is just like any other gas fired cooking appliance, if it goes out, you just re-light it. BUT it was 15 minutes until closing time for this kid and it takes a few minutes to cook these things, so you put two and two together and what do you come up with...the kid didn't want to take care of customers, he just wanted to get out of there...Hey, it's not his business, so what does he care??? We left and went down the street to Falls View Grill. At least the kids there want to take care of customers...girl behind the counter was a courteous professional, answered all my questions, and then took our order, unlike the kid at Mike's who was only focused on getting out the door...)
Good Times - Groton, CT - Just so you don't think that all is just "hunky-dory" with eating on the road, let me tell you about one place we recently tried. In Groton, CT, a place called "Good Times" is a place that certainly will not be re-visited by us. (Used to be a Golden Corral, which I can't complain about as they have lots of good food...) Went to Good Times and had the dinner buffet. Not really overcrowded as there was maybe about a dozen (or less) other diners in there while we were there. (That should have told us something from the start...) No real turnover in the food, and there was a piece of what I assumed was Prime Rib out there that looked petrified. We ate what looked edible but we may have been fooled as we both were sick the next day...
Rawley's - Fairfield, CT - Stopped by and had a couple of hot dogs here. A firm, good tasting dog, but I don't know what it was, I had stomach problems within an hour after leaving. (Possibly of soy used in process somewhere along the way??? Maybe fried in soy oil, or had soy protein included??? Unfortunately I react badly to soy right now...Certainly not the fault of Rawley's if this is the case...). Steve had the cheesesteak, which he found to be quite tasty, but a bit on the small side...
Jimmy's - Easton, PA - A very good, steamed hot dog that comes at a very inexpensive price (at least for the area that I live in...). At 75 cents apiece, they are a really good bargain, and they are very tasty. They come with mustard, onions, and a pickle slice. Definitely worth the stop when we are out that way.
Yocco's - Allentown, PA (Valley Plaza) - The "Hot Dog King" is definitely not the king in our book. I had plain and they were nothing special at all. Rather bland and tasteless. Steve had the regular (mustard, onions, and their "special" chili) and he had the same opinion as me, rather tasteless, even with all of the fixin's (of course the amount of fixin's were quite light, which may have been part of the problem...). They are fried on the griddle and cost $1.04 apiece. (Hatfield Brand) Even though we prefer a fried dog over steamed (deep fried are even better!!!), Jimmy's in Easton (above) was far better than these...
Swanky Frank's - Norwalk, CT - Just like their Westport location (reviewed above), another good all around place for dogs, seafood, etc. Dogs (Hummel Brand) are deep-fried and tasty. Owned by the same folks, this is the older location, and from the outside it sure looks it, but Roadfood like books should not be judged by their covers...go inside and enjoy a taste treat...Steve liked the raw onions for topping, big, hand cut, chunks...
The Greek's - Milford, CT - Found out about this one by the big billboard ad out on the left side of I-95 Northbound. This is not the first Greek diner off the highway exit (Atheans Diner may be good also, but have not stopped yet...), but go a little further down the road (bear left). Had a couple of plain long dogs, while Steve had chili dogs. Both of us were satisfied with what we had. Dogs are deep fried here and are priced about the local average. Long dogs have a good taste, even plain, and Steve said this is the first chili he's had on the road lately that had "a bit of a bite to it", tasted good also. Layer of bacon also added to the taste for Steve's dogs. Soda's were a good deal for their size. The only thing that detracted ever slightly from the experience was the poor attitude of the kid behind the counter taking our order (maybe he'll be in a better mood next time around???). They do seafood also, will try this sometime, when I can.
Stewarts - Gillette, NJ - Been by this one a couple of times and finally got to stop here. Glad we did. Nice clean place with GREAT dogs. Deep-fried, very tasty, with a casing and a "SNAP" when you bite them, on a toasted bun. Picture at top of this page is my first Stewarts dog. Steve had the chili dogs and he really liked them. Loads of chili and first place yet that the chili had a bit if a bite to it for him. As this is just down the street from my meeting place, here's our regular lunch spot now on meeting days.
Falls View Grill - Oakland, NJ - Sort of a mini-chain with six or seven places around, but another good hot dog joint. Dogs here are also deep-fried, but they don't taste to be all beef. Seems like a beef/pork mix, but will confirm another time. Friendly staff, clean place, open seven days a week (until 8PM on Sundays...) We will be back, especially when Mike's down the street is closed (or almost closed...see above...)
Reviews are not ranked in any special order, other than in the order of when we visited. All opinions on this page are strictly our own, and are based on what we tasted, saw, smelled, heard, felt, and/or sensed during our visits to any places reviewed on this page. If you are the owner/operator of any of these places and are displeased with a review, then invite us back and DO A BETTER JOB NEXT TIME!!!...
Just a couple of "links" (pardon the pun) to some terrific Hot Dog (and other great food) sites:
