The ubiquitous hotdog, a senior member of ‘on the go’ ‘fast food’. All sensible civilizations have some version of tube-meat. The hot dog is ours. Hot dogs come in a ton of variety from the Chicago dog that has everything you can think of it on it to the back yard grilled dog with some mustard. Today, I went for ‘Coney Island style hot dogs’ which only consists of: a hot dog, Greek Chili sauce, and onions on a bun…Simple. I drove over to Johnstown PA for Coney Island Lunch (est 1916) and then back to Altoona for Texas Hot Dog (est 1918). I have no idea why it’s called ‘Texas’. Over 200 years of ‘dogs between them! Neither place is fancy, hell…or even very nice inside. They are both clean, but well worn, lot’s of character to the buildings and tons of characters in them.
Today, in Battle: Hot Dog, I compared two western PA culinary traditions. Here, the chili is a sauce (no beans). It has Greek immigrant origins. They came through New York, tried some dogs, and said, “wait, Achilles! we have this meat sauce that would make this dog much better”. Anyone who has had it can tell it’s not really like chili. If you can get your hands on Skyline chili from Cincinnati, that’s a pretty good generic example but not as good as the local made stuff. Everyone who makes it has their own blend of spices which can range from hot to mild and even a touch of cinnamon. The name “Coney Island” when used in the store name denotes the style. For instance, the M&P Coney Island in New Castle PA has no relation to the Coney Island Lunch in Johnstown PA except the Greek style meat sauce.
First: Coney Island Lunch, Johnstown PA
It’s been in that same spot since day one and does breakfast. They cook dogs well into the early morning and are best enjoyed at 3am after a night at the many social clubs (Italian, Polish, Serbian, Croatian, und zo weite).
The dogs are cooked on two large flat tops 100 or so at a time. There was a line at 10am when i got there! The buns are also lined up to get a little toasted on the bottom. They move them so quickly that the buns never really spend more that a few minutes at rest and toasting. Their toasted buns are different as most places lightly steam them. The sauce is top notch, of course. The onions are shredded, which is essential. BUT, this place has one thing that none of the other places have…more on that later. The tube meat hot dogs themselves are as they should be, a little snap to them, essential spices, and a good chewiness to hold it all together.
Next: Texas Hot Dogs, Altoona PA (they have 2 locations!)
Texas Hot Dogs is a smaller operation, the flat top is 1/3 the size. They also do other things besides dogs like Coney Island Lunch, but really, ordering a cheeseburger in a Hot Dog joint just pisses everyone off and makes yinz look like a Jabroni. The line at Texas Dogs was out the door at 1150 this morning.
The buns are steamed, the chili sauce is also spot on, just a bit ‘richer’ than Coney Island Lunch, maybe a little more fat. Their Onions are not shredded as fine, but still shredded, this is key. The onions have to be shredded to really open them up. The hot dog (meat) itself more or less identical to Coney Island, I could not discern any appreciable differences there. This is a good thing.
The Result:
They both look and taste similar, Who is the winner? Coney Island Lunch by a dog’s whisker. I prefer the lightly toasted bun, BUT: It’s the onions. They are strong and shredded very fine. THIS is what makes a Coney Island dog better than all others. Their sauce is excellent, just like everyone else. Their onions are almost magically strong and you will smell of them for the next 12 hours. I can still smell them on my fingers! AND I WASHED MY HANDS!!! Glorious! I don’t know where they get these onions. I’ve shredded nearly every kind I can get…close…so close…but no.
Hope yinz enjoyed this.
