Gaggers

Written by Amanda MacArthur | @amaaanda on June 21, 2013

If you’re not a Rhode Islander, you might not understand our love for RI weiners, which aren’t just hot dogs with a sexy name and represented by hilarious neon signs that say “hot weiners”.
No, they’re so much more. Wikipedia says it best, although they’re the only ones spelling it with an i before the e around here:
The traditional wiener is made with a small, thin frankfurter made of veal and pork, giving it a different taste from a traditional beef hot dog, served in a steamed bun, and topped with celery salt, yellow mustard, chopped onions, and a seasoned meat sauce (the spices vary by vendor but commonly include cumin, paprika, chili powder, and allspice). A preparation including all of the above is often ordered by patrons as “all the way.”

When I was new to Rhode Island, I even did a little weiner foodtrip and wrote about it for Examiner. They’re also called “gaggers”, which is, you know… er… strange… Rhode Island. Derp.
I haven’t learned the ordering lingo yet, but I think it’s something like “one dog, all the way”. I learned this from an old fella today and I figure he must know what he’s doing by now!

For the complete article go to Buzzfarmers at the link below
http://buzzfarmers.com/buzzfarmers-adventures/best-rhode-island-ri-weiners-ice-cream/

Eats in Seekonk a History of Food for 60 Years

From the Seekonk-Swansea Patch

http://seekonk-swansea.patch.com/groups/business-news/p/eats-in-seekonk-a-history-of-food-for-60-years

Written by Jeff Sullivan.

Eats in Seekonk a History of Food for 60 Years

A look back at the three generation story of Eats.

Eats Restaurant in Seekonk has been a staple in the town for over 30 years, but its history goes back a lot farther than that.

 

“My grandfather owned a New York System in East Providence for like 60 years,” said Lexi Mihailides, whose father currently owns Eats. “He started when he was wicked young, maybe 20 years old when he started at the one in Smith Street. He then bought the one in East Providence. My dad worked there and wanted to open his own place.”

New York System started in Providence back in the 1953 by Greek immigrants Anthony Stevens and his son Nicholas. The pair first settled in Brooklyn and then moved to Rhode Island where they started the Providence tradition of the New York System.

 

Mihailides said he first started in 1983 and has been going strong ever since. Wieners are a big part of what they do, and they take it pretty seriously.

 

“The wieners we use are 90 percent hamburger, so it’s not very greasy,” she said.  “The difference between us and other places is we use Angus beef.  We don’t use shaved steak in our sandwiches. Everything’s homemade, brownies, apple pie, carrot cake, we also have awesome salads, which you wouldn’t expect from a weenie joint. We try to focus on not cutting any corners.”

 

Mihailides first started working with her father when she was 12 years old, and she enjoys the work mainly because of the pace, like her father.

 

“It’s definitely our thing, we can’t sit still,” she said. “When I started when I was 13, it was really fast paced. It gets really busy at lunchtime. It’s crazy, we have a line out the door sometimes. It can be a little overwhelming, but we really like it.”

 

Wieners are definitely their specialty at the restaurant, and Mihailides said its the sauce that makes the unique.

 

“It’s homemade chili sauce,” she said. “It’s not very spicy and it’s like a really good mild chili.”

 

Mihailides said they sponsor Seekonk youth sports, donate to the high school and whatever they can.

 

“We give out gift certificates for whatever charity that asks,” she said. “If anybody comes in and asks we’ll do it.”

 

Eats in Seekonk is located at 1395 Fall River Ave. and is open Mon - Wed, 7am - 3:30pm; Thu - Sat, 7am - 8:30pm; Sun, closed.