You Say 'Hot Dogs,' Rhode Islanders Say 'Weenies'

by Anthony Brooks

Ferrucci's New York System, which isn't in New York as you might expect, is one of the bright spots in downtown West Warwick, R.I., where many businesses are suffering because of the recession. Locals gather here for breakfast, as well as burgers, fries, wraps and seafood rolls. But the eatery is best known for something else: weenies.
Or wieners. Just don't confuse them with a hot dog. In fact, on my first visit to Ferrucci's I made the mistake of ordering a hot dog. The woman running the grill looked at me as if I were speaking a foreign language. "You want a what?" she asked.
A weenie is a Rhode Island thing.
- Mike Ferrucci, Ferrucci's New York System
"Um, a hot dog," I said, "ketchup and mustard."
"We don't have hot dogs here. We have wieners."
Another customer looked at me and said, "You’re not from Rhode Island, are you?"
"A weenie is a Rhode Island thing," says Mike Ferrucci, the restaurant's owner.
Who would have thought that ordering a hot dog — a staple of American fast food from coast to coast — would mark me so obviously as an outsider? But it did.
Ferrucci, who came here from the Bronx 15 years ago, may be Rhode Island’s leading expert on the wiener.
"A weenie is basically like a hot dog but smaller," he says. "It's got different ingredients in it."
Ferrucci says a weenie has veal, pork and beef in it, while a hot dog which just has regular beef in it.
“It’s more plumper,” he says. “It’s a Rhode Island thing — like a Del’s lemonade and a coffee syrup. Out of state, people never heard of that."
It’s true. And if you come here from out of state you should know how to order a wiener. On my first visit to Ferrucci’s the woman running the grill asked me, "Would you like your wiener all the way?"
I have to be honest: Her question made me blush.
But Mike Ferrucci explains, all-the-way is all about the meat sauce.
"The old, famous meat sauce, they call it, simmered on a stove 30, 40, 50 pounds at a time, six different spices for hours,” he says. Ferrucci's all-the-way dog has mustard, the meat sauce, onions and celery salt on it.
So now I know. I ordered a hot dog and ended up with a real Rhode Island education about the wiener, and I left West Warwick well nourished and a bit more worldly.

Rhode Island Style Weiners

by Cate on December 30, 2008


     I have had this strange obsession with hot dogs for the last couple of months.  I can’t explain it really.  I am just totally craving them, and as soon as I start thinking about them, I want them.  Obsession aside, I have actually only indulged two or three times since this situation started, but it hasn’t been easy to practice restraint.
     On a recent episode of Guy Fieri’s show, Guy’s Big Bite on Food Network, he made Rhode Island Style Weiners, so you know I was all over that.  The recipe was inspired from visits to his father-in-law’s house in Rhode Island.  He said that there they eat hot dogs with a ground beef concoction on top of them.  Throw in the steamed buns and I was done for.
The day after Christmas we celebrated the holiday with The Neighbors and since I wanted to do a bar-food type menu, this was perfect.  Okay, it might be a bit of a stretch since you likely don’t belly up to the bar and order hot dogs, but cut me a little slack here.  The ground beef mixture takes just minutes to prepare and totally takes the hot dog to a whole ‘nother experience.  Alright, stop laughing.  Just so, so good.  I steamed the buns (another small nuance I will have to remember for the future), and once the meat was on top, I added the suggested chopped raw onions and yellow mustard.
Food snobs be darned, this was one good eat.

Rhode Island Style WeinersRecipe courtesy of Guy Fieri on Guy’s Big Bite
4 tablespoons margarine (I used butter)
2 yellow onions, minced, divided
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon curry
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pound ground beef, 80/20
1/4 cup water
20 hot dogs
1 teaspoon salt
20 hot dog buns
Yellow mustard
2 tablespoons celery salt

In a medium saute pan over medium heat add, margarine and 1 minced onion. Saute till translucent, but do not brown. Next add chili powder, paprika, allspice, curry, dry mustard and cinnamon. Then add beef, stir thoroughly and cook for 5 minutes, add water and simmer over medium to low heat for 30 minutes.

In a medium sauce pot boil hot dogs with salt and steam buns.
When meat is done simmering, add meat mixture to the hot dog in the bun, top evenly with minced onion, yellow mustard, and a sprinkle celery salt.