Our choice for best Wiener in Rhode Island
All New England Books
Rhode Island Hot Dogs
Posted 14 July 2011 - 03:56 PM
I was to Rhode Island last weekend to visit my daughter who recently moved there. Although I wasn't there to sample hot dogs, I managed to get to 2 places. There were 2 more on my list that were close to one of the 2 that I visited, but unfortunately one was closed for the weekend for renovations (Moonlight House of Weiners), while the other one (Main Street 2000 Restaurant) is now an Indian restaurant.
I went to New York Lunch first on Main Street in Woonsocket. They call hot dogs weiners or "gaggers", even "gaggahs". Most in this region consider a hot dog to be an all beef frank while a wiener is beef and pork. The product at New York Lunch is the same as what is served at New York System Restaurants. A tiny frank prepared on a griddle and topped with mustard, onions, meat sauce, celery salt and placed in a steamed bun. Coffee milk is unique to Rhode Island and is the preferred drink. I forgot to order one. New York Lunch is an old school diner that has been around for decades. The grill faces the window in this tiny storefront like many older places.
The frank was the tiniest I ever saw. Maybe 2 inches. I can't even guess how many to the pound. It was $1.13 with tax. The frank was a skinless beef and pork dog from Grote & Weigel of Connecticut. I got mine with mustard, meat sauce and celery salt but left off the onions. The frank was warm, not hot, and somewhat mild but good. The bun was steamed nicely and slightly bigger than the dog. There was plenty of meat sauce. It, along with the celery salt provided a unique flavor; different than the Texas Weiners I'm used to in New Jersey. While I prefer a good Texas Weiner, I enjoyed the New York Lunch wiener and would return. I only had one because I wanted to make room for the 2 other places that I didn't get to (see above), another place that I did get to, and the family barbecue planned for later.
The other place I went to was Spike's Junkyard Dogs in Providence. This would not be considered a New York System type restaurant. Spike's is a nice little place that loks like a typical fast food joint. I grabbed 2 dogs here; one with just mustard, the other with mustard and chili. The chili is a thin Mexican style chili with beans, not a hot dog chili. Unremarkable and not as good as the meat sauce at New York Lunch. The dog is all beef, skinless, and fairly thick about 5 to a lb. Although Spike's will not give out the brand, I found out that it is Mucke's all beef from Connecticut. A good quality beef dog that is well seasoned and is spiced more like a Chicago beef dog than a New York/New Jersey beef dog. Which means more paprika and less garlic.
The dogs are prepared differently than anywhere else I've been to. They are put in a convection oven and finished off on a roller grill. While I'm not crazy about roller grills in general, my dogs were definitely hot enough and tasted very good. They are put on a thick bun similar to a sub or hoagie roll. Not usually crazy about that either, but the bread was the right size for the dogs and thicker and chewier than your usual hot dog bun. Overall a very good beef dog, but one I would get without chili. There are a good number of topping combinations here.
The two places served different types of dogs, but I liked them both and would return. I enjoyed Spike's a little more than New York Lunch.
HOT WIENERS JUST ONE BUCK!
HOT WIENERS JUST ONE BUCK! (Buford's 474 Pawtucket Av (Job Lot Plaza)
Date: 2011-06-08, 4:41PM EDT
Reply to: comm-sb5jm-2428909022@craigslist.org [Errors when replying to ads?]
Buford's located at 474 Pawtucket Ave. (Job Lot Plaza), Pawtucket is running a super special on Thursday. Hot Wieners for just one Dollar!!
We run a special most weekdays and would love to have you come check us out!
We can also be found on facebook!
723-2697
We run a special most weekdays and would love to have you come check us out!
We can also be found on facebook!
723-2697
- Location: Buford's 474 Pawtucket Av (Job Lot Plaza
- it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Taking a Bite Outta Guy Fieri's Hot Wieners
In honor of Guy Fieri's visit this Tuesday, June 7, with his Guy Fieri Road Show, I dug through the Food Network Top 100 Guy Fieri recipes and found a gem from Guy's Big Bite: Hot Wieners Rhode Island Style.
Now, to us non-Rhode Islanders (or would it be non-Rhodies?) the recipe reads a lot like a plain ol' chili dog. Well, actually a lazy man's chili dog, since the spiced meat in question cooks in a half-hour on the stove rather than the hours most traditional chilis take. But with the help of fellow blogger Jonathan McNamara, The Virgin devised an ingenious plan to kick things up a notch: wrap the dog in bacon and then cover it with chili. Sort of a "Rhode Island meets Sonoran" dog.
Find out how it's done after the jump.
If you thought Cooking Virgin was going to attempt to make hot dogs from scratch, 1. my cooking skills aren't that impressive yet and 2. the pictures involved would probably make you lose your lunch, rather than enticing you to make it. Plus, if Guy Fieri's getting paid big bucks to cook and eat on national television and his prep cooks aren't he isn't making his own wieners, I'm sure as hell not going to sift through cow/pig/mystery meat parts.
Note: My recipe is 1/4 the size of Guy's, as I didn't have the need to feed 20 people. But it still worked...sort of. Here are The Virgin's DeStructions, loosely based on Guy's recipe:
1. To start, mince 2 tbsp of onions and place in a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter. Heat over medium until onions are clear-ish. Frankly, mine were still a little opaque, but the original recipe warns not to brown them and I was a little worried.
2. Add 1/2 tbsp each paprika and chili powder, plus a pinch of dry mustard, cinnamon, allspice and curry and stir. What apparently results from using such a small amount of ingredients is a congealed blackish brown lump studded with onions. Yum.
Don't worry, it gets better.
3. Stir in 1/4 lb. ground beef (Guy recommends 80/20; I used a slightly leaner 85/15 since I planned on getting a hefty dose of fat from the addition of bacon) and brown over medium heat for five minutes
4. Add 1/4 cup water, stir everything around, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes until it becomes a better looking chili-esque meat mixture. Breathe a sigh of relief.
5. In the meantime, brown 5 strips of bacon until cooked but still slightly soft, in a small saute pan.
6. Add 6 hot dogs to a pot of salted boiling water and boil 7 minutes until cooked through. Guy says to steam the buns over the water, so I grabbed a handy rack from my toaster oven and set premade hot dog rolls on top.
7. Wrap the dog in bacon, top with chili, mustard, onions and celery salt and tasty cheddar cheese (which goes so much better with bacon).
Now, to us non-Rhode Islanders (or would it be non-Rhodies?) the recipe reads a lot like a plain ol' chili dog. Well, actually a lazy man's chili dog, since the spiced meat in question cooks in a half-hour on the stove rather than the hours most traditional chilis take. But with the help of fellow blogger Jonathan McNamara, The Virgin devised an ingenious plan to kick things up a notch: wrap the dog in bacon and then cover it with chili. Sort of a "Rhode Island meets Sonoran" dog.
Find out how it's done after the jump.
If you thought Cooking Virgin was going to attempt to make hot dogs from scratch, 1. my cooking skills aren't that impressive yet and 2. the pictures involved would probably make you lose your lunch, rather than enticing you to make it. Plus, if Guy Fieri's getting paid big bucks to cook and eat on national television and his prep cooks aren't he isn't making his own wieners, I'm sure as hell not going to sift through cow/pig/mystery meat parts.
Note: My recipe is 1/4 the size of Guy's, as I didn't have the need to feed 20 people. But it still worked...sort of. Here are The Virgin's DeStructions, loosely based on Guy's recipe:
1. To start, mince 2 tbsp of onions and place in a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter. Heat over medium until onions are clear-ish. Frankly, mine were still a little opaque, but the original recipe warns not to brown them and I was a little worried.
2. Add 1/2 tbsp each paprika and chili powder, plus a pinch of dry mustard, cinnamon, allspice and curry and stir. What apparently results from using such a small amount of ingredients is a congealed blackish brown lump studded with onions. Yum.
Don't worry, it gets better.
3. Stir in 1/4 lb. ground beef (Guy recommends 80/20; I used a slightly leaner 85/15 since I planned on getting a hefty dose of fat from the addition of bacon) and brown over medium heat for five minutes
4. Add 1/4 cup water, stir everything around, and simmer over low heat for 30 minutes until it becomes a better looking chili-esque meat mixture. Breathe a sigh of relief.
5. In the meantime, brown 5 strips of bacon until cooked but still slightly soft, in a small saute pan.
6. Add 6 hot dogs to a pot of salted boiling water and boil 7 minutes until cooked through. Guy says to steam the buns over the water, so I grabbed a handy rack from my toaster oven and set premade hot dog rolls on top.
7. Wrap the dog in bacon, top with chili, mustard, onions and celery salt and tasty cheddar cheese (which goes so much better with bacon).
Sources & Links Related to RI Hot Weiners
Rhode Island's Hot Weiners (or Hot Wieners) Diner Hotline Weblog
Visiting little Rhody? Find New York System Hot Weiner addresses here...
If you're planning a cookout for this most patriotic of days, here's an opportunity to celebrate the American dream. Because hot dog culture is American history.
Hot wieners "all the way" Origin Alternative name(s) New York System wiener, gagger, weenie Place of origin United States Providence, Rhode Island
The Stevens family has been serving Rhode Island's own culinary favorite, hot wieners since 1946. Our famous delicacy starts with a natural-casing wiener and is topped with mustard, our special meat sauce, onion, celery salt and all served on a steamed bun. We also feature o
Coffee milk is a drink similar to chocolate milk; however, instead of chocolate syrup, coffee syrup is used. It is the official state drink of Rhode Island in the United States of America.
NY System Hot Weiners "All-the-Way" Ever had a hot weiner? If you have, you'll know that Rhode Island's New York System's hot weiner sauce is made from a top...
The Olneyville NY System has been using this recipe since 1946, (when they moved here from NY, hence the name) and there's nothing else like it anywhere! Each package of spice mix makes three 1lb. servings.
Holes-In-The-Wall
If you ever go to a PawSox night game, a trip to Olneyville New York System is a must. One of Rhode Island’s most famous hole-in-the-walls features Hot Wieners: an Ocean State specialty. If you go to Olneyville and order a hot dog, they won’t know what you’re talking about. In fact, they’ll probably bust your chops. It may be embarrassing to order a hot wiener, but the dish itself is worth any brief humiliation you may suffer.
The NY System is a Weiner smothered in hot mustard, celery salt, chili, and onions. Messy, greasy, heavy, absolute bliss. The perfect meal after having a few drinks at McCoy Stadium or hitting up the bars in Providence.
Hot wieners aren’t the only state specialty available at Olneyville NY System. Coffee Milk (the official state beverage of Rhode Island) is proudly served, and the perfect beverage to accompany your meal. A good preventative measure before partaking in any of these Rhode Island delicacies is to take a Prilosec. You don’t want to be tasting chili dogs and coffee milk on your ride back home, if you catch my drift.
The inside of Olneyville is a typical late night diner, a perfect hole-in-the-wall, but a relatively famous one. Olneyville has three locations in Rhode Island, but as is most restaurants, the original is still the best. Olneyville NY System is a ‘can’t miss’ restaurant for anyone visiting Rhode Island.
Olneyville NY System: Providence, RI: A Rhode Island tradition, the Hot Wiener is a grilled beef, pork and veal natural casing wiener served "all the way" on a steamed bun covered in meat sauce (don't even think of calling it "chili") with onions, mustard and celery salt. Then washed down with sweet coffee milk, another Rhode Island original.
There are dozens of different stands with the words "NY System" and "Hot Wiener" in the Providence area, but Olneyville is considered one of the best, where cooks line 10 or 20 dogs "up the arm" dressing them with mustard and sauce at a lightning pace.
Olneyville NY System: 18 Plainfield St, Providence RI;
Top Wieners
Do you love hot wieners? What a dumb question, of course you do! What about the best hot wieners in all of Rhode Island? Hey, you! That’s enough! Wipe that drool off the floor this minute—have some class! We all know how much you love hot wieners, so never fear. We here at Let's Go love hot wieners, too. So, as always, we've got you covered on your wiener-hunt through Providence. But do us a favor: don’t call them hot dogs. Never. Ever. Ever. You can call them wieners and you can call them “gaggers”—so of course, you should call them gaggers (pronounced "gaggahs")—but you absolutely cannot call them hot dogs. No excuses. Now that that’s out of the way, here we are: the three best wieners in Providence!
1. Olneyville N.Y. System – “R.I.’s Best Hot Wieners” is their slogan, and they aren’t kidding. Even though Olneyville is about a five minute bus ride from downtown, the wieners are absolutely irresistible. The quality of the wieners coupled with the unbeatable price (less than two dollars per wiener, but let’s be real: no one’s going home after eating just one) puts Olneyville’s pride and joy at the top of the wiener charts for Providence. Order up two or three wieners—despite being “gaggers,” they really aren’t that big—topped with the “special” wiener sauce and mysterious chili-onion-like substance, a plate of fries, and a large coffee-milk and dig in. Wieners don’t get hotter (or better) than this. It might have a New York name, but this baby is all Rhode Island.
Traveler’s tip: It’s marketed as “hangover food” and the place stays open almost until dawn, but go earlier. Some travellers report that Olneyville is not a place you want to be past midnight.
2. Haven Brothers Diner — Imagine a diner, then put that diner on wheels, and then put that diner-on-wheels at the intersection of Dorance and Fulton Streets for over two hundred years. And there you have it, folks: Havens Brothers. Everything that was said for the Olneyville “gagger” can be applied here, except the wieners are a little more expensive, but the price is easily surmounted by the diner’s location in the middle of downtown. All in all, one of the neatest places I’ve been—Haven Brothers is the only place that you can order “in” and still eat in a car.
3. Modern Diner — This diner is technically in Pawtucket, R.I., just ten or twenty minutes outside of Providence. But if you’re a diner junky, you can’t pass this one up. It's the first diner in American history, and their hotdogs are still remarkably fresh. Shoot, I said hotdogs! Their wieners I mean, and they're are delicious. If you get a chance to head north to Pawtucket, these wieners are the only real attraction, so you’ll probably end up at Modern whether you want to or not.
1. Olneyville N.Y. System – “R.I.’s Best Hot Wieners” is their slogan, and they aren’t kidding. Even though Olneyville is about a five minute bus ride from downtown, the wieners are absolutely irresistible. The quality of the wieners coupled with the unbeatable price (less than two dollars per wiener, but let’s be real: no one’s going home after eating just one) puts Olneyville’s pride and joy at the top of the wiener charts for Providence. Order up two or three wieners—despite being “gaggers,” they really aren’t that big—topped with the “special” wiener sauce and mysterious chili-onion-like substance, a plate of fries, and a large coffee-milk and dig in. Wieners don’t get hotter (or better) than this. It might have a New York name, but this baby is all Rhode Island.
Traveler’s tip: It’s marketed as “hangover food” and the place stays open almost until dawn, but go earlier. Some travellers report that Olneyville is not a place you want to be past midnight.
2. Haven Brothers Diner — Imagine a diner, then put that diner on wheels, and then put that diner-on-wheels at the intersection of Dorance and Fulton Streets for over two hundred years. And there you have it, folks: Havens Brothers. Everything that was said for the Olneyville “gagger” can be applied here, except the wieners are a little more expensive, but the price is easily surmounted by the diner’s location in the middle of downtown. All in all, one of the neatest places I’ve been—Haven Brothers is the only place that you can order “in” and still eat in a car.
3. Modern Diner — This diner is technically in Pawtucket, R.I., just ten or twenty minutes outside of Providence. But if you’re a diner junky, you can’t pass this one up. It's the first diner in American history, and their hotdogs are still remarkably fresh. Shoot, I said hotdogs! Their wieners I mean, and they're are delicious. If you get a chance to head north to Pawtucket, these wieners are the only real attraction, so you’ll probably end up at Modern whether you want to or not.
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