New York Style Hot Dogs & Cafe
February 1st, 2008
New York Style Hot Dogs & Cafe
235 E Main St.
Carnegie, PA 15106
Ambience
The location of the joint is on the main street of Carnegie, PA. It was an easy place to find with the giant statue of liberty in front of the store. A nice touch in representing the New York style hot dogs. Walking through the front door I instantly knew this was my kind of place. The place was long and narrow without tables, just bar seating with about ten or so bar stools. Plenty of amenities and décor reminding the customer that he was in a New York style hot dog environment. Sitting on the bar stool you get to watch him work his magic preparing and cooking up the yum yums. The only slight I have is even though I enjoy the small settings of the place, it could be just a bit larger to accommodate the customer during busy times and I did have a hint of the grease stink on my clothes aftewards. Overall this is the type of atmosphere I look for a hot dog eating experience.
4.5/5 barkers
Accoutrements
I ordered 2 barkers and split a small order of fries with a co-worker of mine and washed it down with a 12oz bottle of IBC root beer. The fries are fresh cut potatoes and the portions are hearty. Overall the fries were fantastic, large cut, cooked to perfection and added just a little bit of Louisiana habanero hot sauce and salt to season. The choices of beverages were excellent; they even had the little coca-cola classic bottles for sale. I couldn’t pass up the IBC root beer though.
4.5/5 barkers
Service
I don’t know the guys name, but he is absolutely fabulous. He’s the owner and it’s a one man show. I believe he moved from New York City about 12 years ago and he still has a deep accent which really contributes to the overall experience. Very friendly and we kept up a constant conversation with him throughout. The parking is on-street and there is a meter out front. We forgot to put money in the meter and he was kind enough to let us know to not worry about putting money in the meter from 11:30am to 1pm. He mentioned that the parking violation police won’t ticket you during that time which was great advice and saved us a few quarters. The service was fast and the presentation of the food was great.
5/5 barkers
Hot Dogs
The hot dogs are New York style links with a casing and grilled over aluminum foil. Today I ordered Perogie style hot dog that came with grilled Vidalia onions, French fries (but usually is mash potatoes), sauerkraut, and all contained with a unique cut steamed bun. The hot dog was tasty, but toward the end it got a little bland and I think it lacked some pizzazz. I’m going to try it again sometime with the mash potato version to get a final verdict on this wiener.
3/5 barkers
The other frank I beat up was a Chicago style hot dog. We all know the toppings of this famous type of barker. Very tasty, fresh tomatoes and pickle spears.A few things I noticed against the hot dog; it didn’t have neon relish, it had pepper rings rather than sport peppers, and the buns were not poppy seed which are important topping that are required to be an official Chicago hot dog. Now the substitutes didn’t really take away from the overall taste but I wanted to point out what was lacking to be an official Chicago style. Overall I woulda gave it a 4, but with three of the topping not being authentic I’m gonna say 4/5.
3.5/5 Barkers
Overall
I’m very excited to try the other hot dogs on the menu and rate them as well. The burgers also looked very very good. If you are a barker lover as I am, then I highly recommend venturing to this joint.
Overall score: 17.5/20
Comments
4 Responses to “New York Style Hot Dogs & Cafe”
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Do they make bigger hot dogs there, for the customers with bigger hands?
I WANT TO EAT YOUR HOT DOG
Love Poem to a Hot Dog
Oh thou frankfurt between a bun,
Why dost thou cause me so much fun?
I love thee for breakfast for lunch and for tea
I love thee in between times, constantly.
Tho’ thy quality varies from New York to Rome,
Thou art there late at night for me to take home.
Thy savs are as red as my true love’s lips
Thou art a sexual experience, without any hips.
Why don’t they serve thee for holy communion,
A bite of the hot god for ecstatic union?
I eat thee for sustenance courage and thrills,
With or without mustard sauce or frills,
And my rampant appetite thou always appeaseth,
With or without mustard sauce or cheeseeth,
And a seven course dinner I never lack -
A hot dog and the old six pack.
Tho’ thy tendency is to leap from the bun,
The butter to melt and the sauce to run,
My mouth is there to catch as catch can,
I bite thee off and man oh man,
When thou art gone I feel satisfied,
I love thee so much I get very tongue tied!
As the Buddhist monk said when he bought one to sing -
“Make me one…..with everything!”
Hot dogs are sofa king good!!