Don's Hot Dogs Come to CT - Still the "Best"

[jfood]

Jfood found himself driving east on I78 mid day and said, "what the heck" and drove to Best Provisions in Newark and bought 5 pounds of Don's (the old place in Short Hills) Hot Dogs. He cranked up the grill, pulled two out of the pack and grilled those puppies. Into a roll, some mustard and "POP!!!" went the first bite. Then the wonderful saltiness of the meat, the juiciness of the dog and all the absolute best dogs in the world. Mrs jfood and little jfood wanted a piece of Dog #2. They both smiled as well as they remembered all those wonderful meals at Don's. At least we still have the Dogs.

BTW - Hotdoglover - Jfood owes you HUUUUUGE for giving him the tip that they are sold there.

[ellen4441]

I hear you, APPLECHEEKS, as I loved going to DON'S , back in the day !!
late 70's, early 80's during my high school (in Springfield, NJ), & college days....

I , too, had many trips to Don's , combined with the Livingston Mall !!
I even used to work at LORRY'S coffee shop in that mall....

Don's burgers had that fantastic DEEP charbroiled flavor...
and the whole place had character!!!

p.s. Looking forward to trying the GARAGE, on that next NJ Hot Dog Tour !!!
1st time hearing about it, but I'm excited !!!

[johnlockedema]

I just spoke to my son, whose friend works at the Martini bar (same owner as the Garage). It has an April opening date now, fyi.

[Applecheeks]

I truly miss Don's, as well. My daughter (now 40 years old) and I used to stop there frequently after our shopping trips to Livingston Mall. I remember my junky old car parked next to the Mercedes, Caddy's and Lincolns. We were the poor people from Down Neck Newark, out for a special lunch or dinner.

[foodismylife]

Here's a tip I learned from Attman's deli on Lombard Street in Baltimore.
Grill up some kosher style bologna and/or salami and wrap the dog with it.
A lot of Hebrew national or BaTempte mustard maybe some kraut some sweet and/or india relish and you are home free.
Your stomach will than you.
At Best's go on a Saturday or Friday and they will slice the bologna, salami, corned beef and pastrami for you.
Not great but at 6.75 per pound for the cb and pastrami and 4 or so for the others can't be beat.
I fry them up in a black skillet throw in some scrambled eggs and say ah

[hotdoglover]

I'm glad that you enjoyed your dogs. A familiar taste of home. I go to Best Provisions when I want their natural casing dogs. It's the only place that you can get them besides the restaurants that serve them.

Personally I prefer the longer and thinner dogs that wewre served at Syd's. These were 5 to a lb. Don's are 4 to a lb; but shorter and thicker. Depends on your tastes. In a matter of months a new hot dog joint will be opening in Millburn called The Garage. They will be serving both the Syd's and the Don's dogs. They will definitely be a stop on the next New Jersey Hot Dog Tour.

[jfood]

Now, do you know where to get the Don's hamburgers?

[hotdoglover]

Sorry, can't help you with that one.

[Applecheeks]

jfood
You might want to ask a Best's. Their hamburgers are the "Best" I have ever had. They may have sold them to Don's and still have them available.

[Papa Bing]

What is a "Best's"?

[jfood]

Best Provisoons
144 Avon Street
Newark, NJ

Makers of the dogs

[johnlockedema]

Livingston Bagel on East Northfield Avenue sells Don's hot dogs and hamburger patties-just the plain hamburger, not the double burger cheese surprise sadly. They also sell other Don's products. Also, small point, Don's was in Livingston, not Short Hills.

And I can walk to the upcoming Garage, that's probably a bad thing!

[jfood]

Jfood NEVER bought into the fact that the little corner plot of land that was Don's was L'ston while everything behind it was SH. And he sticks by that position. :-))

[jfood]

Downhill since the jfoods left town. Can't wait to see mrs jfood's reaction when he shows her this tonight.

[Applecheeks]

Does Livingston Bagel sell the great hamburger relish that Don's used to have? I have had hamburger relish many places, but never as good as the one that Don's had.

[johnlockedema]

Yes, they have the red relish.

[jfood]

Add the cole slaw that came with the burgers. Ohyeah as long as it is on the table, the mac and pot salad. The little jfood also aked about the pickles. Oy what a can of worms jfood opened with a couple of dogs over the border last night..

[johnlockedema]

I'll make a visit and take some photo's of the Don's branded food they have. The store has a website but it's showing as suspicious, here's the report, I'm afraid to open the link to see if they have mention of the Don's goods sold.

What happened when Google visited this site?

Of the 2 pages we tested on the site over the past 90 days, 2 page(s) resulted in malicious software being downloaded and installed without user consent. The last time Google visited this site was on 2010-02-23, and the last time suspicious content was found on this site was on 2010-02-23.

[harrison]

Don't forget the vats of sauteed onions! 30 years later and I still miss that place..especially the walk through the bakery on the way out.