The best (store bought) hot dog buns

[iheartcooking]

What are the best hot dog buns? And where can I find em?
Are there hot dog buns out there that can stand up to chili?
Do you have a favorite brand? Are the .98 store brand artificial spongy sticks the way to go? Or is there something better out there?
I've seen dogs discussed at length but tomorrow I would like to get some really good buns to accompany my beef franks and homemade chili.
So does anyone have a favorite bun???

[tim irvine]

I miss HoJo. The best readily available around me seem to be ButterKrust. They definitely need a Nathan's inside them and a little Maille Dijon and minced onion to get me excited, though. I love the seeded Chi dogs I get at Mike and Mikes downtown (Austin).

[RealMenJulienne]

I dunno about best, but I like the S. Rosen poppyseed buns you can get in Chicago and environs. Whatever bun you get the important thing is to steam them in the microwave for 20 seconds so they get fluffy kind of like chinese bao.

[boogiebaby]

We don't have hot dogs very often, but if I am making them, I get the Ballpark brand buns. They are not too big, and have some density to them (not super airy like the some store brands). The flavor is pretty neutral, which is what we like since we want to taste the hot dogs/sausages and the toppings.

[brucesw]

I don't know how this is going to help since I'm not where you are but the best buns here (Houston) are New England style split tops baked by a local bakery for a great hot dog truck. Not available to the general public except maybe occasionally at farmer's markets when the baker shows up but I've never managed to catch them. Next to that, the buns from a Kosher bakery are the best; they're over-sized so you need at least a bun length wiener or it'll get lost, they have no preservatives and they're expensive - $4.50 for 8. Next after that, the buns from a Kosher bakery in a Kroger store serving the same neighborhood; half as expensive. Then the Kosher buns from a Randall's in the same neighborhood, less expensive than the Kroger, getting into the price range of the pricier mass produced. What is it about Kosher hot dog buns???? LOL.

Never heard of the Martin's here but will look for them and the Pepperidge farm.

[LindaWhit]

Come up to New England and all the stores have the top-splits. :-)

[brucesw]

I'll put it on my shopping list! I think it is a superior style of bun; wish I could get them here.

For the OP: forgot to mention, another hog dog truck, serving 'Asian Fusion' dogs, bakes their own Hawaiian bread hot dog buns. The slight sweetness works well with their wieners and toppings. Does King's Hawaiian make hot dog buns?

[LindaWhit]

I like 'em because they "sit" properly on your plate and anything you put on them (like chili) doesn't fall out!

[njmarshall55]

Amen to that. Only kind I buy.

[BubblyOne]

My local grocery just started carrying the King's hot dog buns. I'm not sure if they are a new product or not, but they are delicious.

[ClockworkOrange]

" Does King's Hawaiian make hot dog buns?"
Just saw an ad a week ago proclaiming that, yes, they now do make hot dog buns!

[emmekin]

What's your go-to local kosher bakery? I'm in Houston too (hi!) and would love a good challah roll...and of course good hot dog buns!

[brucesw]

Hi emmekin - just noticed this. The kosher bakery is 3 Brothers on S. Braeswood. I see they've just opened another location in Memorial.

http://www.3brothersbakery.com/

Another place for challah would be My Pita on Hillcroft, just about a half mile outside the loop.

http://www.mypita.net/visit-us.htm

The Kroger store I mentioned is the one @ S. Post Oak and W. Bellfort. I've decided the hot dog buns from the Randalls (which is caddy-corner from the Kroger) are not worth going out of the way for.

[emmekin]

brucesw- oh and you CAN get top split hot dog buns here! I noticed they serve hotdogs in top split buns at fuddruckers so inquired if they might sell me some, and they did! Cheap.
Got a dozen for like 2 bucks. They bake em there too...

[brucesw]

They serve hot dogs at Fudds? Who knew! Thanks. I'll have to check that out.

Also, since posting on this thread I've discovered James Coney Island has added 'gourmet' hot dogs using Hebrew National franks and Slow Dough split top buns, but the two times I've tried them, they/ve really over-toasted the buns.

Also, just read today on eater.houston that Berryhill's Baja Grill has a hot dog, a Nathan's wiener served on Slow Dough buns.

[Discerning1]

Heart the Trader Joe's whole wheat hot dog buns. They have a nice flavor and are a little sweet. Leftovers dried make excellent breadcrumbs.

[John E.]

If you want the 'best' hotdog bun that will stand up to chili you need to buy a whole wheat hotdog buns that are baked locally, not the sort that is prepackaged and sent to every grocery store. The buns baked locally usually have a bit thicker crust and that will help hold the bun together after hot food is placed in it.

Most large scale commercial hamburger and hotdog buns made with bleached white flour are mostly air and do not hold up as well when a lot of condiments are adder to either hotdogs or hamburgers. That being said, when we needs hotdog (or hamburger) buns in quantity we buy them for .88 at Aldi.

p.s. Since I'm not in the Los Angeles area I had never before heard of Martin's rolls.

[fourunder]

http://www.potatoroll.com/pages/produ...

Comes out of Pennsylvania....but readily available in New York and Northern New Jersey

[LindaWhit]

And throughout New England.

[DonShirer]

On Yahoo, a nutritionist recently recommended Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Hot Dog Buns. Stores here don't carry them, so I cant verify the advice.

[j8715]

Interesting question. Now I'm wondering if I could even tell the difference without looking (the color gives away martins). . . I kind of imagine them all coming from some centralized industrial site (imagine the refinery along the new jersey turnpike), regardless of brand.

[ipsedixit]

To me, the most important feature of a hot dog bun is to be discreet and unnoticeable. Seen and not tasted.

It should be there just to hold everything together until everything gets to my mouth.

[GH1618]

I prefer cracked wheat buns.

[Bacardi1]

While they've unfortunately gotten smaller over the years, my husband has a fondness for Pepperidge Farm's "Top Split" hot dog rolls, so that's what I normally buy. If we're having a substantial "dog", like "Chili Dogs", then I'll up the ante & buy local, what they call, "long sandwich" or "short sub" rolls, which have a bit more heft to them & can stand up to chili.

[monavano]

The best are the ones at my Dollar Store.

[MGZ]

Hot dogs are an infrequent indulgence for us. Thus, when that time of year comes around again, and the first swims in the Atlantic are a reality, and the Yankees have an interesting homestand, etc . . . the annual "hot dog extravaganza" is called for and the preparations start.

I know the butcher in the next county who makes the best dogs. I know how to make my chili the day before. I know where to get the beer and what time the game is going to start. Like you, however, I am often hard pressed to find the "right" bun.

This year, I discovered that our local Shop Rite sells a "ciabatta hot dog roll" that they bake on premises. It was perfect. So, I suggest you try a market that has an on premises bakery. Otherwise, I would default to the Vermont Bread Company's white rolls or, if all else fails, top split buns from Pepperidge Frams.

[hotdoglover]

Supermarket hot dog buns for the most part are inferior to food service buns that are used by hot dog vendors. Food service are baked individually (not stuck together) and are sturdier and of better quality. They do not fall apart. For the consumer, these are hard to find. I either buy them from a hot dog stand that will sell them to me or I go to the Pechters store in Harrison, N.J.

Martin's are the best supermarket buns and can stand up to chili and other toppings.

MGZ, Which butcher are you talking about who makes the best hot dogs? I have several near me that I go to. The Union Pork Store and Kocher's are among the best.

[MGZ]

Well, until they recently closed, it was the dogs that were at D.A. Barsch in Toms River. I believe they were made in house. Most recently, I picked up a bunch from Arctic Meats in Point Pleasant. If I recall correctly, they are selling Pulaski's from somewhere "up North" (I see the Driscoll Bridge as a clear divider).

[hotdoglover]

Yes, I've had both. The owner of D.A. Barsch is working for another butcher. Pulaski Meats is in Linden, about 10 minutes from me. I can get their dogs there or in a supermarket 2 minutes away.

[MGZ]

I like the Pulaski dogs, but I preferred those from Barsch - were's he working now?

The other place I will travel to worship at the altar of all pork sausages (and goose liver pate) is European Provisions in South River/East Brunswick (to any old Pollock, it's the former, however, the post office disagrees).

[hotdoglover]

I think he's at a place in Forked River. I'll find out and post back.

[ctfoodguy]

Hands down it's Martin's potato buns. Both for hot dog and hamburger. They hold up well while being moist and flavorful

[Janet from Richmond]

+1

[biondanonima]

+2. I eat my hot dogs and hamburgers bunless unless there are Martin's potato rolls available. They're the only ones I think are worth the carbs!

[grayelf]

I wonder if it is the potato in the roll that does it -- I buy my potato hd and hamburg buns from a local baker and they are so much more hardy (without being hard!) than any others I've tried.

[coll]

I find that Martin's hold up better than any others. I only buy the weak, white spongy ones if it's going to be a major party and no one will notice.