Due to some very bad news this week, I will no longer consider hot dogs “processed meat”. I will consider them delicious, which is my name for the food group with all the good stuff that’s bad for us.
Someone had the nerve to study 500,000 meat-eating men and women since 1995 and determine red and processed meat greatly increase the risk of dying from cancer and heart disease. Kill-joys. Heavy meat consumption increased this risk by 50 percent for women and 31 percent for men. Therefore, since I have no intention of having cancer and heart disease, I will put myself in the other 50 percent of women who eat meat and get away with it.
I can live without red meat if I have to, having gradually weaned myself off the meat and potatoes diet on which I was raised. But three or four times per year I do battle with my arteries with a home made hamburger, the way Friendly’s Restaurants used to make them; inside a grilled cheese sandwich. Just fry a hamburg and set it aside while you make a classic grilled cheese sandwich. As soon as the sandwich is done, pull apart the two pieces of toast and slip the hamburg inside the melted cheese. Cut it in half and just watch the juice ooze out. It is so good, those ten million calories.
Take away that piece of heaven if you must, but leave the hot dogs alone. It’s the McCann family –my maiden name– default meal. There is always a supply of hot dogs in the freezer and plenty of mustard in the fridge door. Most times, I even have an onion on hand to chop. Voila. Lunch. Grilled, boiled, fried, from a street cart in Columbus Circle or New York City, every hot dog tastes great, but there are places where hot dogs are greatest.
With an honorable mention to Heid’s of Liverpool, the two best hot dog places in the whole world are Coney Island on Southbridge Street in downtown Worcester, and Hot Dog Annie’s in nearby Leicester.
Coney Island Hot Dogs, Worcester, MA
Coney Island looks like a dark and barren Depression-era Edward Hopper painting, only darker and more barren. Nothing has changed since the 1930s and that includes the original tile floor and the varnished wooden booths carved up with the initials of people surely departed from this earth by now.
This landmark sign is from 1940
It’s as much as a museum as it is a restaurant. When I was a teenager, I could get six hot dogs for a dollar. They cost more today of course, but not much more.
Frozen in time
The second best hot dogs in the world are just a few miles away, at Hot Dog Annie’s on Paxton Street in Leicester, on the other side of the runway of the Worcester airport. You drive along a scenic rural road, certain you are lost and boom, suddenly it’s there, the conga line of customers snaking out the door of a ramshackle old cottage that used to be someone’s modest home probably in the days of the Pilgrims. The place has always been there for me. People eat on the picnic tables among the trees, but it’s not very pretty. I just get the hot dogs and go.
These places each offer their own version of barbecue sauce, or just “sauce” as they say, which never tastes like barbecue, thank goodness. The sauce at Coney Island is predominantly ground beef with chili powder; at Hot Dog Annie’s it’s a sweet, warm onion relish. I’m only guessing at the ingredients as both sauces are secret recipes, but suffice it to say these hot dog places and the obligatory “sauce”, are as much a Worcester institution as Holy Cross College, which means neither the college nor the hot dogs are going anywhere no matter how much tuition increases and how many studies link hot dogs to poor health.
Hot Dog Annie's, Leicester, MA
All my life, I used to beg my mother to stop smoking so she could live longer. Her answer was always the same, “what good is a longer life without cigarettes?” , which I thought was absolutely crazy. Well I am here to say I’ve turned into my mother. Can anyone convince me that a longer life without hot dogs is worth it?
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{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Maureen
Certainly a longer life is what we all want, but every time we turn around there is something else we shouldn’t eat or drink. Will a hot dog here and there really kill us? Everything in moderation is the motto I live by.
Hi Denise, yes I agree with the moderation motto. I try to eat hot dogs in moderation, but it doesn’t always work. I guess I could overdose on worse, right? Thanks for writing. Maureen
Hi Maureen-
I doubt it! And I seriously doubt that a medical doctor, armed with a bag full of issues of the New England Journal of Medicine, could tear you away from a hot dog! As is should be.
Now, I grew up in Liverpool, so Heid’s has always been for me THE gold standard. Hot dogs or coneys….doesn’t matter, they are simply the best. No honorable mention for them.
My Buffalo friends tried to convince me that Nathan’s hot dogs were the best…..not a chance. I’ve even given the famous “Chicago dog” a try, and it didn’t come close.
But, I will be making my semi annual visit to Worcester in late April/early May and I will definitely try both places. I can’t believe my Worcester buds haven’t taken me there before…but they will now. And we’ll see if Heid’s is still #1 (for me anyway). I’ll let you know…
Don
Don’t blame you at all for sticking with Heid’s. They’re the best around here for sure, and certainly we defend what we grew up with. Maybe I’ll see you in the line there some nice spring day.
If I see you in the conga line, the dogs are on me! And that’s not just because they are cheap. These places do seem to fit your definition of being frugal though.
I can’ t wait to try them…and I’m looking forward to the “ambiance” of both places. As in the Heid’s experience, I think that adds to the enjoyment of the dog, not to mention the rating!
Don
Maureen, I have a hot dog to add to your list of the bests! Next time you are in the New York City area we have to get together and i’ll take you to my #1 hot dog stand. Walter’s is a Westchester staple (serving up grilled hot dogs that will have you begging for more, they come with Walter’s special mustard). Walter’s: serving generations since 1919!! http://www.waltershotdogs.com/index_flash.html
Megan
Hi Megan! I’m always looking for good hot dogs and your place sounds perfect. I’ll check out the website and plan on a trip there sometime. Thanks! Maureen
Hey Mo
I had a great lunch at Coney Island this past fall. Yum.
Best-Kevin
Hey Kevin! Help me with my memory. Did I take us there on the Worcester job a couple of years ago? It was so good to see you at Rileys. Mo
Hi Maureen-
Finally!! The Worcester gang finally got their act together. I’ll be heading there on May 27th, and as promised will visit both Coney Island and Hot Dog Annie’s.
And you thought I forgot!
The part of Yolanda Wright will be played by…me….less the obligatory bottle of wine. I will give you an honest opinion as to how they compare to my favorite…Heid’s…promise!
I’ll be in touch!
Don
Hey great Don! I’ll be at my house at the Cape for the Memorial Day weekend, so we’ll be in Massachusetts together separately.
Do give me your honest opinion about the hot dogs. I’ll be in Worcester this weekend turning into one. Safe trip. Maureen
Hi Maureen-
Well, that was fun! The GPS found Hot Dog Annie’s, high in the hills of Worcester…in a little fog bank I might add. No wonder the airport isn’t busy. It looked so original I had to take a picture. I was sure when I entered that I would encounter a burly sort in a tank top with a beard and pony tail, wearing a bandana. Boy was I wrong…I just laughed out loud!
It was disconcerting to see my hot dog plucked out of a pot of dogs in water, but it was placed in a toasted bun and tasted very good. Love toasted buns. I thought it was small by my standards, but considering the price ($1.20…the special is 4 for $4 on Wednesdays) I guess it was just right.
The GPS then took me to Coney Island via Chandler St….downhill all the way. It is a nice street that is very developed so there was no sighting of your house of long ago.
Coney Island is another story. I immediately thought of an urban Heid’s. Stepping through the door I was transported back in time. It could have been used as a scene from L.A. Confidential, or any number of other period films. The only new thing I could identify was the cash register. And in the overflow next room eating area was a bar definitely out of a movie set of long ago. Two guys were having a beer; I think one was Bogie.
The dogs here were cooked on a griddle and placed in a regular bun. Their assembly line is very effective. The lady cooking gives them to the “assembler” next to her and I saw her line up 5 hot dogs on one hand (and wrist), then squirt ketchup and mustard on each one! Very impressive! The dogs here were very good as well. They were the same size as Hot Dog Annie’s, and priced a bit higher. At $1.40 (I think), it was still a bargain.
So which was better? Well, if you combine Annie’s toasted buns with Coney Island’s dogs, you’ve got a perfect dog. But the mustard in both places was just regular old mustard. I guess I am addicted to the unique mustard that Heid’s uses.
And, how do they compare with my favorite, Heid’s? Heid’s dogs are bigger than Annie’s and Coney Island’s, but then so is their price. Then there’s the mustard thing. Overall, I like Heid’s over Annie’s.
Coney Island is another story. Heid’s and Coney Island are twins in one very important respect…no one has dared (or was too cheap) to change anything they didn’t absolutely have to in over 70 years at least, and thus preserved for us a unique window into the past. Priceless. And from my long association with Heids I’ve come to believe that where and how you enjoy your hot dog plays an important part in how good that dog is.
Heid’s, you met your match in Coney Island.
And…would I go back? In a heartbeat! Every time I’m in Worcester.
Don
Well Don, I love this review. I think I see all three places as you do, though I must admit I didn’t know about the mustards. I didn’t know Heid’s has unique mustard. I must go soon to check it out. It is funny how small the hot dogs are at hot dog Annie’s. You didn’t say if you had their “sauce”. I think it makes them special, and yes, the toasted New England hot dog rolls are to die for! Did you have the sauce at Coney Island? And isn’t that place a total hoot? At first glance it looks like they haven’t cleaned the place since the 30s either, but it’s actually very clean, just so incredibly vintage and dark. I’m so glad you got the chance to try them both. You’re a sport. Oh, by the way, you passed right by my house on Chandler Street from hot dog Annie’s. It’s high on a hill on the left just before Worcester State College, directly across from the Little League field. The hill may be too overgrown to see the house anymore though. You just gave me an idea for tomorrow’s blog. Thanks Don! Maureen
Maureen-
I eat my Heid’s dogs straight up, with just mustard. So for comparison sake, I just had mustard on the Worcester dogs. I did see the sauce and was very tempted, but kept it even. Yolanda would have been proud!
I will definitely try the sauce on my next visit. By the way, the mustard at Annie’s and Coney Island (as you know) was just like French’s yellow….Heid’s is more a brown mustard with a little kick to it….probably not all that unique, but different for sure.
I do remember seeing the ball field on the right, and the college right after it, as I traveled down Chandler. Weird, but of all the sights on Chandler, they stuck in my head…I can still see them…first the pretty ball field with trees, etc., then the college building right after that.
And I’m glad I inspired a blog!
Don
Yup Don, you were right there. And the ball field is where the accidents happened that I referred to in The Educator, though it was just a sand lot in the 60s. Thanks! Maureen
I was born in Syracuse and now live in Worcester…NOTHING compares to Heids and I have sampled BOTH Coney Island and Hot Dog Annie’s. Hot Dog Annie’s is closer to Heid’s but still a distant 2nd….always enjoyed you on TV5
Thanks for the taste test John.
Maybe we need to eat the hot dogs of our childhood, but I admit, Heids is really really good too. And thanks also for the good word about my career at TV 5.