Summer Hot Dog Tour: Yocco's Hot Dogs, Fogelsville, PA

The last summertime stop on the tour, we visited Yocco's on Rt. 100 in Fogelsville, PA, just outside of Allentown this September while driving home from a friend's 1st/30th birthday celebration in York.

Like Hot Grill, apparently Yocco's is something of a local legend.  They're a local chain, family owned, with 6 locations in the Allentown area.  I've known about this particular Yocco's for years since it's located just off I-78.  I'd drive past it on my way to and from college, always seeing it, but never stopping in.  Well, this September, we decided to give it a try.

Interestingly, the interior decor was also similar to Hot Grill.  Yocco's also serves hot dogs with chili sauce, mustard and onions.  But that's pretty much where the similarity ends.

The hot dogs themselves were quite tasty; probably some of the best we've ever had.  However, everything else was a bit of a disappointment.  I ordered two with everything, and Mari ordered two chili cheese dogs.

If you look really close, you might find some chili and onions.

Now, I say the dogs were tasty, and that's a very good thing, because I had to look really hard to find any chili sauce.  It was like they just rub a little against the bun!  The little that was there had a decent enough flavor, but it just wasn't enough to get a real taste.

Apparently, in the Lehigh Valley, "ketchup" is pronounced like "chili"

The big issue we had, though, was with Mari's order.  As I said, she had ordered two chili cheese dogs.  What she got was two hot dogs with a slice of American cheese and ketchup.  How that even comes close to being a chili cheese dog is anyone's guess.

Less than impressed...

We started this blog to bring good food to the attention of our friends, and we made the decision right away that if we didn't have anything nice to say, we wouldn't say anything at all.  So we're trying to be nice with this one.  The hot dogs themselves really were very good, and I can't stress that enough.  But the advertising in the shop extolls the wonders of their chili sauce, and frankly, we didn't get much of it.  You'd think a place that specifically mentions the awesomeness of their sauce would be much more generous with it.

Now, this is a chain.  And as with all chains, local or not, some locations are better than others, and even at the same location, the people serving you can be of differing calibers.  So, we would definitely be interested in giving them another shot.  Mari's even said that had she just ordered a dog with mustard, she'd have been perfectly happy.  For me, I was just a little excited that they actually had fountain birch beer.

So, the verdict: For now, we were disappointed.  But there is hope!  And we will be stopping in to a Yocco's again someday, to try to see why the people of the Lehigh Valley love them so much.

The Summer 2011 Great Hot Dog Tour

One of the great things about living where we do is our proximity to Coney Island.  And of course, the greatest thing about Coney Island these days is that icon of America: Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs.  Sure, you can get them in the supermarket, or from a chain franchise, but there’s nothing quite like getting one at the original location.

We love our hot dogs.  Maybe a bit more than we should.  When buying a package in the market, there’s almost always a small discussion or debate over brand and style.  And it got us thinking: what is the best hot dog out there?  Living near Coney Island, we have a natural predilection for the historic Nathan’s.  And having grown up in the NYC area, there’s always something special about a Sabrett’s.  Craig, growing up in New Jersey, can’t help but feel the greatest dog must come somewhere from the greatest state (incidentally, both Sabrett’s and Nathan’s, paragons of NYC both, are actually made across the Hudson in the much-maligned Garden State.)

So, we’re announcing the 2011 Great Hot Dog Tour.  This spring and summer, we’ll be making trips around the NY/NJ area to sample hot dogs, wieners, frankfurters, rippers, and whatever else we can find.  We’ll be announcing tour stops and dates as we figure them out, but things will kick-off at Coney Island’s own Nathan’s Original.  Along the way, we hope to visit Papaya King, Gray’s Papaya, Rutt’s Hut, Hot Grill, and maybe even a dirty water dog cart or ball park.  If you feel there’s somewhere we should go in order to find the hot dog that best embodies vkusnyatina, let us know and we’ll meet you there!