What's a New England Hot Dog?

[PattY1]

Pepperidge Farm makes these.

Pepperidge Farm® - Sandwich Rolls

 

[LPBeier]

Thanks, Patty!
Seeing the picture on the bag makes me realize I have seen American hot dog ads where it looks like this and I wondered "how they did it". I think lobster rolls are top sliced as well, aren't they?

 

[Andy M.]

You don't see HoJos around much any more. The restaurants spread a little outside of New England. They then branched out into Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges as well. Cheap rooms were always available. They're actually still around in the Wyndham group of hotels.

There was a Howard Johnson who started it all.

 

[taxlady]

You don't see HoJos around much any more. The restaurants spread a little outside of New England. They then branched out into Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges as well. Cheap rooms were always available. They're actually still around in the Wyndham group of hotels.

There was a Howard Johnson who started it all.

I was surprised that they aren't everywhere in the US. We have HoJos in Quebec. Maybe it's just that Quebec-New England connection.

 

[Selkie]

Wonder why they haven't made their way west? ...

They did. There was a Howard Johnson's in my home town in Calif., but it eventual went away. I just assumed they went bankrupt like Shaky's Pizza did. I didn't realize until now, thanks to Andy M., that they were absorbed by the Wyndham group of hotels. More corporate sponging and nonsense... such a shame!

I remember that Fridays were all-you-can-eat fried clams day!!! I hardly missed a Friday!!!

 

[jennyema]

The original HoJos was in the Wollaston section of Quincy and got torn down to build the Wollston T station. There is a HJ tiled into the sidewalk still.

Jacques Pepin once worked for HoJos and was instrumental in developing an (at that time) innovative concept where all of the food would be cooked at one location and shipped to the restaurants where it would be heated and assembled. This was an effort to ensure uniformity.

Today places like Olive Garden use a similar technique but it's often criticized as being less-than-fresh factory food.

 

[Selkie]

The original HoJos was in the Wollaston section of Quincy and got torn down to build the Wollston T station. There is a HJ tiled into the sidewalk still.

Jacques Pepin once worked for HoJos and was instrumental in developing an (at that time) innovative concept where all of the food would be cooked at one location and shipped to the restaurants where it would be heated and assembled. This was an effort to ensure uniformity.

Today places like Olive Garden use a similar technique but it's often criticized as being less-than-fresh factory food.

Dixie Cafe is the same way, with all of their food coming out of a central kitchen in Oklahoma.

 

[PattY1]

They did. There was a Howard Johnson's in my home town in Calif., but it eventual went away. I just assumed they went bankrupt like Shaky's Pizza did. I didn't realize until now, thanks to Andy M., that they were absorbed by the Wyndham group of hotels. More corporate sponging and nonsense... such a shame!

I remember that Fridays were all-you-can-eat fried clams day!!! I hardly missed a Friday!!!

In 1980 Marriott Corporation bought the Howard Johnson restaurant chain.

 

[Selkie]

Oh! But I still miss them as Howard Johnsons. Corporate identity means more than these yuppie pencil-headed MBA geeks realize. They're ruining America - IMHO!

 

[LPBeier]

Wow, this has turned into a really interesting thread! Thanks for the American History lesson everyone!

As soon as I get my pan I will show you my "New England top sliced hot dogs!

 

[pacanis]

...I remember that Fridays were all-you-can-eat fried clams day!!! I hardly missed a Friday!!!

I could finish three plates as a kid Those fried clams were awesome back then and I still love fried clams.

 

[LPBeier]

Oh, you two just reminded me to add clams to my yukky foods list! Used to be able to eat clam chowder, but can't even do that any more!

 

[msmofet]

You don't see HoJos around much any more. The restaurants spread a little outside of New England. They then branched out into Howard Johnson's Motor Lodges as well. Cheap rooms were always available. They're actually still around in the Wyndham group of hotels.

There was a Howard Johnson who started it all.

All the HoJo Johnson's were in Blazing Saddles!!

 

[Kayelle]

They did. There was a Howard Johnson's in my home town in Calif., but it eventual went away. I just assumed they went bankrupt like Shaky's Pizza did. I didn't realize until now, thanks to Andy M., that they were absorbed by the Wyndham group of hotels. More corporate sponging and nonsense... such a shame!

I remember that Fridays were all-you-can-eat fried clams day!!! I hardly missed a Friday!!!

I've never seen top sliced hot dog buns around here Selkie, I was talking about buying the buns, not Howard Johnson's. I remember Howard Johnson's in Thousand Oaks, Ca. but I never ate there. I hated to drive over that grade. Wasn't it right next to DuPar's?
Can you Eastern folks buy them with the nice white sides like Andy's picture?

 

[Andy M.]

I've never seen top sliced hot dog buns around here Selkie, I was talking about buying the buns, not Howard Johnson's. I remember Howard Johnson's in Thousand Oaks, Ca. but I never ate there. I hated to drive over that grade. Wasn't it right next to DuPar's?
Can you Eastern folks buy them with the nice white sides like Andy's picture?

That's what most people around here buy. The other kind is also available but don't sell as well.

I always have some natural casing hot dogs and NE style buns in the freezer. Some careful microwaving followed by pan toasting the buns and the hot dogs gives me a nice lunch with a little brown mustard and sauerkraut to dress them up.

HOJOs made their hot dogs like that. Along with an ice cream cone with one of their "28 Flavors" was a real treat when I was a kid.

 

[Selkie]

Ah, DuPars... the location of my very first job... at $1.35 per hour as a bus boy and coffee maker.

I rode the grade every day during my freshman year of high school to Camarillo High. Newbury Park high wasn't finished being built yet, and I didn't start there until my sophomore year.

If you recall the Helms Bakery truck, they carried an open top New England-style bun, the first time I had ever seen one. (For those not from So. Calif., Helms Bakery had trucks that drove through neighborhoods each day, honking an air horn and offering freshly baked goods each weekday, much like following a route as ice cream trucks do. They had some of the best stuff I've ever had!)

 

[buckytom]

The original HoJos was in the Wollaston section of Quincy and got torn down to build the Wollston T station. There is a HJ tiled into the sidewalk still.

Jacques Pepin once worked for HoJos and was instrumental in developing an (at that time) innovative concept where all of the food would be cooked at one location and shipped to the restaurants where it would be heated and assembled. This was an effort to ensure uniformity.

Today places like Olive Garden use a similar technique but it's often criticized as being less-than-fresh factory food.

lol, mmmmmmm uniformity. i'm kinda shocked at what i think you meant, but i might be wrong.

the olive garden's sauces taste like the plastic bladders they were squeezed from. unless you add enough salt to crust your tongue.

jenny, i can't imagine you'd support tbis.