Great American Bites: Mini-dogs rule in N.Y. Capital Region
— -- The scene: Having grown up with White Castle, scaled-down hamburgers are nothing new to me, and I understand the appeal of eating a few tiny sandwiches versus one normal-sized version. So it came as no surprise to me in recent years when "sliders" suddenly went mainstream, taking on many forms from coast to coast: there are mini-burgers, mini-pulled pork, mini-steak and cheese, mini-BLTs, even mini-fried chicken sandwiches. So why haven't hot dogs, one of America's favorite foods, downsized as well?
They have in New York's Capital Region around Albany, except that here, miniature hot dogs have long been popular, one of the most micro-regionalized specialties I've come across in my food travels. Hot Dog Charlie's began in 1922 as New Way Lunch until regulars took to calling the owner, Greek immigrant Strates Fentekes, Charlie and it stuck. The original in Troy is currently closed for renovations following a fire, but there are three others close by including one in a mall food court. The location I visited in Cohoes even resembled a White Castle, with the grill visible behind glass, a modern processing system that displays orders on overhead monitors for the cooks, and a Formica, fast-food feel where you carry your food to a counter by the windows and eat.
At Famous Lunch, originally Quick Lunch, the little franks date to 1932 and the place still looks the part, resembling a classic Americana Main Street coffee shop on a commercial street in downtown Troy. The dogs cook on a griddle in the window, and inside a long counter with stools runs down one side, with booths on the other, and there is even a throwback walk-in phone booth. In contrast, newcomer Gus's Hot Dogs - since 1954 - in nearby Watervliet is a roadside shack, on a side street in a residential neighborhood, where you order at one window, pick up from the other, most of the signs are hand written, and you either take your food to go or eat at an outdoor picnic table. They are all within a 10-minute drive of each other.
Reason to visit: Miniature hot dogs, meat sauce, Greek burgers
The food: What all three places have in common is mini-dogs, their featured staple, bigger than cocktail franks but much smaller than normal dogs, about 3 inches long and half an inch in diameter. Unlike sliders, where you can just shape smaller patties, someone has to actually make this size sausage. In this region, Sabretts and a few old time local butchers in the area specialize in mini-dogs, and local bakeries have to bake buns to scale. The dogs are traditionally served with mustard, onions and "meat sauce," which is sort of like Texas chili in terms of meaty flavor, but thin and smooth, with no meaty chunks. Hot Dog Charlie's calls theirs Chili Sauce with Meat and sells it in jars to take home, while Gus's sells its meat sauce in plastic containers, by the pint, quart and even gallon. Famous Lunch calls it Zippy sauce. In every case it adds a nice flavor without overpowering the little dogs (or burgers). The dogs are 70-75? including the works, and are typically eaten 4-8 at a time. All these places are popular with uniformed personnel -- at Gus's I saw a fire department officer picking up huge trays, while mailmen were clearly regulars at the counter of Famous Lunch - they didn't even have to say their order.
The mini-dogs and meat sauce were quite tasty at all three, but my favorite was Gus's, where they are just slightly charred and have a nice snappiness to them. Despite the size you get real hot dog flavor in every bite, plus they had the best sauce. Hot Dog Charlie's dog was slightly tastier, also quite snappy, but the meat sauce blander, giving Gus's a tiny edge. Gus's ambiance, the mini-hot dog equivalent of a roadside BBQ joint, with paper plates and all, adds to the experience. A sign behind the window list prices for mini-dogs in quantities up to 50, and no matter what you order or how complex, with sides, drinks, burgers or extra toppings, the guy who takes your order instantly calculates the total price without writing anything down or using any machines in an impressive show of experience.
They all feature burgers as well, bargains at $1.50-$1.75, smaller than normal but not quite slider-small, more like three-quarter sized, so I also tried the burger at each place. Gus's serves up a tasty, juicy Greek burger, topped with grilled onions and meat sauce on a great roll. It was my favorite, closely followed by Hot Dog Charlie's. At Famous Lunch, it was a frozen patty slapped on the flattop grill, not nearly as good as the others.
After mini-dogs, meat sauce and burgers, the differences are vast. At Gus's, the rest of the menu is mostly non-alcoholic beverages and bagged chips, plus a sausage sandwich. Hot Dog Charlie's has far more options, including full-sized dogs, burgers, fried fish, clam rolls, popcorn chicken, Italian sausage and several kinds of fries: curly, regular, cheesy and bacon cheese. The menu lists preset combos like Number Three, an impressive 10 mini-dogs, large fries and a soda. Famous Lunch is a true coffee shop, and besides mini-dogs offers a full breakfast menu and several sandwiches and burgers.
What regulars say: "The meat sauce is great, really makes it special, and I like that they are small so you can try more things - you don't have to choose. I usually get a couple of dogs and a Greek burger," said Kieran Bell, a school teacher who was eating at Gus's.
Pilgrimage-worthy?: No, but it is certainly the most interesting specialty in the Albany region - and a bargain.
Rating: Mmmm (Scale: Blah, OK, Mmmm, Yum!, OMG!)
Price: $ ($ cheap, $$ moderate, $$$ expensive)
Details: Gus's Hot Dogs, 212 25th Street, Watervliet; 518-273-8743; Hot Dog Charlie's, 618 Saratoga Street, Cohoes (3 others); 518-235-4494, hotdogcharlies.com/; Famous Lunch, 111 Congress Street, Troy; 518-272-9481, famouslunch.org/Welcome.html
Larry Olmsted has been writing about food and travel for more than 15 years. An avid eater and cook, he has attended cooking classes in Italy, judged a BBQ contest and once dined with Julia Child. Follow him on Twitter, @TravelFoodGuy, and if there's a unique American eatery you think he should visit, send him an e-mail at travel@usatoday.com.