And now for a change of pace..

That wasn’t exactly “kinder and gentler”. You’ve chastised others for the way that they’ve responded to other posters. Now, it’s your turn.

Live in the present? Feh! It’s so much nicer here. I was in Italy in 2004 (is that present enough for ya?) and the pizza sure wasn’t much to write home about and Flintlock is right, New Jersey, NYC and Buffalo all have excellent pizza, better than any I’ve had anywhere in Europe and that’s a fact, Jack! There’s good pizza here in Toronto too. For good pizza, you must go to where Italians settled when they came to the new world.

And I sure remember Shofar’s hot dogs! Dijon mustard for me and that’s all. Brown mustard like Gulden’s is excellent and so is Kosciusko’s which I buy whenever I’m in Buffalo- superb on smoked meat which is the Canadian version of Pastrami.

Nathan’s or Hebrew National on lightly toasted Italian bread (with sesame seeds). No cat soup, no moose turds, no nothin! Naked, as some restaurants call them! [;)]

Hmm, that sounds like something I’d try gladly!

Mustard. You know, I’ve tried Dijon, Grey Poupon, Kosciusko, you name it, but I keep coming back to Guldens. The only thing I don’t like about Guldens is that squeeze bottle they put it in now! Solid black, so you can’t see when the end is coming! I miss the jar!

See, the problem is that you need dirty water for the dogs to get the authentic New York Sabrett’s vibe. I don’t know if Chicago has a special mix, but I bet they do… simmer them long and simmer them right.

Buddy’s does do it right, including knowing where pepperoni should go if you don’t want it withered. Is Farmington Hills still the best location?

I’ll take a Schneiders Foot Long Red Hot on their fabulous steamed home made buns with their home made specialty mustards any day. Available only at The Arbour in Port Dover, Ontario.

Can’t buy a Coke or Pepsi either, they only serve and make their own home made fresh drinks on site … the Pineapple and Loganberry are my favourites but there are several others. Golden Glow ( orange) is the most popular. Definitely worth it!

Best fries and so consistent anywhere. Malt, Cider and white vinegars. Unbelievable selection of condiments. Red skin peanut parfaits a foot high. Walk up outside counter service only. Big counter takes orders 6-8 at a time. Big parking lot. Lake Erie around the corner.

Been there over a hundred years.

Sometimes life is kind.

( back in da day one could watch very close by the Lake Erie & Northern interurbans one way and the other way Canadian National steam from 2 branches, Hamilton and Brantford. You could hear the NYC Hudsons and Mohawks whistle on the CASO. Wabash and Pere Marquette too… now that’s a day of railroading … and guess what?.. every single bit of it is gone… the Arbour is still there though)

I don’t know if they have a “best” location. I’ve been to the original one down in Detroit and used to live a mile from the Livonia one. They just opened up a new one in Plymouth right off of M14.

I suppose now might be the time to ask the Canadian consensus on Lester’s. What do you dress them with?

The Arbours is less than 40 miles due north of me. There is only one slight problem.

Are you in Erie, PA? Long ways from Memphis.

2.5 problems for you on this.

  1. Lake Erie… 40 miles across but 250 miles around to get from Erie to Port Dover via Buffalo… via Detroit even further.

  2. The Arbour closes in the winter. No set date but they stay open until winter has taken a firm hold. For sure they are closed now.

2.5) The Ferrys no longer run at all… used to be plenty, from Cleveland, from Erie, from Buffalo but they are all in the past because we are very dumb people and civilization is dead.

As to Lesters, well, I recommend yellow Mustard ( use French’s) and a monster Kosher Dill pickle fresh from the brine barrel is good. Their custom made sodas are … well… unique.

Miningman- next time I’m in Port Dover I’m going to check Arbour’s out and Backshop- the same for Buddy’s. I’m in Plymouth Michigan every summer for the Concours of America car show and I will be trying their dogs!

Don’t miss the pizza, either, if you can still eat that stuff. Worth NOT missing even if you need a plausible-denial excuse…

Yes, 2.5 would have solved 1, but even stowing away on a barge isn’t possible any more. I have a British car here and it has performance issues when there is excess dihydrogen-monoxide mixture richness. For a change, not a Lucas thing. I suspect it would also have severe traction issues; they are bad enough in a few inches of snow.

There is a somewhat further problem with going by way of Buffalo: it looks as if it’s fairly minor roads from there all the way back, and over, to Port Dover (Rt 6 is the preferred route there from the east, right?) and the trip time likely excessive for even 12" of dog. I’d be taking 20 up to Buffalo anyway, not just for watching what I still call the Water Level Route but because there is a lengthy stretch of pavement on 90 that broke both front shocks on the Jaguar when I went to Buffalo to fix crApple’s latest update-related bricking, so even longer trip time … but that’s all moot if the place is closed 'til spring.

I’m lazy … when will it be open for ‘best experience’?

My son is at Mercyhurst so I expect to be in this ‘neck of the woods’ on and off for the next several years, if I live that long. So spring is a tempting possibility. Are there any known-good ‘poutine opportunities’ on the way? I don’t care if it squeaks.

Time to put in a plug for the “home folks,” and reduce my self and Overmod to tears of frustration, homesickness, and wails of “I wanna go HOME!” [:'(]

Deep fried hot dogs, melt-in-your-mouth-burgers, great fries, and the late, great Anthony Bourdain’s favorite “happy place,” I’m talkin’ about…

https://www.bringfido.com/restaurant/3928 Great picture!

“Dogs, burgers, and brew, since 1932!”

Let’s go inside!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6KTFzTVLcc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oitr2haKEaM

And, now it’s a “historic site,” if that’s the right term…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX-L8o69_rU

And not far away, for good eats THIS place is well worth a visit!

https://www.njpalisades.org/stateline.html

“Refreshments” doesn’t do it justice! They’ve got a full-line menu of platters cooked fresh. Not-super fast but more than worth the wait!

And you can’t beat the view!

+1

I’m a Chicagoan, but I’ve always felt that “fully dressed dogs” are just a cover up for tasteless wieners.

Haven’t thought about State Line Lookout in years- But, deep fried hot dogs? I didn’t know that was a thing.

A little further south in Runnymede, New Jersey is Marino’s. It says they have the best cheesesteaks in South Jersey. No arguments from me! When my ship was in drydock in Philly, I shared an apartment with a guy from the ship that was about a mile from Marino’s. Best in the world, I’d say!

https://www.marinospizzarunnemede.com/

But here’s a funny thing- I was at the Hershey classic car show this past October and there was a trailer selling cheesesteaks. I asked the guy what kind of cheese they used and he, trying to be a hard-ass Philadelphian, said gruffly, “a Philly cheesesteak uses Cheez-Wiz!” I told him that back in the 1970s every place used provolone. I told him about Marino’s and how they used provolone and about a place on the west side of Broad Street under the approach to the Walt Whitman bridge run by an ex-Marine and they used provolone too. He finally agreed that provolone sounded better than CW.

To take this back to a railroad subject, I used to ride the Metroliner from NYP to 30th street a lot back then and was always impressed with the rail coverage around Philadelphia. It was all PCC streetcars then. In 1993 I was in King Of Prussia on business and me and some friends rode the Norristown line to the end of the subway and then took it to Dock Street brewing, one of the first decent brewpubs I’ve ever visited. Boy, a cheesesteak and a glass of beer would go down good right now!

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I never had a cheesesteak until I went to school at Glassboro State in 1971. They just weren’t a North Jersey thing, but new friends turned me on to 'em and there was no going back!

North Jersey and South Jersey are two different worlds!

Anyway, two places in town did a great job with them, Cavalier’s Sub Shop and Tarantella’s Pizza.

I don’t think they’re there anymore. Then again, the whole place has been so built up it’s just not the place Lady Firestorm and I remember. Last time we drove through I thought to myself “It’s all changed. Now I know what a ghost feels like.” We won’t be going back. No point.

Anyway, whenever I’m in the Philly area I NEVER pass up a chance for a cheesesteak!

With provalone!

A place in Collegeville PA, Franco’s, make some good ones! No need to go to the city.

I just found this. The Maestro speaks, and with a little something for the Chicagoland crew…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN5VfiDX_9Q

I never called them dirty water hot dogs, to me they were just hot dogs. Sabrett’s seemd to be the most common of the street vendor dogs. As fas as delis are concerned, I tend to stay away from the Stage and Carnegie type places- I don’t need to eat a pastrami sandwich fit for an army! Give me a good neighbourhood deli with Boar’s Head meats and that’s all I need. Roast beef on a hard roll, mayo, onion, a lot of black pepper and some horseradish.

In Buffalo and points east to Syracuse, a lot of bars will serve what they call 'Beef on weck" which is short for Kummelweck, a German hard roll covered in caraway seeds and crusty salt. I had one once, the salt was too much so I order it on a regular roll now. The roast beef is always awesome. There used to be a place in Syracuse called Clark’s Ale House that had an amazing roast beef sandwich for 3 bucks. That was it, the entire menu. Then in Binghamton, the thing is spiedies which is a shish-ke-bob of chicken or whatever served on a bun. Like a souvlaki, just a little different. It’s amazing how just a few hundred miles apart food changes so much. 3 hours away in Poughkeepsie, no one ever heard of a spiedie.

The pizza in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, New York is excellent as well. To all Godfather buffs out there, Niagara Falls is where Fabrizio opened a pizza joint and got blown up in his car in 1958 as revenge for killing Appolonia, Michael’s first wife.

Overmod-- The QEW ( Queen Elizabeth Hwy) is a first class multi multi lane highway. Certainly not a minor road … anyway as you leave the Peace Bridge into Niagara Falls and arrive in the Dominion there are 2 great Poutine places available almost immediately on Victoria Ave. You really can’t miss it because you’re already on it. They are very close to each other 1) Smokes Poutine 2) Nikos Place, both infamous for their Poutine. A bit further out is Potato Heads…all 5 star ratings.

Ok now that you have stuffed yourself take the QEW to Hamilton. As you glance out your driver side window you will see you are parallel to CN’s mainline to Niagara and Fort Erie. You will see trains, guaranteed. After maybe 35 minutes driving you arrive in Hamilton and time for more Poutine. Best 5 stars are 1) The Ship 2) Charred Rotisserie House and if you’re feeling a bit homesick try the Poutine at Memphis Fire BBQ Company. You will not be disappointed .

Now you are well stuffed. At Hamilton you exit Hwy 6. This is an older original highway but 4 lanes and widened to six in spots. It passes through old towns, first Caledonia ( CN tracks lifted … went through here on 6218 in 60’s excursions on track that had not seen a passenger train in decades), then Hagersville ( CASO! Tracks lifted but the tower is still there) then Jarvis ( CNR/Wabash) tracks lifted but the beautiful quaint station is still there, can’t miss it, its perpendicular to the highway right at the highway. I think that CN still has tracks going to Nanticoke and you can spot that and the signals in the distance from the station.

Almost there, a few miles to go. You pass through Dogsnest. Stop and take a selfie at the Dogsnest sign as you enter and pass. The sign is frequently stolen so let’s hope you get a good day.

You descend a hill. There is sparkling Lake Erie laid out before you. The first thing you will see as soon as you cross the bridge over the Lynn River at the bottom of

I’ll tell you what boys, talkin’ about food is a hell of a lot more fun than some of the other BS we get our noses out of joint about!

Jeez, I’m hungry again, and I just ate!