Best hot dogs I've ever had in my life are around the corner...
I may be the source of the rumor there are awesome hot dogs nearby. Here's the short version of this post. Go to:
Galloping Hill Grill
at the crazy 7-way intersection* of Chestnut Street with six other thoroughfares ( turn right onto Chestnut Street out of the Elks Lodge parking lot) for awesome hot dogs. Note that this assessment is highly context-dependent. To understand the context, read on (for the more detailed version of the post).
Here ends the short version of this post.
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Here starts the long version of this post.
I had attended my first ECC auction; it could have been the fall of 2012, or the spring of 2011; I don't remember for reasons stated below. It was awesome, to say the least. I have been in this hobby for at least 8 years, and I have yet to see anything like it.
THERE IS FREE BEER!!!!
Yeah, I said Free Beer. The phrases "me" and "free beer" are like moth to a flame, and before I knew it, Bill had me so relaxed I was willing to get in front of a microphone to announce auction lots. By all accounts, I managed not to embarrass myself, but believe me, I had a beer under the table I was pulling from frequently.
Once the craziness that is an ECC auction was over, I found myself in North New Jersey, hungry and facing a 4+ hour drive home. I thought it might be a good idea if I buffered the considerable alcohol in my stomach with some food. Despite the incredibly confusing 7-way intersection, I somehow managed to find myself in the parking lot of the Galloping Hill Grill. Looking over their menu (and the awesome photographs and testimonials on the wall), I decided to go with a couple of hot dogs, which seemed to be their speciality. I got one with onions and sweet relish, and one with spicy relish ( what we Baltimorons might call "red hots", which is really just pickled pepper relish).
In the state I was in (
and here is the context-dependent part)...
THEY WERE THE BEST HOT DOGS I HAVE EVER HAD IN MY LIFE!
OK, I was drunk. Well, not really drunk, but I had a seriously good buzz on. But they were still darned good hot dogs. Nice snap, delicious flavor, nice bun, and tasty toppings. Hard to beat when you're buzzed after a long day's fish auctioneering.
You may be compelled, as I was, to buy a 5 lb vacuumed packed bag of them to take home with you. I know my purchase was gone in less than a week, since my two daughters absolutely loved them. Incentive for me to return to the ECC auction, if for no other reason than to get me some more of those Galloping Hill hot dogs.
Chris
* PS: I thought crazy multi-way intersections only happened in Pittsburgh! I spent my college and grad school days living in the Squirrel Hill neighborhood of Pittsburgh, near the 5-way intersection of Forward Ave, Murray Ave, and Pocusset Ave. It was a crazy intersection, often congested with traffic from folks who didn't know which way to turn. When I approached the 7-way intersection near Galloping Hill Grill, I had to guess which street to turn down to get into their parking lot. I guessed correctly, but I can easily imagine someone getting lost in New Jersey for half an hour just at the intersection.
