Simco's Old Tyme Franks

 

Well, Simco's is THE classic hot dog joint of the Greater Boston area. It's in Mattapan. On Blue Hill Ave. It has been there for a million-or-so years. You can tell by the signage. I wonder if they truly were the "World's Largest" as the sign says. They certainly aren't nowadays.

This was my second time here. My bro and I went together. He got a couple of cheese dogs. They were like grilled-cheese-dogs.

I got two chili-cheese Dogs. Really long and skinny wieners. I believe they use Pearls here. Buttered-grilled roll. Classic. Nice tanned wiener. I was feeling the cheese. Like a white kraft-single-type. Very melty and creamy.

The chili wasn't exactly thrilling to me. I don't think I'll get it again. Kind of like Beef-a-roni minus the roni. So if you solve that little equation you're left with just "Beef-a." Take the "Beef-a" and add a can of vegetarian baked beans. That's the chili. It really wasn't that bad though! Honest! Kind of like a Queen LaBeef-a.

I think the fried twinkies may have outshined the hot dogs though.

Good classic wiener! Next time I'll stick to classic condiments.

This trip get's a 4/5!

Nathan's Famous Beef Frank Natural Casing

Back in my High School days, my original hot dog of choice was the Nathan's Skinless variety. I eventually fell out of love with them and developed a holier-than-thou attitude toward the Nathan's brand.

Fastforward to last November: I saw these in the hot dogs section at Stop & Shop and had never before laid eyes on this product. I had tried the skinny long ones, the chubby short ones, and even the chubby long ones; but these were new to me. I had to pick them up. They then stayed in my freezer for about 5 months. Sell by date: 12/31/2011.

Appearance: Dark-red-meaty and tight Wieners. There was meat bursting (that may be an exaggeration) out of one side of the link. Lopsided grill char (my grill was misbehaving).

Smell: Meat. Grill. MMM.

Taste: These wieners seem to have a bit of spice to them. Though, I did sprinkle them with black pepper, stripe with Gulden's Spicy Brown, and blob with Uncle Maynard's Hot Pepper Relish.

Texture: These wieners are firm and beefy, just as I recall the skinless version to be with the added bonus of a natural casing. The casing wasn't rubbery even in the places where the grill didn't char. Moist enough even after being frozen for months.

Overall: These wieners work. There is nothing wrong with them. NOTHING EXCITING THOUGH. I may buy them again for a cookout or something like that. A versatile wiener that can not fail.

Nathan's Natural Casing gets a 4/5!

Thumann's Premium Natural Casing Franks

My girlfriend picked these Thumann's wieners up for me at Roche Bros deli a few days ago. The night she gave them to me we had ordered takeout from Punjab Cafe and so I waited to try these weenies out. After finishing the meal we realized that we had neglected to use the delicious chutneys that came with our food. And the rest is history...

I ate one plain and two SLUM DOG style.

Slum Dog: A hot dog dressed with Indian Chutneys. In this case spicy onion and tamarind (I think?) chutneys were used.

I think I may have invented this killer condiment combo!

Appearance: I cooked these wieners to my typical grilling specs: uncut wiener skin grilled until sides are thoroughly split open with generous amounts of grill coloring. The hot dogs before and after cooking are orange-ish.

Smell: BUTTER. Opening the deli bag I was nearly knocked on the floor by an odd butter smell. Weird but not totally unsettling.

Taste: The wieners themselves have a strange buttery taste with a mild spiciness. The condiments are what blew me away here. The hotness of the spicy onion with the sweetness of the tamarind is a winning combo (that's why they always come on the side with Indian food). However, the butter taste didn't jive well with these condiments.

Texture: The natural skin on these wieners bites easily and is chewy in the mouth. The actual meat is nice and consistent and juicy.

Overall: The wieners weren't bad but the butter taste was a little odd. A buttered roll would probably push them over the edge. The Slum Dog dressing however was without rival. I will try it again with a more appropriate hot dog: something that doesn't taste like butter.

Thumann's Premium Natural Casing Franks get a 2/5!

Slum Dog gets a 5/5! Booyah!