3121 Hillsborough Road at the Rock Shop lot
Website
Dogs and Sausages: $3–$4
Chips and a drink added for an extra $1.25
Joey D’s NY Dogs is a new food cart offering freshly grilled, Sahleen brand hot dogs and sausages from Buffalo. Joey’s website declares that they are traditionally “garnished with fewer toppings than in other cities. Why? When grilled, these hot dogs taste good enough to enjoy on their own.”
Joey hopes to expand to more carts and a food truck in the future, but for now, the operation is limited to a portable grill cart and lots of coolers.
Those umbrellas in the back are where Joey D's NY Dogs are for now. There’s one bench to sit on in the Rock Shop lot, but otherwise, no seating. So unless you are one of those impressive people who can eat a hot dog in two bites, you’re probably best off taking your dogs to go. The options are regular dogs, foot-long dogs, bratwursts, or sausages in the flavors of chicken, spicy kabanosi, italian, and polish. Toppings available are relish, Joey D’s hot dog sauce, ketchup, onions, and yellow, horseradish, or spicy brown mustards. For an extra 50 cents, you can get meat chili, sauerkraut, coleslaw or a combo of green peppers and onions. I ordered a regular dog and a spicy kabanosi sausage both with onions and the hot dog sauce.
The worker grilled both of the dogs as I waited. The hot dog was a light pink color, and it tasted plenty good, obviously better than a boiled one, but that goes without saying. The hot dog sauce is relished-based, mixed up with some mildly spicy red sauce, and I thought it was excellent—the perfect condiment for a hot dog for someone like me who doesn’t like mustard or ketchup.
The grilled flavor was more noticeable, and very welcome, in eating the spicy kabanosi sausage. The charred, slightly crunchy skin was perfect, but I wouldn’t say it was a spicy dog—I’m a heat fiend, so my palate doesn’t recognize something as hot until it’s really hot. Regardless, the meat was great.
I did find Joey D’s a bit lacking in the bread department. Their rolls come from an Ohio company, and they didn’t strike me as anything special, just your standard, chewy, hot dog rolls. If they were grilled and warmed up with the dogs, then I think they’d be much more appealing. Of course, grilled and toasted bread rolls from a local bakery would be ideal, but that might be more than the food cart can handle for now.
I’d love to know if anyone else has given them a try yet. How do the other sausages stack up?
Reviewed 10.1.10.
