There are a few select food items that have been slashed off my “no-order” list, only because Karen does such a great job preparing them at home – one is breakfast omelettes (hers are always packed tighter than overstuffed luggage – and the other is, believe it or not, pizza! She’s elevated Boboli crust sauce and cheese (and mushrooms, onions, etc. into an absolute art form.
The noble hot dog is something we don’t partake in very often, and as we discovered today, that’s our loss, considering we don’t live very far from the Galloping Hill Inn in Union, home of some of the best dogs we’ve had in a long while.
Full disclosure – it was a twinge of nostalgia that called us to Galloping Hill – we were on the Garden State Parkway on our way home this afternoon, when Karen recalled going there with her mom before she passed. I had never been, so we quickly made a right on Galloping Hill Road off the Parkway instead of left, which would have taken us home, and a few quick turns later, there we were.
The place is a no-frills Union landmark, serving up their “always fresh, always fast” dogs since 1925. It was voted to have New Jersey’s best hot dogs by NJ Monthly Magazine, which is saying something because we’ve always had a special place on our hot dog pedestal for the iconic Rutt’s Hut in Clifton.
You put in your order at the counter, and since we were not familiar with the styles of dogs available, we asked the fellow who took our order (he was wearing a Mets cap, so I liked him already) what people usually order. He thought for a moment and he said the most popular was “the works” — a dog with mustard, sauerkraut, sweet relish and hot relish. We decided to take him up on it, getting two dogs each, with a side of fries to split.
Our order came up fast all right, and it’s a good thing the trays supplied were sturdy – the paper plates the dogs were served on were already sagging thanks to the heft of the heft of the franks enveloped by a fresh bun, and what seemed like a full jar each of kraut, hot relish and sweet. Galloping Hill is definitely generous with their portions!
We noticed immediately that the dogs stood up to the heavy-handed condiments, no small feat. They were tasty, with a bit of the snap that comes with the frank being cooked perfectly. The kraut and relishes were all very good too, but there was so much of all of it! I actually had to pull off some of the relish with my fork, and Karen couldn’t finish the huge offering and felt bad leaving one bun and its condiments almost intact, pulling out the dog to eat with her fork.
And let’s give the fries their due – a simple crinkle cut with a bit of salt, they were crisp, not greasy at all, and a perfect accompaniment to our feast.
We enjoyed our lunch and will definitely go back, but I think we will adjust our order somewhat — maybe going for one double-dog each (two franks on one bun) and ordering our kraut/relish on the side would be the way to go.
By that time, the weather hopefully will be a bit warmer, and we’ll be able to sit at one of the outdoor tables at Galloping Hill to savor our next dog day afternoon.
