Scranton, PA: Coney Island Lunch’s Texas Hamburger

Coney Island Lunch

515 Lackawanna Ave

Scranton, PA 18503-2007

Get Directions

(570) 961-9004

* approximate timesO

– texas-wiener.com

I am thoroughly convinced that places like Coney Island Lunch exist in every town, except the ones I have lived in. It is some sort of bizarre Murphy’s Law hybrid that (mercifully) keeps me from eating like this every day of my life (which would no doubt be shortened by easier access to food like this).  Stereotypically retro, with bustling counter service, a handful of booths, limited menu options and friendly staff, luncheonettes like Coney were a dime a dozen just a few decades ago but are sadly a dying breed in the continued “chaining” of our country.

One of my favorite artists and food bloggers, Hawk Krall, just posted a story about another Coney Island in PA, and a quick Google search reveals a “Coney Island Lunch” spot in just about every nook and cranny of the Keystone State, including the bustling hubs of Erie, Shamokin and Johnstown (where I have personally enjoyed their legendary “Sundowner” – a cheeseburger with chopped onions, “Coney Island” chili sauce, mustard and a fried egg). The Scranton version has been around since 1923 when Steve Karampalis, newly arrived from Greece, started serving hot dogs and burgers to the factory workers and railroad men in this bustling industrial hub.

Truth be told (and man it seems to get murky), this Coney Island Lunch isn’t the same one that Scrantonites would have visited back in the 20’s. The joint we popped into on a recent sunny Sunday opened in 1988. This location, across from the “Mall At Steamtown,” claims direct lineage to the original owner (their grandfather was Steve Karampalis) and the original location a few blocks away – where, coincidentally, you will find a similar restaurant named Coney Island Texas Lunch, which recently reopened after a devastating fire (arson suspected). There seems to be a bit of a turf war in the Electric City over the true “original” and at the risk of adding fuel to that fire, I’m gonna have to side with the folks at the new location (Lackawana Ave) as I’d consider the direct family link the lynchpin in making a decision on who can rightfully claim to be the original.

The first thing that arrived at our table was this heaping serving of gravy fries. They could not have been cooked any better, perfectly crisp on the outside and airy inside, these slightly smaller than steak-fry sized spuds were made all the more incredible by the addition of brown (beef) gravy. Toss on some cheese curds and we’d have poutine, but this is Scranton so none of that French stuff here. To me, gravy fries are the classic diner food staple. I can remember many a post little league game meal with my dad at the now dismantled Vale-Rio Diner in Phoenixville, PA where ordering a bowl of gravy fries was de riguer (there’s that French stuff again, note to self: limit the amount of Fancy Nancy books I read to our 3 year old daughter). Back to the program, the gravy fries were a great start and were quickly joined at the table by the above pictured Texas hot dog and Texas hamburger (left to right in your picture, though you’d be hard pressed to tell the difference before biting in).

When the place is called Coney Island Lunch you can expect an emphasis on “Coney Island Chili,” a traditional no-bean chili (not spicy hot either) made with ground beef, onions, tomato paste and the most popular items from your spice rack. A cauldron endlessly simmers in the storefront kitchen waiting to be heaped on top of a hot dog (Berks brand beef dogs sliced in half if you are keeping score at home) or burger (pretty good beefy patty, though to be honest it really is just a delivery vehicle for the toppings) along with a mound of diced onions and a slathering of Dusseldorf mustard (applied almost artistically, paint brush style during the lightning fast construction phase). Both dogs and burgers are served on the same fresh, pillowy rolls, made by Scranton’s own National Bakery.  Slightly hard on the outside, these buns are sturdy enough to help avoid a complete toppings blowout disaster and ensure that you get every bite of the delicious chili.

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Burger, Burgernomics, Coney Island Chili, Fries, Hamburger, Johnstown, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Mr. Pibb, Phoenixville, Pie, Real Retro, Scranton

Attack Of The Leftovers: The Haroset Burger

Post holiday weekend and we’ve got an impenetrable wall of leftovers in the fridge from Saturday’s Passover Seder and Sunday’s Easter dinner.  Tons of great food prepared by family and friends and lots of late night snacking and experimenting opportunities.

This burger was pretty much inevitable after the first bite of haroset at the Seder.  On the Seder Plate haroset represents the mortar which the slaves used to build the pyramids in Egypt.  The almost too simple recipe of chopped apples, nuts and wine is available everywhere on the web (see here, here and here) and is ideally prepared by your mother/grandmother.  The version we had was just on the happy side of “too sweet” and as used here was the perfect burger topping.

The burger itself was an 80/20 mix of ground chuck and was produced using “The Great Burger” recipe from John Torode’s new book “Beef and other bovine matters.”   The secret to Torode’s recipe (and how these burgers are served at his Smiths of Smithfield restaurant in London) is his use of Chinese oyster sauce instead of salt.  His theory that salt dries out the burger too much and that this side-effect outweighs the benefits of the taste it imparts is an interesting one and I have to say I kind of agree.  We grilled the burgers and I purposely left one patty on to the point of overdoneness and it was still juicy.  More side-by-side tests are necessary, but I’m willing to buy into the logic.  The oyster sauce doesn’t overpower the burger either.  In the end it was much more subtle then the sniff from the bottle might have suggested.

At this point I am not sick of matzo…that will come soon enough though.  Sadly, as anyone who has eaten a Hillel sandwich knows, matzo is not the best sandwich delivery vehicle, but even as it crumbled to bits with the first bite it remained the only logical choice for this burger and the rare bites that did include burger, haroset and matzo were perfect.

Our pantry will be filled with matzo for months (do they sell it in anything but 5 lb. boxes?) so this dish will pop up again in our house very soon…just have to make more haroset but that is easy and is a great use for any leftover wine you might have laying about.

By the way, the perfect beverage for this burger is of course Passover Coke.  The local Genuardi’s supply was waning considerably the other day…load up while you can!

Next up is an Easter burger with cabbage roll topping on a potato roll!  Stay tuned.

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Burger, Burger Book Report, Burger Geek, Burger Recipe, Easter, Family, FoodTV, Hamburger, Holidays, Home Cookin', Leftovers, Marc Sanders, Martin's Potato Rolls, Passover, Recipe, Recipes, Smiths Of Smithfield, Where Have You Been My Whole Life?

Philadelphia, PA: The Sidecar Bar & Grille’s Sidecar Burger

2201 Christian St
Philadelphia, PA 19146

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I’m cringing at the thought of including that picture…ugh!  On the short list of Philly’s great gastropubs, the Sidecar Bar’s dim lighting is the foil to any food blogger hoping to snap a quick pic of their meal without throwing off a flash (and thus garnering the stares and smirks of other diners). My words may have to hold you over until you can get there in person (and I strongly encourage you to do that).

We hit the Sidecar on a recent dad’s night out for burgers and beer and everything was perfect (1. George Costanza-esque parking spot right out front 2. awesome beer selection 3. truly eclectic and enjoyable background music which took us from 70’s funk to 90’s shoegaze and of course 4. the burgers – billed as half-pound angus beef burgers).

I had the namesake Sidecar Burger which featured my favorite condiment – more meat! In this case, it was some top notch Tasso Ham. Add on a truly tasty Marchand de Vin sauce (described to us by the waiter as brown gravy mixed with a red wine reduction), provolone cheese, lettuce and tomato and this burger, which leans heavily on Cajun/Creole influences (the Tasso & the MdV sauce), hit the spot.

The burger itself was perfectly seasoned, almost as ordered (asked for just a bit below medium – got pretty much medium) and ridiculously huge (I had to cut it in half for decorum purposes).  The Marchand de Vin sauce didn’t hit me at first but the last few bites had been soaking in it for some time and the flavors really popped (wine + butter rarely fails).  The bread sopped up the sauce pretty well too and my mind quickly drifted to thinking about how good the sauce would taste on some leftover Thanksgiving turkey.  But I digress.  Oh yeah, it came with pretty good thick-cut steak fries and a mini salad with cider-dressing, too!

The Sidecar Bar is a neighborhood bar that really seemed welcoming.  Even later in the evening we saw a family with kids sitting down to dinner.  I am certain that the next big burger poll in Philly will feature this place towards the top.

Go check it out for yourself next time you are in “G-Ho”, you won’t be let down!

Recipe for Marchand de Vin sauce (not from The Sidecar Bar, but probably pretty darn close)

The Sidecar ranked #29 on Philly Weekly’s list of Top 50 Bars.

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Big Burgers, Burger, Burgers & Beer, Cheeseburger, Gastropubs, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Meat On Meat, Philly Burgers, Recipe, Recipes

Newark, NJ: Hamburgao’s Cheese Egg

Hamburgao

288 Lafayette St

Newark, NJ 07105

Get Directions

329 Ferry St
Newark, NJ 07105

282 Kearny Ave
Kearny, NJ 07032

Was lucky enough to sneak up to the Eagles playoff game on Sunday at the Meadowlands and with minor arm twisting was able to convince our crew to pit-stop at the Hamburgao on Lafayette Street in Newark’s Ironbound District on the way home from North Jersey (you know, to let the traffic die down a bit).

Way back in 2007, food and tech blogger Jason Perlow wrote the only post ever needed about this place and so I’ll spare you most of the details and encourage you to check it out on his site – the photography is to die for and you will probably have the same reaction my wife and I did upon reading the post – we hopped in the car that afternoon and drove to Newark!

I ate the “Cheese Egg” which is a cosmically disorienting combination of Mozzarella, ham, corn kernels, potato sticks (yes, like mom used to pack in your lunch), lettuce, tomato and mayo all placed on top of an 1/8lb or so grilled burger.  This sandwich (and most of the other similarly topped offerings) is much more than the sum of its parts.  What on paper looks like a laundry-list of things that should not go together (at least not in the American palate) comes together in a delicious gooiness that takes an admittedly ho-hum burger patty and elevates it to mythic status.  I enjoy introducing these Brazilian burgers to others because they are so different that it makes you rethink everything you know about one of the simplest foods in the world.  One of my buddies picked at a piece of corn from his burger and looked at it mystified wondering how anyone could even dream of such a concoction – thankfully somebody did.

Again, go read Jason Perlow’s post and admire the great pictures at the tail end.  If you don’t already read Jason’s Off The Broiler blog you should (and you really should have back before his diet!  Jason knows good food and is a great writer to boot.  He has never steered me wrong and he is responsible for introducing me by way of his blog to my all-time favorite pizza joint Trattoria Sorrentina).

Hamburgao is a mini-chain with 3 locations (none close to you – but all worthy of dropping what you are doing right now and hopping in the car while gas prices are still low).  And as a special bonus for all of you Eagles fans, now is a great time to visit North Jersey because the burgers are great and the Giants fans are humble!

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Big Burgers, Birds & Burgers, Brazilian Burgers, Burger, Burger Geek, Cheeseburger, Expert Opinions, Hamburger, Marc Sanders, Mini Chains, NJ, NYC, Newark, Philadelphia Eagles, Weird Burgers

Staunton, VA: Wright’s Dairy-Rite’s Superburger

Wright’s Dairy Rite Inc
346 Greenville Ave
Staunton, VA 24401
(540) 886-0435

We are just back from this summer’s burger vacation (more BBQ this year than burgers, but I don’t have a BBQ blog…yet!) and one of the highlights for the whole family was Wright’s Dairy-Rite in Staunton, VA. What a treat!

As they proudly claim on the sign out front, this gem has been serving Staunton (and hungry travelers) since 1952 and little has changed since then (and thank G-d for that!).

The signature burger at Wright’s Dairy-Rite is the Superburger:

SUPERBURGER
Staunton’s original since 1952. Two patties of pure ground beef (total quarter pound), real american cheese, shredded lettuce, and our own special sauce. Served on a triple-decker bun.

Jane and Michael Stern point out in their foodie bible Roadfood that the Superburger preceeded the Big Mac by “more than a decade” and the taste today continues to outpace the McDonald’s version. The special sauce isn’t syrupy sweet like its fast-food knock-off and the bun is fresh and delicious. Plus, no pickles!!

Served on wax paper with a side order of onion rings and perfectly complemented by a chocolate malt this burger made me nostalgic for an era I never lived through.

Carhop service is available but we chose to exit the car for a bit (we clicked off 1500 miles in 5 days – cushy seats and a formica table top looked great to us) and we were extra thankful for the great jukebox that kept our daughter entertained (and entertaining nearby diners) for at least 15 minutes. Each booth has a telephone to call in your order which was neat (although a bit awkward when it comes to phone manners – do you say “bye” when you are done ordering?)

Visiting a place like Wright’s will no doubt make walking into any one of those faux-retro joints a tough task. It is so rare to be able to catch a glimpse of that so-called “simpler time” and I know our family is better for it.

Staunton is a beautiful little town, too. Train buffs (and parents of little ones) will want to check out the “Gypsy Express” train located in the Gypsy Hill park. For a buck a person you get a great ride on a cool train that is about as old as Wright’s. Stop by on July 4th or Labor Day and your ride is free (more $$$ to spend on burgers!!).

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Burger Perfection, Burgers In The Burbs, Cheeseburger, Marc Sanders, Opportunity Of A Lifetime, Real Retro

They Eat It (So We Don’t Have To): MRE Hamburger

An on-again, off-again feature of this blog is “I Ate It (So You Don’t Have To),” wherein I subject myself to various shady burger experiences in hopes of stopping you, the innocent reader, from making a major culinary mistake. This post, however, is a little different.

Thanks to the wonders of the Internet I was able to procure perhaps the rarest burger of all – a MRE (Meals Ready to Eat) Burger. The “They” of course are our troops who are fearlessly in harms way, and for whom a trip to the latest burger joint featured on this or other sites is frankly impossible. So in a nod to patriotism, here is a quick post on the making and eating of a MRE Hamburger.

First of all, I had no idea how big an MRE packet would be. This set was fairly sizeable and featured a complete meal + snacks and drink mixes as well as a cooking pouch that is scary efficient and a couple of chicklet style pieces of gum to freshen up with after the meal. I’m not sure how many packs a soldier could conceivably carry at one time, but it can’t be too many (they don’t weigh much, but they are bulky…about the size of a shoe box) and so the stories of supply convoys cruising the desert become even more realistic when you think about how often the troops would need to be resupplied.

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Burger Science, I Ate It So You Don't Have To, Military, Weird Burgers

Home Cookin’: Big Island Burger Sauce

The Big Island Burger With Sauce

I am a firm believer that a great burger experience doesn’t necessarily mean trekking across state lines in search of some hole in the wall spot conveniently located on the one road that Google Maps hasn’t identified yet.

In fact, I tend to believe that with proper equipment and motivation, the average home cook can produce a burger that rivals any of the “big names” in terms of quality (of course, ambiance and history are hard to match, so we’ll still get in our cars and explore). To that end, where I can I’ll present some tips, tricks, techniques and recipes for the burgers we make at home. First up, a sauce recipe created on the fly and named (after-the-fact) “Big Island Burger Sauce.”

Prep time: 2 minutes

Total time: 10 minutes

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pineapple chunks (I used frozen chunks from Trader Joes – you could use fresh or another brand of frozen chunks
• 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons of teriyaki sauce (I used low sodium, mainly out of necessity, but also because we tend to heavily salt our burgers to bring out their inherent flavor…so save sodium where you can)
• Small piece of fresh Ginger Root

In a saute pan, brown the pineapple chunks over medium heat (3-5 minutes)

Once browned, place the chunks on a cutting board and allow to cool for a minute or two. After they are cool enough to touch, rough cut them. I left a few big chunks to please to palate.

In a mixing bowl place the cut chunks, mayo and teriyaki sauce. Mix until combined into a chunky sauce. With a microplane grater, add about 2 teaspoons of fresh ginger root and then stir again to ensure all ingredients are evenly distributed.

To serve, place a generous portion of the sauce on top of your burgers. For the picture above we grilled burgers on an electric griddle with Havarti cheese served on Stern’s Kosher Hamburger Buns (if you can find these buns in your store they are amazing!!). Enjoy.   (Refrigerate unused portion for up to 24 hours)

editors note(s):

1. I am not a professional chef, not even close. This recipe worked very well for us, your results may vary (but it is hard to go wrong with this ingredient combination).
2. I have never been to Hawaii, and as such the reader should be skeptical of my naming of this sauce.
3. Why yes, bacon would be awesome with this burger! Some carmelized onions wouldn’t hurt either.
4. Havarti and Hawaii look very similar, but Havarti cheese does not come from Hawaii.
5. And finally, your cardiologist would not approve of this recipe (despite all the veggies on the plate!)

Filed under: All About The Sauce, Big Burgers, Home Cookin', Recipes, Uncategorized