Uncle Tony's Hot Dog House
There is a banner in front of Hackettstown Bagels (on Mountain Ave with Rt 57 intersection) with NOW OPEN, Uncle Tony's Hot Dog House. Logo says "The ORIGINAL ITALIAN HOT DOG".
Anyone try yet? Is there an Uncle Tony's working there? What is an Italian hot dog?
OnTheEdge Maybe Tony from Tony’s Luncheonette is coming out of retirement? Who knows who Uncle Tony is, but an Italian Hot Dog is a mysterious menu item in this area. Can’t seem to find a real one here. It’s a grilled dog with fried peppers, onions, and potatoes on a soft Italian roll. I actually like mine with a nice slice or two of a Jersey tomato.
If Uncle Tony puts french fries on it and calls it an Italian hot dog, it’s not…
3wbdwnj It's certainly not Tony from the luncheonette. He is enjoying retirement...
Apparently on other social media platforms folks are raving about this place. They compare it too Jimmy Buff's. I don't care for Italian dogs myself but I guess its a hit so far!
Greg If you like Italian hot dogs it is fantastic made on REAL pizza bread. Its an experience. Like eating at the shore. But besides that, the steak sandwich is great and they have numerous other items. All made fresh. Real Italian Hot dog sandwich are hard too find. It is a Jersey thing. Years ago many sub shops made it. And yes Toni's luncheonette made an authentic one, but he has retired. We traveled down from Phillipsburg and it was well worth it. Onion rings and fries were also great. If you don't like Italian Hotdogs, try one of the other items. Lots to choose from.
Carol Great location next to a dispensary. If you have the munchies get an Italian hot dog. Good luck Uncle Tony
Robert 
de Why would a hot dog joint open up at 2pm every day and deliberately miss the lunch crowd? Bagel Boss doesn't want competition, so he has to wait till bagel counter closes?
ianimal ianimal, are they really not opening until 2 pm? They need to open by noon the latest. If it's true, they are making a big mistake, in my opinion.
Joyce 
Although they miss the lunch "crowd" it is a good idea and probably a necessity for small business to share costs.
xxxxx They just opened and so far are successful. Give them a chance to work out the kinks.
Indie 
cat lover The prices are a joke! A plain hot dog is $3.20
A hot dog with mustard and relish is $4.89 !! ?
Really?
This place will not make it unfortunately because of lack of common sense
Summer What weight are the hot dogs? 8/lb, 10/lb? Hard to justify charging someone extra for mustard, lol.
My Dad and I went and had a fantastic Italian hot dog! The people there were great!
What a clever idea to use the bagel place which is only open until 2pm!
This gives Tonys an opportunity to build a client base and to make any modifications they may need.
We will be going back soon!
Nallie Relish and mustard were free on my plain janes. Unless they changed the policy this week or something. The hot dogs are the big kind. Not the little dirty water dogs you usually get like the size of hot dog johnnys or the old willy wieners. I mean they even had mustard and relish to top it off yourself. Sauerkraut though was a dollar as other premium toppings. I'm pretty sure I saw the brand they use is called best's. I haven't been in, in over a week so I could mistaken.
YesOk That would be nice if they use Bests. That's a good NJ dog made right in Newark . He's probably using a 6/1 which puts the dog at little over 2 -1/2 oz which is a decent size. A normal 6" dog is a little over 1 -1/2 oz for comparison.
People complaining about price is frankly tiresome. The costs of opening a small business in this climate is nearly impossible. Particularly a small retail food establishment . Rent, insurance, taxes, labor, product costs it's all sky high. He's got to sell a lot of hot dogs to meet the overhead let alone make a comfortable profit. This is the world we live in at the moment. It's crushing....
I suppose we're all obliged to drop by and give it a whirl. Who doesn't love a good dog?
“I suppose we’re all obligated to drop by and give it a whirl.”
That’s highly debatable!
happiest girlGreg- I agree... the same people that complain about the price of stuff...have NO idea what it takes to run a business.
They think because they can make a dog (or whatever)...at home...that a store should be able to have a building, insurance, staff, parking lot, napkins, bathrooms, etc...all the overhead....and the price not be higher.
Stop being foolish people.
And 'Happiest Girl'... change your screename... I've never seen you make a happy post... ever.
Complain / comment all you want.. but to do it how you do it- with that name- is comical.
Josh Greg, I've never typically seen a 6/# hot dog at a stand. Places like Toby's and HDJ were typically the smaller 10/# (1.6 ounce) dogs and dirty water carts had the 8/# (2 ounce) Sabrett's. Then you have your quarter pounder/foot longs at fairs and amusement parks.
The Best's you get in the supermarket are all 8/#, but I know they do custom orders for hot dog joints all over northeast NJ, so they will probably do any size the person wants. Somebody brand new to the business is probably using whatever he can get from a wholesaler.
Bests has a variety of sizes for the wholesale market. We used them exclusively for almost 25 years ordering hundreds of pounds of dogs a week quite often. We would get their natural casing dogs as well as their knockwursts as well. We typically got 8/1 but also other sizes as needed. They had anything you wanted. They had a dog they called "King Size". That was their 6/1. Gosh, I had tee shirts for years with their logo on the front and "King Size" emblazoned on the back... LOL.
I'm intrigued enough to go see Uncle Tony today for lunch! LOL!
Thumann's dogs 8/1. $9.46 out the door for the Original with everything.
As cousin Eddie said: "It's a good quality item."
It was very tasty. If you like a good dog, be sure to stop in.
Last Friday my buddy and I went there last week so he could check it out. I had a cheesesteak this time and he had a chicken cheesesteak. I'd never had a cheesesteak on a pizza roll, nor had he, but we both agreed that the pizza roll combined really well with both types of cheesesteak! We'll be back to try other items as well, especially because we ate it there, and relaxed next to the river while eating.
Just like the first time I was there, everyone was really friendly and accommodating.
Phil D. I honestly think those that out right lie or bash a place are just the competition getting mad. Same thing happened when the bagel place itself opened.
All I can say is don’t waste your money!
Awful ! Once and done!
No comparison to Jimmy Buffs or any Italian hotdogs.
I believe in giving a business a trial period but this place is overpriced and no air conditioning on a 90 plus degree day.
I grew up in area with real Italian hotdogs and there is no comparison I was really hoping this place would be good as we need one in this area but sadly it was not anything like Jimmy Buffs or Dickie Dee’s or even Ting a Lings in Newark NJ
I am not a competitor I am a consumer
Eliz Eliz why was it so bad? Your last statement also just reeks. This is the first real bad review I've seen. I've been there 3 times since it opened and habe never seen anyone say the Italian was bad. I just find it sad and funny.
Eliz-
You do realize this isn't a true hot dog establishment right?
It's someone who apparently talked to a local bagel shop to use their space in the afternoon.
So- I'd guess they have no control over the AC and as for pricing- who knows what they are paying for rent.
If the other places have been around forever- they may own their buildings.
Also- if the other places are in a more populated area, more established- they probably do more business, buy in bulk, and can offer better prices because of that (and the above mentioned unknown rent issue).
So- other than AC and cost... you didn't actually mention the food, which is funny...
BTW- when I grew up we would get hot dogs from a truck on the side of the road...all they had was gravel to stand on, in the sun or rain while we waited. The HORROR....
There's no such thing as a REAL "Italian hot dog" any more than there's REAL Italian Chicken Parm... that garbage doesn't exist in Italy.
And Dickie Dee's is a dump that is infested with flies on a good day, lol. Which isn't to say that I don't love it anyway.
I went a few weeks ago to try them out I like good Italian hot dogs. It was horrible they were in organized still. I ordered a double Italian dog got a single payed for the double dog. 2 orders of Cheese fries were so under cooked. I called there number even left message and never heard back from anyone there. Very disappointed.
Johnny We ate there last nite. Service was friendly. Had Chili dog, a cheese steak and fries.
All were good. Sat by the river; our order was brought out to us. A pleasant meal.
We wish Uncle Tony well!
EVV Johnny why didn't you post this 3 weeks ago then? This thread has been up for longer.
"...any more than there's REAL Italian Chicken Parm... that garbage doesn't exist in Italy."
We spent 2 weeks in Italy (Venice, Florence, Rome) and saw chicken parm on only one menu...it was a pan sauteed non-breaded piece of chicken with a parmesan crust layer melted on the top...sauce separate. LOL. Poor son thought he was getting the Italian-American version...fuggedaboutit!
You'll also never see a chicken and pasta dish in Italy if they're serving authentic Italian. Pasta and beef/pork/seafood, yes. For some reason chicken is taboo.
emaxxman Had take out several times from Uncle Tony’s. Cheese steak is excellent, absolutely loaded. Italian hot dog is tasty, far superior to the other pizza shop offerings. Only critique is you need to purchase a double. The single dog version has far too much bread for my liking.
Everyone is friendly and food is severed promptly. Overall an excellent experience.
UVgerard As to not mentioning the food when I went to Uncle Tonys
The Italian hotdog and the peppers onions etc
Tasted bad and I threw most of my sandwich away as I got sick to my stomach
In regard to the stifling temperature inside
Would of been nice to eat inside air conditioning on a 90 plus degree day but it was actually easier to breathe outside
I like the way people dissect the comments
Every experience is different
So only time will tell if this place makes it
No AC is a legitimate point. The customer does not and should not care about the business arrangement. No AC is no AC. They chose to move in there. There are a couple of local bagel joints with no AC so there must be a reason but there are plenty of great bagel shops with AC so I don't undersrand it. I would avoid any place with no AC but that's just me. I sweat walking to my mailbox.
Scott First she doesn't even mention the food...
....now she got sick to her stomach and threw most of it away.
Of course we dissect comments...
That's how we know if the place is good / bad / or the reviewer is just.. weird.. and then we ignore the review.
:)
Agree about the AC. Even if a place does have AC, I don’t dine in or do take out during extremely hot summer weather ….. imagine what the kitchen feels like. No thanks to sweat in my food. So imagine what the kitchen is like if there is no AC at all.
It’s a food truck! Of course there’s no AC you order and take it to go or sit outside. WTF!
GreatMeadows Bahaha.... a hot kitchen? Who would'a thunk.
Thank god some of you snowflakes never had to deal with actual harsh conditions.
I swear to god that mandatory military service would better our society.
If even just one year doing something essentially meaningless.
The vast majority of the public would think, understand, and act, behave- drastically different if they made it through boot camp alone.
Great meadows - it's not a food truck
Josh - not a snowflake...as conservative as they come..
Not sure why choosing AC over no AC makes someone a snowflake. sorry that I prefer a comfortable environment when ordering a bagel or hot dog. Especially when there are many good options where I can be cool while waiting. Geez.
eapos emaxxman, good to "see" you... been a long time.
As soon as you saw "Chicken Parm" on the menu, you should have headed for ze hills, lol. Tourist trap catering to "ugly Americans".
@ianimal
LOL. Believe it or not, it was actually pretty good. It was in Florence. I do a thorough vetting with Yelp and Google well before any trips. Place had an amazing tagliatelle bolognese (sp?)
My daughter's college friend lived in Florence for a summer and gave us a nice list of places to try. Still salivating over the gelato at Gelato Di Neri.
My wife and I honeymooned in Northern Italy for three weeks. Mostly Tuscany, but we did a day trip to Venice and one to Cinque Terre in the northwest on the Ligurian Sea. Great times and all the limoncello we could drink, lol...
Scott- I wasn't replying to you- sorry.
If you notice- I replied already once after your comment...and none of it was directed to you.
My response was to-
"imagine what the kitchen feels like. No thanks to sweat in my food. So imagine what the kitchen is like if there is no AC at all"
Which is one of the most ignorant things I'll have heard recently- which is saying a LOT these days....
Moving on... what's wrong with chicken parm? ;)
Tying the 2 thoughts together... one day as I was standing in line for lunch during my military life - I looked ahead and saw pans of what I thought was chicken parm.
I was relatively excited as that was one of the better things served in the Army.
(Yea yea Air force- I hear your laughs)
So- as my time came to bring my tray down to the server- the cook said "Are you hungry Doc?" - and I said sure.
I smiled ear to ear as his spatula put 2 cheezy sauce covered slabs on my plate...as it was typical to go for a long time with no / little food.
Some times you would wait in line just to get close...and then find out there was no more hot food left so they start handing out MRE (packaged Meal Ready To Eat food in vacuum bags).
My smile quickly turned to a frown however when I sat and my plastic knife / fork cut a piece and I stuck it in my mouth.
I quickly spit it out- it was eggplant parm. YUCKK!!!!
Chicken parm is Filet Mignon in comparison.
So... I went hungry until breakfast the next morning. Sh*t on a shingle.
(meat product gravy slopped on a piece of bread, served on a stryofoam plate..and we were HAPPY to have it since it was lukewarm and not an MRE)
Does anyone know what happened to Uncle Tony's? Seems like it just mysteriously closed up after only three months.
JerseyWolf A hot dog house that isn't allowed to open until after 2pm can not stand. Nothing mysterious about it at all.
Perhaps you should look at the menu for the bagel place...might answer some questions
If you're on FB, there was a long thread of what happened there. I don't know how to suggest you find it, if you're interested. It was a long convoluted story. Didn't sound like it ended on a good note.
Lonesome Dove Uncle Tony combined with the Bagel Place and his old partners lost out on the deal
I was at the bagel shop the other day and I heard someone order a hot dog. Not sure who is making it.
More intriguing, they have a garlic and cream cheese stuffed bagel that looks amazingly decadent.
Anyone try it yet?
Does anyone know what happened to Karen from Uncle Tonys hot dogs. She started this Hot Dog business within the bagel shop and now I went in and she is gone but no one is talking? I didn't buy any Hot dog because I asked to talk to the Uncle Tony guy but he wouldn't come and talk with me?? Why? The cashier person said he didn't even know who Karen was? Anyway, anyone know what happened?
Why is the business sign still saying they have hot dogs when the business is gone? Something seems way off with this business.
Carol, why did you think he had to talk to you? Sounds entitled. If it's their business and something happened internally, maybe it's no one's business but theirs.
The story was hashed out and explained quite a bit on Facebook several months ago. Maybe you can find it, if you're that interested.
My sister, Dad and I had Italian hot dogs yesterday at Tony's, they were delicious!
They have a daily special too.
Good, friendly people!
Sorry, I'm confused - I got a message that Uncle Tony's closed, but people are saying they went there yesterday? Is it open? Or is it just the bagel place doing hot dogs now? Just trying to make sure I understand.
Hackettstowner Uncle Tony's was offered a partnership with/Hackettstown Bagel. Tony decided to do it; Karen did not. The name "Uncle Tony" came from Karen so they removed the word "Uncle" & the bagel shop w/Tony sell hotdogs & Karen was going to open a business in Hackettstown but who knows if that will really happen. Look on Facebook to see the whole saga about it.
Luca2 I did not see any *saga* on Facebook unless I was looking at the wrong thing.
I did see her post saying she is going to open a restaurant in town soon - wonder if it will be another hot dog place or something else.
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