Marci’s Dog House

I almost drove by without seeing the truck, it’s parked in the Lot for Oak Ridge Park in Clark. I’m glad I saw it. Excellent hot dogs, had the cooked onions, and very friendly service.

I had the pleasure of returning to Marci’s dog house on a sweltering afternoon for a late lunch. This time I tried his Hatfield grillers in twro incarnations, one with his special «Marci» kraut, a traditional sauerkraut with secret ingredients added, that gave it both a spice and a sweetness to it. It complimented the dog perfectly. The second gem was a Hatfield Griller with half sauer relish. The half sour’s were house made, and had hot pepper mixed in with it give it a little kick. Its these little attention to details that sets Marci’s apart from any ordinary hot dog truck… house made pickles, special kraut, and a variety of hot dogs you cannot find anywhere else. Keep up the good work!

I returned for another visit to Marci’s Dog House, because I really enjoyed the first Italian Hot Dog from him a couple of weeks ago. I have a history of eating Italian Hot Dogs, as they really hit the spot. I ordered a double as last time, but this time I also added chli dog with cheese. I took it to go.

had the Italian Hot Dog from Marci’s Dog House yesterday. I was looking forward to it because I heard it would be special. Rare and unique bread, quality ingredients, especially ⁶⁄₁ Best’s dogs. And a few secrets in preparation that I could not persuade owner Rob Marciano to reveal. That’s fine because it’s what makes his sandwich what it is. I appreciate honesty, and as you know, too many people in this business are dishonest. And that’s the good part. The bad part includes subpar ingredients, skimping on ingredients, and bad preparation. Not so here.

I can’t give an in depth description of exactly how this sandwich is prepared, except to say that everything is fried as it should be in an Italian Hot Dog. In oil. An exception may be frying the peppers on a griddle as some do. There are frying pans here, a skillet, a griddle, and a deep fryer. And of course a compartment for water to heat the dirty water Sabretts. No water is used in making the Italian Hot Dog. I asked.

The pizza bread is from a bakery that Rob picked out after sampling the bread from numerous bakeries that make this unique product. The hot dogs are from Best Provisions in Newark and are ⁶⁄₁ or 6 to a pound. No one I know of uses dogs this size. Mijo’s Pizzeria did for a short time before they switched to a much smaller dog. I like that Marci’s uses Best as it really is the best dog for an Italian Hot Dog. He serves Sabrett for the dirty water dog. The Best’s are the standard recipe (Best has only one) and is not claimed by Marci’s to be a «special recipe» or «made on the premises.» That’s good as I didn’t have to search the truck for sausage making equipment. As you know the total sandwich is greater than the sum of it’s parts. But I like to break down the parts.

The bread is perfect. Most bakeries that sell a lot of pizza bread do a good job of making it. They sell to places that for the most part specialize in Italian Hot Dogs. Bakeries like America’s Bakery and DiPaola’s, which incidentally was just sold to Calandra’s. Good solid pizza bread. But the bread at Marci’s is a cut above. It’s crusty on the outside; sturdy as well, but light and fluffy on the inside. Not doughy like many pizza breads. And fresh. It’s the best pizza bread I’ve sampled.

The hot dogs are Best skinless ⁶⁄₁. Prepared well, they have that familiar taste I look for in an IHD. And in my opinion are the perfect size for this sandwich. I always liked the 8/​1, but there is better balance and a better ratio of hot dog to the other ingredients with the ⁶⁄₁. The dogs do not get lost in space. And even though this is a sandwich, no ingredient is more important than the actual frank. This is my favorite frank for an IHD. I had a double.

The peppers are also fantastic. I knew the dogs would be what they were, and I heard the bread was going to be good. I didn’t know what to expect from the peppers and potatoes. Marci’s uses red and green peppers. I requested them soft and they were prepared as I requested. I liked the long cuts. I was surprised at how good they were. I didn’t get how they were prepared, only that they were obtained from a very good source. Maybe a farm? Again I have to say that these are my favorite peppers on an Italian Hot Dog. Rob doesn’t skimp. Many do and at least 2 places I know of use canned peppers instead of fresh.

The potatoes were hard to characterize as far as shape. They aren’t cut in silver dollar size slices, but they aren’t exactly in chunks. More like slices and smaller than what you normally see. Golden brown, tasty, and with a nice little crunch. These are as good as any I’ve had. And that’s saying a lot because several establishments making Italian Hot Dogs make excellent potatoes. Jimmy Buff’s, Tommy’s, Big Blues, Charlies Famous (on a good day), Uncle Petey’s Weenies, and now Marci’s Dog House. While Marci’s other ingredients are better, in my opinion, than everyone else’s their potatoes are as good as my 2 previous favorites, Uncle Petey’s and Big Blues. All are different; all are great; and I can’t pick one over the other 2.

Put this all together and you have my favorite Italian Hot Dog. It’s great to see that now trucks such as Marci’s and Uncle Petey’s have the capacity to put out authentic, and high quality Italian Hot Dogs since they are equipped with fryers. I strongly recommend Marci’s for a great Italian Hot Dog. They are an exception that proves that you can be new to the business and make a high quality product. Rob put in a lot of time and effort researching not only Italian Hot Dogs, but the ingredients and suppliers as well. My only regret is that this sandwich is only available on Friday. And Saturdays this month. Marci’s is a truck that specializes in dirty water Sabrett’s, but wanted to make a top quality authentic Newark style Italian Hot Dog, I’m happy to say they make my favorite.