The Eager Eater

Hobart "Hot Rod" Mixer...A Thing of Beauty

Just a quick post about a recent project I worked on. For the International Pizza Expo  we gave away a custom painted pizza mixer. This beauty is a HL662 Hobart pizza mixer. It has a custom paint job reminiscent of a vintage hot rod, complete with the Hobart Logo from that era. We met a real nice guy named Terry McCall from McCall Custom Colors in Kettering, Ohio, who did the paint job. Even close up this is one sweet machine.  It was the hit of the show. People wanted their pictures taken with it...I'm sure it was the most photographed item there.

The guy who won was a real nice pizza operator from St Paul, Minnesota. 30 year old Hobart mixer, and in the business 20 years. He couldn't have been happier. Enjoy the pictures.

Eric

 

Pugs Dog House...One of the Best, but Please Double Fry

I have a t-shirt from a restaurant in Chicago (the hot dog capital fo the world), called Hot Doug's (the best hot dog restaurant I have ever been to), that reads, "There are no two finer words in the English language than "encased meats," my friend." 

I couldn't agree more.  I'm a sucker for dogs, brats, polish sausage, hot links, red hots, frankfurters, knockwurst (or any other kind of wurst), Italian sausage, andouille, linguisa, chicken sausage and any other ground meat you can shove in a natural casing. I do, however, draw the line and any sort of vegan, tofu, or wheat-meat dogs. In this case, imitation is not the sincerest form of flattery.

This weekend I stopped by Pug's Dog House here on Wilmington Ave. in Dayton. I have been frequenting here ever since they opened a few years ago. Pug's is a place that makes a great dog, using Vienna Beef dogs, a Chicago staple. They are nice people that run a small, relatively clean operation (how clean do you really want a hot dog joint?).

My buddy Drew and his kids joined my daughter and me. The kids all had plain dogs, but Drew and I got some house specialties. Chicago dog and a chili and cheese for me ( with a chaser of Pepcid later that afternoon). Both were excellent, although I miss the poppy seed bun for a proper Chicago dog. The Pug's Chicago dog has all the standards including neon green relish, tomato, pickle and sport peppers, but with the addition of french fries on top.  This is a real winner with one caveat:  the fries are the only downside here. Pug's has the best intentions, cutting their fries fresh. However, they only give them a single trip through the fryer, wasting the effort. Frankly, they would be better with frozen fries.  Luckily, I usually judge people on their intentions, and this is a good one, just please...double fry.

Drew got a slaw dog and mini burgers. I didn't try them this time, but the Pug's slaw dog is one of the great treats of Dayton. Creamy, tangy coleslaw is the perfect foil for snappy Vienna Beef dogs. Just thinking about it gives me a reason to go back.

Eric

Taco Search Continued...Taqueria Mixteca

Sorry I haven't posted in a few weeks. I have been busy with several projects at work. One of which is very cool, and I will post about soon.

The Dayton area has a few good places to get a real, authentic taco. So far I'm up to three. Taco Loco in Troy (which may be the best), Taco Mexico Lindo (which I frequent the most often),and today I dropped in on Taqueria Mixteca on 3rd Street downtown. I think I'll be back.

This restaurant has been around for several months, and has all the telltale signs of quality Mexican food: repurposed fast food restaurant, bilingual menus, and servers that have a grasp of the English language that allows no room for customization. What is there to customize about meat, cilantro and onions anyway? However, I will say that our server was warm and friendly (after some hand motions and botched Spanish, it was confirmed that we knew her because she used to serve us at Tacos Mexico Lindo...small world).

Meals are served with fresh chips, simple salsa and a trio of specialty salsas in squirt bottles. All are bright and terrific. I had heard about their great tacos, but the first thing I noticed when I got the menu were the weekend specials. Only on weekends three soups are served: Menudo (tripe), Goat, and Pozole (chicken and hominy). I went straight for the goat soup, partnered with a chorizo and a carnitas taco.

The soup was rich and the goat tender (although it needed quite a bit of salt) and served with corn tortillas. In traditional style, just about everything is served with cilantro, onion and lime. We went with some friends, and others at the table got a few other things like taco with al Pastor (pork, usually with pineapple), and another had taco with Lengua (tongue).

Bottom line...Taqueria Mixteca is a great little restaurant, clean with little ambiance, nice servers and terrific food. In a town like this, like most others, often the greatest culinary finds don't include fine china or designer-influenced interiors. No...some just have goat, moist pork, good company, friendly smiles and plenty of lime, cilantro and onions. Good enough for me.

Eric