WHAT’S FOR LUNCH? HOT DOGS AND BLISS

Chili dog with onions and one with sauerkraut from the G&G Hot Dog Truck. (Photo by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

By SUSAN ERICSON

It’s a dreary day, our errand list is overloaded, and PieHole is looking for a quick, on-the-go lunch. So we pull into the tiny parcel of land on Shrewsbury Avenue in Red Bank that’s home to the G&G Hot Dog Truck.

The triangular lot sees a lot of action all week long, but even on a wet Saturday, the line is three deep, and two more cars arrive while we’re waiting on line, eavesdropping on conversations about topics ranging from the weather to politics and football.
Even in drizzling weather there is a constant line of people waiting to get hot dogs from George Laboussis, seen below.   (Photos by Susan Ericson. Click to enlarge)

“It’s a little slow today, you know, because of the weather,” says truck owner George Laboussis, whose father-in-law, Gus Tangalos, has owned G&G for 42 years now.

The entire menu is printed on an ancient cardboard sign attached to the sliding window of the truck. It lists hot dogs ($2 each) with your choice of sauerkraut, chili, relish or G&G’s slightly spicy onions. A dog with everything will set you back an extra 25 cents. Meatballs or Italian sausage are also on the menu for $4.

We order two dogs, one with chili and raw onions and one with mustard and sauerkraut. The Sabrett hot dogs are boiled. The chili, we’re told, is homemade, as are the spicy onions, the sausage and the meatballs. It’s a loose, fairly mild chopped-meat-style chili, just as you’d expect from a hot dog stand. The dog with sauerkraut is exactly as anticipated.

This is about as close as you can get around here to a New York City hot dog cart lunch. And for those who appreciate such things, it’s bliss. There are no disappointments here.

Beverages include canned soda varieties and ice tea. With a nod to childhood nostalgia, we order a Yoo-hoo.

Then we take a minute to appreciate that this long-lasting symbol of Red Bank history is the only permanent food truck in town, and is as relevant today as it was 42 years ago.