Lunches at diner and with dogs proves enjoyable

Way before Cracker Barrel and Shorties Diner arrived in Watertown there was, and still is, Longway's Diner.

And in Canton, there's a new kid on the block. Literally. It's the Leaner Wiener hot dog and sausage cart in the center of downtown.

I got to try lunch at these two interesting eateries with some friends last week.

Here's what we found out.

LONGWAY'S DINER
23802 State Route 37
Watertown
782-1131

Is there anyone in the north country who hasn't driven past Longway's Diner just outside Watertown?

Is there anyone in Watertown who hasn't a vague recollection of being at Longway's late at night back in the 60s and 70s after the bars closed?

We stopped by for a mid-week lunch and a trip down memory lane, recalling the late-night rendezvous of yesteryear. The waitresses and short-order cooks have changed (to the best of our recollection), but the place looks the same, inside and out.

So does the menu, with truck stop favorites like double bacon cheeseburgers, chili dogs, roast beef sandwiches, tuna fish sandwiches and westerns, all at prices that please.

A cup of split pea with ham tasted wonderfully homemade and fresh with small bits of carrot and ham.

Gyros seem to be staples at time-honored diners, traditionally sliced seasoned lamb from a spit enfolded in a pita with onions and peppers. Longway's gyro had most of the components right, using tasty pre-prepared seasoned beef from their purveyor rather than lamb from a spit.

Hot barbecue sandwich filled most of a large oval-shaped plate, especially with our french fry add-on. The sweetly sauced shaved pork was poured directly over a mound of delicious homemade coleslaw.

In contrast, the sizzle steak combo (shaved rib-eye with onions, peppers and mushrooms) was served on a small bun and looked a little lonely in the center of the plate. We figured there would at least be some chips to dress up the plate, but realized later chips or fries are an option at an additional charge.

And while we didn't so much mind the canned mushrooms, the shaved rib-eye sure had the look and taste of a Steak-umm, that name-brand product still found in some supermarket freezers.

Sides of homemade macaroni salad and potato salad were more than up to par.

Desserts also were homemade, heavenly and huge (sorry, Billy) and served warm: strawberry shortcake with fresh baking powder biscuits, blueberry cobbler a la mode and apple crisp a la mode. Yummy.

Lunch for three cost $41 before tip, those bodacious desserts accounting for $13 of the tab. Service was friendly, and for the most part, attentive to our needs.

It's no longer just a truck stop diner. Seniors and soldiers ruled the day we were there.

But it's still a classic place where you can get breakfast 24/7 and watch the cooks work right in front of you as they prepare piles of hash browns on the flattop grill and throw endless bags of fries into the fryers.

LEANER WIENERS MOBILE EATERY
(known to the locals as Barb's Hot Dog Stand)
Corner Main and Hodskin Sts.
Canton

Cruise down Main Street in Canton any given noontime and a large multi-colored beach umbrella will catch your eye.

It's attached to Barb Heller's mobile eatery she calls "Leaner Wieners," open for business on the sidewalk in front of the law office of Michael Crowe.

Barb is best known as a local folk singer and guitar picker and host of "String Fever" on North Country Public Radio. This is her first entrepreneurial foray into the world of food service and hospitality.

From her spiffy clean cart, she serves two kinds of hot dogs and two kinds of sausages: Leaner Wieners, traditional beef dogs, and Hoggin' Dogs, Polish pork kielbasa in a hot dog casing; her Jumbo Dogs are quarter-pound sausages, either hot Italian or mild Italian lamb.

All of her meats originate from family-owned 8 O'Clock Ranch in nearby DeKalb Junction that specializes in all natural, free-range meats. They're made into dogs and sausages at a local USDA-approved meat packing plant.

And they're really lean, made without any added fat — 90 percent to 95 percent lean, Barb told us.

We were super-pleased with both of our lunch picks.

The "Doggie Bag Lunch" consisted of a Leaner Wiener on a Freihofer bakery bun, choice of interesting mustards and sauces, choice of bagged chips, a freshly baked cookie from Cindy's Cake Shop just outside of town and a chilled beverage from an ice-filled cooler.

My "Jumbo Lunch" was a hot Italian sausage on a bun with the same selection of condiments (I added sauerkraut and a homemade red chili sauce), Sun Chips, an oatmeal-raisin cookie (there's also peanut butter, raspberry-filled or butterscotch) and a can of happiness, a Coke Classic.

Most eateries offer Pepsi or Coke, usually not both. In Barb's cooler, Pepsi and Coke are happily mingling side by side, along with a great assortment of other brands.

In addition to cookies, you'll sometimes find fresh apples or bananas.

And always available are dog biscuits for Barb's canine visitors and bubble soap to occupy her very young customers.

A healthy lunch for two came to $10.

We ate at a lovely table-for-two set up on the sidewalk in front of the TAUNY retail store. Others were dining on the steps of the law office. Still others were dining while chatting with the ever-smiling and gracious chef/owner.

Shirts and shoes are not required. Smoking is allowed. And it's a great place to catch up on local gossip or celebrate a special occasion — there's always a free wiener on your birthday.

Leaner Wieners operates weekdays into the fall, except Thursdays, when Barb does her radio show from the NCPR studios just down the road.

You can contact Walter E. Siebel via e-mail: wsiebel@wdt.net.