Enjoying the dog days of summer

NEWTON — As summer quickly approaches, county residents are pondering one of the most important questions of the season: where is the best place to get a great hot dog?

One answer might be Jersey Dog in Newton. Mike and June Martin opened Jersey Dog, a brightly-colored restaurant at 77 Water Street, 15 months ago and have been pushing the boundaries of wiener cuisine ever since.

“This has been my husband’s dream since he was a little boy,” explains June as their son Vincent tends to the grill. “His aunt used to have a pushcart and he helped her sell hot dogs when he was only five or six years old.”

Martin notes that as a small family-owned restaurant in a world of big chains, “You have to have a better product. You must have high quality.”

This includes cooking the dogs in pure vegetable oil with zero trans-fats, and using Angus beef for their chili. The Martins try to make Jersey Dog a special kind of place, and customers agree.

Douglas Beck, a first-time customer, was enjoying lunch with his wife and their three daughters.

“This dog is unique,” he commented, noting its “tasty crunch” and “real beef flavor.”

“This is so good, I’m going to have two!” said his daughter Amanda — a fan of both hot dogs and pizza, found the best of both worlds in a Pizza Dog.

Another daughter, Lauren, exclaimed, “Very good!”

Dogs-a-plenty
Jersey Dog’s menu features a bit of artwork by their son Michael portraying the late family pet, Ezra, chomping on a frank. The menu also offers almost every conceivable topping combination. The dogs themselves can be deep-fried or “dirty water” (boiled) dogs. They even offer a chick pea-based Falafel Dog for vegetarians.

The namesake “Jersey Dog” features a hot dog wrapped in Taylor ham, topped with cheese and crumbled hash brown.

“The kids experimented with toppings," says Martin. "And we found what people liked.”