Max's Bar & Grill | |
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Restaurant information | |
Established | 1928 |
Street address | 25 Matilda Ter. |
City | Long Branch |
State | New Jersey |
Postal/ZIP Code | 07740 |
Country | United States |
Website | www |
Max's Bar & Grill (formerly Max's Famous Hot Dogs) [1] is a restaurant in Long Branch, New Jersey known for its hot dogs. Max's uses quarter pound Schickhaus beef/pork dog slow cooked on a griddle. Max's Hotdog style is a Jersey Shore variant of Kosher style. It is popular with local celebrities and is said to be a favorite of Bruce Springsteen and the late Cardinal John O'Connor. Among those who have visited Max’s are Jon Bon Jovi, Steven Van Zandt, Red Buttons, Gov. Brendan Byrne, Connie Francis, actors Joe Pantoliano, Joe Pesci, Nick Puccio, John Travolta, Jackie Mason, Dean Martin and singer Frankie Valli. [2] [3] This restaurant was also featured in Kitchen Nightmares .
In 1928, Max Altman, opened a small restaurant on the northern end of the Long Branch pier. Max named the place after himself and did business with Milford Maybaum, who in 1950 bought him out and kept the name. Soon after Max's was purchased, Maybaum expanded the business by moving it south of the Long Branch Pier and amusements. After a short time, Maybaum became known as Mr. Max by patrons and friends. Max's developed the idea for the Jersey fresh corn on the cob and family style portions of French fries and onion rings. [4] [5]
Located on the Jersey shore, Max's was a seasonal business. Maybaum closed the restaurant each winter, headed south to Miami Beach and indulged in his other passion, horse racing. During that time, "Max" met Celia Levy through a mutual friend. In 1967 after a brief but intense courtship, Celia, a New York native, became Celia Maybaum. For the next 13 years, the two ran Max's together during the summers and each winter returned to Florida to race horses.
Celia Maybaum soon became known as "Mrs. Max". Over the years "Mrs. Max" has become an enduring iconic symbol of Max's Famous Hot Dogs. "Max" died in 1980 but the legacy continues as the second and third generations of the Maybaum family keep the tradition of Max's alive.
Today, Maybaum's son Robert "Bobby" Maybaum and his wife Madeline, daughters Jennifer and Michele, and grandmother Celia, continue to work at the restaurant.
In 1978 Gov. Byrne proclaimed Max’s as the finest hot dog emporium; in 1991 Joan Haberle, secretary of state, proclaimed Mrs. Max as the Queen of Hot Dogs; and in 1992 Gov. James Florio proclaimed that a trip to the Jersey Shore without a stop at Max’s in Long Branch would have been considered an incomplete visit. In 1995 Gov. Christine Todd Whitman proclaimed "Democrats and Republicans are in agreement on very few issues, but we can all concur that Max’s in Long Branch serves the most outstanding hot dogs in New Jersey." [5]
Max's is also known for its fierce competition with The Windmill in Long Branch.
A hot dog is a dish consisting of a grilled, steamed, or boiled sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener or a frankfurter. The names of these sausages commonly refer to their assembled dish. Hot dog preparation and condiments vary worldwide. Typical condiments include mustard, ketchup, relish, onions in tomato sauce, and cheese sauce. Other toppings include sauerkraut, diced onions, jalapeños, chili, grated cheese, coleslaw, bacon and olives. Hot dog variants include the corn dog and pigs in a blanket. The hot dog's cultural traditions include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile.
The Jersey Shore, commonly referred to locally as simply the Shore, is the coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Geographically, the term encompasses about 141 miles (227 km) of oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy in the north to Cape May Point in the south. The region includes Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Atlantic, and Cape May counties, which are in the central and southern parts of the state. Located in the center of the Northeast Megalopolis, the northern half of the shore region is part of the New York metropolitan area, while the southern half of the shore region is part of the Philadelphia metropolitan area, also known as the Delaware Valley. The Jersey Shore hosts the highest concentration of oceanside boardwalks in the United States.
A danger dog is a hot dog that has been wrapped in bacon and deep-fried. It is served on a hot dog bun with various toppings. Also known as a bacon-wrapped hot dog, it was first sold by street vendors in Mexico. Its origin has been placed in either Tijuana or Hermosillo, where it was originally served in a bolillo instead of a hot dog bun. These dogs are sold from carts that are ubiquitous along Avenida Revolución and the area surrounding the border in Tijuana, as well as the bar district in Ensenada.
A Coney Island is a type of restaurant that is popular in the northern United States, particularly in Michigan, named after the Coney Island hot dog.
A Chicago-style hot dog, Chicago Dog, or Chicago Red Hot is an all-beef frankfurter on a poppy seed bun, originating from the city of Chicago, Illinois. The hot dog is topped with yellow mustard, chopped white onions, bright green sweet pickle relish, a dill pickle spear, tomato slices or wedges, pickled sport peppers, and a dash of celery salt. The complete assembly of a Chicago hot dog is said to be "dragged through the garden" due to the many toppings. The method for cooking the hot dog itself varies depending on the vendor's preference. Most often they are steamed, water-simmered, or less often grilled over charcoal.
A Coney Island hot dog, Coney dog, or Coney is a hot dog in a bun topped with a savory meat sauce and sometimes other toppings. It is often offered as part of a menu of classic American diner dishes and often at Coney Island restaurants. It is largely a phenomenon related to immigration from Greece and the region of Macedonia to the United States in the early 20th century.
Nathan's Famous, Inc. is an American company that operates a chain of fast-food restaurants specializing in hot dogs. The original Nathan's restaurant stands at the corner of Surf and Stillwell Avenues in the Coney Island neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The company's headquarters are at One Jericho Plaza in Jericho, New York, part of Oyster Bay, New York.
The Montreal hot dog, also known as a steamie, is one of several variations of hot dogs served as a fast food staple at restaurants and diners in Montreal and other parts of Quebec.
Different areas of the world have local variations on the hot dog, in the type of meat used, the condiments added, and its means of preparation.
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The cuisine of New Jersey is derived from the state's long immigrant history and its close proximity to both New York City and Philadelphia. Due to its geographical location, New Jersey can generally be divided by New York City cuisine in the northern and central parts of the state and Philadelphia cuisine in the southern parts. Restaurants in the state often make use of locally grown ingredients such as asparagus, blueberries, cranberries, tomatoes, corn, and peaches. New Jersey is particularly known for its diners, of which there are approximately 525, the most of any state. Various foods invented in the state, such as the pork roll, and salt water taffy, remain popular there today.
Stewart's Restaurants are classic 1950s style fast-food restaurants located throughout the United States. Restaurants are branded as Stewart's Root Beer or Stewart's Drive-In or similar variations. Started in 1924 in Mansfield, Ohio by Frank Stewart, the chain became a franchise in 1931.
The Wieners Circle is a hot dog stand on Clark Street in the Lincoln Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, United States. It is known for its Maxwell Street Polish, Char-dogs, hamburgers, cheese fries, and the mutual verbal abuse between the employees and the customers during the late-weekend hours.
The Windmill is a chain of restaurants located mostly near the Jersey Shore known for its hot dogs and other fast food. The original location, a windmill-shaped building in Long Branch, New Jersey, was built and opened in 1963. Leo and Ed Levine bought the restaurant in 1976, and opened a second location in Belmar, New Jersey, three years later. George James in The New York Times writes, "Aside from Sabrett, the family-owned hot dog manufacturer based in New Jersey that makes the Windmill hot dog, the Levines, probably constitute the largest wiener dynasty in the state." The Windmill's hot dog style is a Jersey Shore flat-grilled dog.
The Montreal Pool Room is a well-known and well-regarded greasy spoon restaurant, located in the city's former red-light district on Saint Laurent Boulevard, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The restaurant has been open since 1912 and is known for its "underground allure", described by some as being a "seedy goodness". Though called a "pool room" by name, it no longer has a pool table.
A Seattle-style hot dog, locally referred to as a Seattle Dog, is a hot dog served in a bun slathered with cream cheese. In Seattle the dogs are sold from food carts, especially outside stadiums on game day and as a late-night meal outside the city's music venues.
Franks-A-Lot, or Franks A Lot, is a hot dog restaurant in Portland, Oregon. Previously, the business operated as The Dog House.