Little Rhody

I am about to start another season of travel for work, and I realized that I have not posted anything since June. I did a fair amount of traveling between June and now (Feb.), but spent most of my time in Rhode Island. I was managing a job in Johnston, RI, a town just outside Providence. I think we started the job in August, and did not officially finish the job until January. Sort of a nightmare, but it did allow me time to fall in love with some very unique food. Obviously, the fresh seafood was everywhere. Unique to Rhode Island are stuffed quahogs (stuffies), snail salad, clam cakes and Rhode Island clam chowder. All are amazing, and could hold their own on any food blog. I spent some time sampling all of the above, but the one Rhode Island specialty that really took me by surprise was the hot weiner. Each time I travelled to Providence, I stayed at the Johnson & Whales Inn at Seekonk, MA. It is just a mile or so East of East Providence. Every day I had to drive through East Providence to get to the hotel from our job site. Each time I drove through downtown, I noticed a place called Sparky's Coney Island System.

I knew a little bit about the New York System Coneys of Rhode Island, but had never eaten one. I stopped in and ordered 2 hot weiners (please do not call them hot dogs). 8 bites later, my life was changed. I couldn't believe how addictive these things could be. I started stopping by on each drive back to my hotel. I learned to order them "all the way". This means everything: steamed onions, mustard, coney sauce and celery salt. I also learned about serving them "up the arm".

It is traditional for the assembly of each order of weiners to be done up the arm. A weiner consisting of pork and veal is custom made for these "system" joints. 4" pieces are cut from a link over 30 feet long. It is in a natural casing, so you get a very nice snap upon biting into one. It doesn't get much better than biting into a soft, steamed bun and experiencing the snap of the weiner while enjoying the unique Greek spice blend found in the sauce. It is by far the best coney I have ever enjoyed. Try them with an order of fries and a coffee milk.

Sparky's Coney Island System, 122 Taunton Ave., East Providence, RI