Subject: Charlie's Pool Hall
From: William
Date: 12/6/2021, 1:46 PM
To: phaedrus@hungrybrowser.com
On 12/6/2021 11:41 AM, William wrote:
Hello,
I’m searching for a recipe for Hungarian hot dog sauce.
This was served at what might well be the best shrine to hot dog joints of all time,
Charlie’s pool room in Alpha New Jersey. Since 1925, until the death of the older
brother in 2014, Charlie’s pool room served incredible hot dogs with “Grandma Felez
secret Hungarian hot dog sauce. From the 85 year old one armed bartender to the big
candy store candy counter to the games and the two brothers…..covered in hand drawn
signs.,, this place is special. I’d like to preserve my memories, and share my memories
of this most exceptional hot dog spot by being able to make a hot dog sauce similar to
theirs for my friends and hot dog cohorts.
There was a version floating around the web circa 2012-2018, but I can’t find it anymore.
So, two things, one, I wanted to share the story of this most unusual place, with fantastic
hot dogs, and two, enlist your help in finding a version of this recipe.
Any help will be appreciated . Thank you
Hello William,
Thanks for sending this request. This is the kind of thing that I enjoy searching for. However, disappointingly,
I was not able to find even a hint of a recipe for Grandma Felecz's Secret Hungarian Onion Sauce.
Joe Felecz once said that he didn't think anyone but himself could make the sauce, even if they had the recipe. His brother
John said that only Joe could make the sauce - he himself didn't know how to make it. Joe passed away from cancer in 2014, apparently without teaching anyone else how to make the sauce. Someone in the family might have a written recipe, but it does
not seem to have been made public. There are a lot of mentions of Charlie's Pool Room on the web. The hot dogs were well loved
and are fondly remembered by many.
I could not find a recipe, a copycat or a mention of a "tastes-like" for the sauce. There are a lot of recipes on the Internet
for "Hungarian hot dog sauce" or "Hungarian onion sauce", but I could not find one that made any mention of being like Grandma Felecz's sauce. All of the recipes for Hungarian hot dog sauce that I looked at contained ground beef, and none of them mentioned Charlie's Pool Room or Grandma Felecz. I wonder if
Mr. Curtis' onion sauce from the Star Theater in Hattiesburg might be similar...
I will post this for reader input.
William, I ask that if you do find a recipe or a copycat or a "tastes-like" for this sauce that you please send it to me. It would make a lot of folks very happy if they could find it posted here.
Phaed
