Eat n Park big boy special sauce?
Mpoconnor7
Eat n Park restaurants in Pennsylvania (the Big Boy chain is known as Eat n
Park in western PA)? I've had them at Big Boy restaurants in other states and
they use thousand island dressing but the ones around Pittsburgh put a white
sauce on their sandwiches. Thanks.
Michael O'Connor - Modern Renaissance Man
"The probability of one person being right increases in a direct porportion to
the intensity with which others try to prove him wrong"
Steve Wertz
>
> Does anybody have a recipe for the white special sauce they put on Big Boys at
> Eat n Park restaurants in Pennsylvania (the Big Boy chain is known as Eat n
> Park in western PA)?
Big Boy isn't related to Eat 'n Park.
It's just foodservice mayo (2 gallons) sweet and dill relishes (16ox
each) and a box of this mystery flavoring stuff.
Eat and Park was my first job - Route 8 in Pittsburgh (Glenshaw),
My first day was July 21, 1983. I was immediatly put to work weighing
Hefty Ham Sandwiches, mixing the mystery spread, and stirring cream of
brocolli soup.
'Sexton' was the name of the distributor - Now that I think back.
-sw
Kate Connally
> Mpoconnor7 wrote:
> >
> > Does anybody have a recipe for the white special sauce they put on Big Boys at
> > Eat n Park restaurants in Pennsylvania (the Big Boy chain is known as Eat n
> > Park in western PA)?
>
> Big Boy isn't related to Eat 'n Park.
Then why does Bob's Big Boy (at least the one at the
Sideling Hill Rest Area on the PA Turnpike) have the
exact same sandwich, which they call a "Big Boy"
as the Eat 'n Parks in the Pittsburgh area, who used
to called their sandwiches "Big Boy" until some of the
restaurants were sold and renamed Elby's
and the "Big Boy" name went with them.
Eat 'n Park had to rename their sandwich
the "Supreme Burger" or something like that but
the sandwich is exactly the same as it was back
in the 70's when it was called "Big Boy". (Sorry for
the run-on sentence. :-))
I frequently eat at Eat 'n Park. I've been eating there
since the 60's. I also just ate at the Bob's Big Boy
mentioned above. The sandwiches are identical.
Only the names have been changed to protect
the marketing guys or something. Anyway, the
companies may not be related now but at some
time in the past they must have been related.
Now the Bob's Big Boys in California have a
Big Boy sandwich but the sauce is totally different -
it's red! But somehow Bob's Big Boy in the west
(Calif. and ???) and Bob's Big Boy in PA (and ????)
and Elby's (they may be defunct now, not sure) and
Eat 'n Park are all somehow connected in the past
if not in the present.
Kate
Steve Wertz
<insert theme from The Twighlight Zone>
I don't know. They could have been, but I've never noticed any
affiliation in my lifetime. What makes a Big Boiy different
from a Supreme Burger different from a Big Mac? Nothing, really.
Two all beef patties special sauce lettuce cheese pickles onions
on a sesame seed bun.
-sw
Nancy Howells
mpoco...@aol.comnojunk (Mpoconnor7) wrote:
though I've never had what you're talking about, I can tell you for sure
that the big boys in no. Michigan use tarter sauce on some things...
might that be it?
--
--
Nancy Howells <nhow...@earthlink.net>
Mpoconnor7
>that the big boys in no. Michigan use tarter sauce on some things...
>might that be it?
>
I spent a couple years in Detroit, where we had Big Boy restaurants and Elias
Brothers Big Boy restaurants, but they both served the same exact menus. I
bought Big Boys there and they used thousand island dressing as secret sauce.
In West Virginia they call the BB chain "Elbys"; in Ohio it is "Fritsch's". In
California it is "Bob's Big Boy". I'm currently in South Carolina, where they
call them "Shoney's", but the Shoney's here in Greenville went out of
business. It's very confusing.
Is there a reason why the Big Boy chain goes by so many different names
throughout the country? McDonalds and Burger King and Wendy's are the same all
over the country, but for some reason Big Boy is different. And if I'm not
mistaken, Big Boy has been around longer than any of the big fast food chains,
including McDonalds.
Mona
least some were Bob's 15-20 years ago. And some, very few were originally
Lawson's and had Lawson convenience stores right next door. But then
Lawsons quickly got out of the restaurant business (and from what I
understand the convenience store business is lawsons no more).
I remember the Suzi Q ice cream sandwich kind of desert. The sauce on the
burgers to me tasted like mayo + chopped pickles + ??
"Mpoconnor7" <mpoco...@aol.comnojunk> wrote in message
news:20010809205140...@ng-cq1.aol.com...
Tony...@webtv.net
Big Boy's (Elias Brother's) here in Mi. are ALL going out food went
down hill etc.
Tony...@webtv.net
Kate Connally
> I don't know. They could have been, but I've never noticed any
> affiliation in my lifetime. What makes a Big Boiy different
> from a Supreme Burger different from a Big Mac? Nothing, really.
Have you ever actually eaten any of them? The Big
Boy (white sauce version) and the Supreme Burger
taste quite different from a Big Mac.
Kate
Nancy Howells
mpoco...@aol.comnojunk (Mpoconnor7) wrote:
There *is* a reason they go by different names. It's a franchise, but a
flexible one. When someone buys a franchise, they can (and do) attach
their name to it with Big Boys. Also, they have slightly different
menus from region to region.
It's true that they use (or did about fifteen years ago) thousand island
or something like it for their Big Boy burgers. However, it's tartar
sauce which is used on the slim jim (ham and cheese) sandwiches.
I worked for a person who owned a franchise -- and owned a separate
restaurant downstairs. I worked for both restaurants as needed as a
cook -- mostly for the one downstairs, which was more up-scale (but only
by a little) and which did quite a bit of catering. However, during
rushes, I worked upstsairs, and thus know *exactly* what went into their
sandwiches (at that time... things may have changed quite a bit).
Steve Wertz
I don't recall a Bob's BB, but I do remember making the Eat 'n Park version,
and wasn't much mroe than a glorified Big Mac. Sre they tasted different,
mostly because of bun, the sauce and a better quality of meat in the EnP
versions.
So, yes, I admit, they differ slightly.
-sw
Mpoconnor7
Also, the Big Boy has the third piece of bun between the two pieces of meat,
making it a double decker.
This thread is giving me a craving for a Big Boy (and a piece of Strawberry Pie
for dessert) in the worst way. Thank goodness for small favors, shortly after
I left Pittsburgh the Klondike Bar had gone nationwide so I didn't feel
homesick about those.
Bill Donovan
I grew up on the stuff. You can buy it at the Kroger's food stores in
Cincinnati.
<Tony...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:16126-3B7...@storefull-623.iap.bryant.webtv.net...
Kate Connally
Where was this???? Thousand Island was never used
in the Pittsburgh region unless it was before I was old
enough to remember. Eat 'n Park opened in Pittsburgh
in 1949. I can remember as far back as 1965 when Big
Boy's had "white" sauce on them. And it wasn't tartar
sauce although it was somewhat similar to tartar sauce.
And Bob's Big Boys out west used a red sauce that was
like Heinz chili sauce - very dark red, like ketchup -
nothing like thousand island dressing. Now Marie
Callendar's used a "special sauce" that was quite
similar to thousand island dressing. In fact it may
have been just that but they never said so.
Kate
Kate Connally
Good of you to say so. :-) But I still say they differ
significantly. I think the sauce has quite a different
flavor in each.
Kate
Kate Connally
> >> I don't know. They could have been, but I've never noticed any
> >> affiliation in my lifetime. What makes a Big Boiy different
> >> from a Supreme Burger different from a Big Mac? Nothing, really.
> >
> >Have you ever actually eaten any of them? The Big
> >Boy (white sauce version) and the Supreme Burger
> >taste quite different from a Big Mac.
> >Kate
> >
>
> Also, the Big Boy has the third piece of bun between the two pieces of meat,
> making it a double decker.
> This thread is giving me a craving for a Big Boy (and a piece of Strawberry Pie
> for dessert) in the worst way. Thank goodness for small favors, shortly after
> I left Pittsburgh the Klondike Bar had gone nationwide so I didn't feel
> homesick about those.
Michael,
So you're an ex-Pittsburgher, eh? Do you miss
pierogi? Mancini's bread? chipped ham bbq?
chocolate-covered strawberries? Those were
all the things I missed when I lived in CA.
It's nice to be back in Pgh. but now I miss
Marie Callendar's hamburgers (at least the
way they were when I lived there) and good
Mexican food!
Kate
Mpoconnor7
>So you're an ex-Pittsburgher, eh? Do you miss
>pierogi?
My stepmom makes homemade ones that are great. And the supermarkets here in
South Carolina carry the frozen Pierogi which are pretty good too.
>Mancini's bread?
I'm getting homesick. Does it still come in the paper sleeve? The
supermarkets here have some pretty good bread in the store bakeries, but
nowhere near as good as that.
> chipped ham bbq?
I make it up from time to time; all I have to do is get the deli counter person
to slice the boiled ham as thin as possible, until it is nearly transparent.
I also miss the milkshakes from Iseley's, where they would give you your shake
and would also give you the metal shake cup which had a little bit left over
inside. I bought one of those metal cup shake machines at a garage sale a few
years back and use it from time to time.
I also miss the fried chicken from George Aikens; best I've ever eaten. I
would love to get a recipe for that. Also their Corned Beef was great. I've
spent time in Detroit and other places around the country but never found
Corned Beef as good as I did in Pittsburgh. I used to go to the one by Market
Square (across from Murphy's) all the time.
My favorite restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh was a place called "Zotis
Restaurant" over on Sixth Street. They made the best Reuben Sandwich I've ever
eaten; it was a triple decker. I've been trying to duplicate that sandwich in
my kitchen ever since. Is that place still there? In many restaurants here
they put spicy brown mustard on a Reuben in place of thousand island, and the
sauerkraut is right out of the can. Yuck.
I also miss the good italian sausage, the local brands like Tambolini's and
others. I can't find any that good here; when I was in Detroit I went to a
meat market and bought about twenty pounds of great italian sausage and froze
it and put it in a cooler and flew it down here with me. We had hot sausage
subs with peppers and onions and tomato sauce for Christmas that year.
I also miss the great pizza places in Squirrel Hill, on Murray Avenue between
Beacon Avenue and the bottom of the hill. Here we only have one privately
owned pizza place that isn't a corporate franchise like Pizza Hut or Dominos.
Kate Connally
> >Michael,
> >So you're an ex-Pittsburgher, eh? Do you miss
> >pierogi?
>
> My stepmom makes homemade ones that are great. And the supermarkets here in
> South Carolina carry the frozen Pierogi which are pretty good too.
Frozen? Pretty good? I think not! I've tried about every
frozen type there is and they all pretty much suck. It's
the dough. The fillings are usually okay but the dough
is usually like soggy cardboard or rubber or a combination
of the two. :-) I did find one in the refrig. section (near the
packaged sausage, etc.) that was acceptable but not great.
But what can you do when you're stuck in a
pierogi-deficient environment. One does the
best one can. Even I would get desparate enough
to eat Mrs. T's when I was in CA. But I learned
how to make them myself and about once a year
I would have a pierogi-making party and we
would set up an assembly line of friends and
relatives to crank out dozens of them. Then
we would eat some for dinner and give everyone
some to take home.
Now that I'm back in Pgh, however, I always get
them from one of the churches in the area. I don't
know how long since you lived here but we now
have a couple of decent "pierogi stores" that make fresh
ones. The one in McKees Rocks, called Pierogis Plus, is
the best but is a bit more expensive than the church
pierogi.
> >Mancini's bread?
>
> I'm getting homesick. Does it still come in the paper sleeve? The
> supermarkets here have some pretty good bread in the store bakeries, but
> nowhere near as good as that.
Of course! But now they sell it in many different stores and
supermarkets around the area - Giant Eagle, Foodland,
McGinnis Sisters, etc. I don't know if they were doing this
when you were here. It still doesn't beat going to the bakery
and getting some warm from the oven, though. Even though
I live out near Monroeville, I still try to get down to West Park
once or twice a year for some *fresh* Mancini's.
We have all these new gourmet bakeries around her now -
Panera, Montana Mills, Artisan Breads, etc. - but I still
prefer Mancini's Italian Twist. Best bread in the world!!!!
> chipped ham bbq?
> I make it up from time to time; all I have to do is get the deli counter person
> to slice the boiled ham as thin as possible, until it is nearly transparent.
Yeah, that works.
> I also miss the milkshakes from Iseley's, where they would give you your shake
> and would also give you the metal shake cup which had a little bit left over
> inside. I bought one of those metal cup shake machines at a garage sale a few
> years back and use it from time to time.
> I also miss the fried chicken from George Aikens; best I've ever eaten. I
> would love to get a recipe for that. Also their Corned Beef was great. I've
> spent time in Detroit and other places around the country but never found
> Corned Beef as good as I did in Pittsburgh. I used to go to the one by Market
> Square (across from Murphy's) all the time.
My favorite used to be Timothy's Paddock Club on Smithfield
for a great corned beef sandwich. And The Gazebo in Shady-
side for a Reuben or Rachel. (Did you know they're gone now?
About 10 years I think. Bummer.) When I want just the corned
beef I go to Kazansky's (formerly Rhoda's) in Sq. Hill. No matter
what any of those "New York chauvinists" may try to claim it's
the best corned beef you can get.
> My favorite restaurant in downtown Pittsburgh was a place called "Zotis
> Restaurant" over on Sixth Street. They made the best Reuben Sandwich I've ever
> eaten; it was a triple decker. I've been trying to duplicate that sandwich in
> my kitchen ever since. Is that place still there?
I don't think so. That would be over by Heinz Hall,
wouldn't it? I can't recall seeing it and I go to the
symphony pretty often.
> In many restaurants here
> they put spicy brown mustard on a Reuben in place of thousand island, and the
> sauerkraut is right out of the can. Yuck.
Yuck and double yuck! Bleah! :-P
> I also miss the good italian sausage, the local brands like Tambolini's and
> others. I can't find any that good here; when I was in Detroit I went to a
> meat market and bought about twenty pounds of great italian sausage and froze
> it and put it in a cooler and flew it down here with me. We had hot sausage
> subs with peppers and onions and tomato sauce for Christmas that year.
> I also miss the great pizza places in Squirrel Hill, on Murray Avenue between
> Beacon Avenue and the bottom of the hill. Here we only have one privately
> owned pizza place that isn't a corporate franchise like Pizza Hut or Dominos.
What about Vincent's Pizza Park out on 30 past
Forest Hills. Did you ever go there? That's the
place I had my "last meal" from the night before
I left for CA. Also, the first place I went when I
came back for a visit and when I came back to
stay.
Kate
Mpoconnor7
The piece of fish was at least twice the size of the bun.
s.z...@yahoo.com
You are correct in that they did make the best Reuben's in the world but I'm afraid that your memory is playing tricks on you. They did have a triple Decker but that was the 'BIG SHOT' The Reuben was two feet long and the half of a Reuben could serve two. It was loaded with fresh sliced corned beef and they actually prepared the sauce themselves and the recipe still remains a family secret. They did close the store and moved to Greece. and have been telling stories of the great times they had in the stores to their grand children
Thank you for remembering our sandwich
carolac...@gmail.com
bigdav...@gmail.com
bigdav...@gmail.com
carolschn...@gmail.com
Pepe Buylla
Michael Trew
that worked at a Pittsburgh Eat N Park back in the 70's -- I don't
remember which location. Not the route 8 one, I rarely go out that way.
I still stop in for a superburger every now and again. Good stuff!
I've never met a potato soup that I like better than Eat N Park's.
On another note, all of the Big Boy restaurants near us closed up - most
before I was born. I've eaten at them near Cincinnatti. They don't
seem even remotely related, but that's good food also.
Bryan Simmons
--Bryan
bruce bowser
> Steve Wertz wrote:
> > Mpoconnor7 wrote:
> > >
> > > Does anybody have a recipe for the white special sauce they put on Big Boys at
> > > Eat n Park restaurants in Pennsylvania (the Big Boy chain is known as Eat n
> > > Park in western PA)?
> >
> > Big Boy isn't related to Eat 'n Park.
> Sideling Hill Rest Area on the PA Turnpike) have the
> exact same sandwich, which they call a "Big Boy"
> as the Eat 'n Parks in the Pittsburgh area, who used
> to called their sandwiches "Big Boy" until some of the
> restaurants were sold and renamed Elby's
> and the "Big Boy" name went with them.
> Eat 'n Park had to rename their sandwich
> the "Supreme Burger" or something like that but
> the run-on sentence. :-))
> I frequently eat at Eat 'n Park. I've been eating there
> since the 60's. I also just ate at the Bob's Big Boy
> mentioned above. The sandwiches are identical.
> Only the names have been changed to protect
> the marketing guys or something. Anyway, the
> companies may not be related now but at some
> time in the past they must have been related.
> Now the Bob's Big Boys in California have a
> Big Boy sandwich but the sauce is totally different -
> it's red! But somehow Bob's Big Boy in the west
> (Calif. and ???) and Bob's Big Boy in PA (and ????)
> and Elby's (they may be defunct now, not sure) and
> Eat 'n Park are all somehow connected in the past
> if not in the present.
Sideling Hill is near an occasionally multi-state guard ROTC training camp. I was there in the summer of 1999.
Sqwertz
> On Thursday, August 9, 2001 at 4:48:09 AM UTC-4, Steve Wertz wrote:
>> Mpoconnor7 wrote:
>>>
>>> Does anybody have a recipe for the white special sauce they put on Big Boys at
>>> Eat n Park restaurants in Pennsylvania (the Big Boy chain is known as Eat n
>>> Park in western PA)?
>> Big Boy isn't related to Eat 'n Park.
Boy names.
>> It's just foodservice mayo (2 gallons) sweet and dill relishes (16ox
>> each) and a box of this mystery flavoring stuff.
>> Eat and Park was my first job - Route 8 in Pittsburgh (Glenshaw),
>> My first day was July 21, 1983. I was immediatly put to work weighing
>> Hefty Ham Sandwiches, mixing the mystery spread, and stirring cream of
>> brocolli soup.
>> 'Sexton' was the name of the distributor - Now that I think back.
>> -sw
> It is epicurean sauce
that..... uh...... total nonsense.
But you set a new record! Oldest and lamest followup to somebody
who's still here!
-sw
Sqwertz
> Steve, just curious, do you still live around Pittsburgh? I had an aunt
> that worked at a Pittsburgh Eat N Park back in the 70's -- I don't
> remember which location. Not the route 8 one, I rarely go out that way.
for maybe 25 hours total before we packed up and left that shithole.
Sunnyvale CA was total culture shock. Junior year of HS.
-sw
Sqwertz
> Steve lives in Austin, TX.
-sw
Michael Trew
Mount Washington, worthless 40-50 years ago, are selling for a million
dollars now. Lots of abandoned steel mills in the south side have been
leveled or converted into factories and/or high end housing. Unlike my
area an hour west, they've been on regular improvement for 30 years or so.
I like the concept of California, at least in the 80's. I couldn't
fathom it now with the politics and insane cost of living on the west coast.
bruce bowser
Noreen Phelan
In the late 1940s, Larry Hatch and Bill Peters were supervisors at Isaly's Restaurants in Pittsburgh. On a trip to Cincinnati, Hatch was impressed seeing the Frisch's Big Boy Drive In operation. He and Peters contacted Big Boy founder Bob Wian, reaching a 25-year agreement to operate Big Boy Restaurants in the Pittsburgh area, which would be called Eat'n Park.[10]
Michael Trew
> Wikipedia to the rescue regarding Eat'N Park's lineage: In the late
> 1940s, Larry Hatch and Bill Peters were supervisors at Isaly's
> Restaurants in Pittsburgh.
years. It's now called Bricker's Cafeteria.
> On a trip to Cincinnati, Hatch was
> impressed seeing the Frisch's Big Boy Drive In operation. He and
> Peters contacted Big Boy founder Bob Wian, reaching a 25-year
> agreement to operate Big Boy Restaurants in the Pittsburgh area,
> which would be called Eat'n Park.[10]
that not too long ago. I haven't been to a Frisch's in years (none
local), but I'm overdue for a visit to Eat'n Park.