Real Estate, Hopes and Dreams. Thoughts on Real Estate in Fairfield, CT
When you buy a home, you buy so much more than the shingles brick and mortar. You buy the dry cleaners where you take your shirts. You buy the gym where you have a membership. You buy the grocery store where you do your shopping and bump into your friends and neighbors. When I work with people who are interested in living here in Fairfield, I tell them a few things. First, if you like a neighborhood, get out of your car and walk around. I sincerely believe that you get a completely different perspective when you walk at a slower pace. You have time to see different things and hear things.
I’ve put together a top ten list of things you buy when you buy a home in Fairfield because I sincerely believe that these things are as much a part of your purchase as the mortgage you’re going to carry. With that in mind, let’s move on to a very important:
Number 9. TWO great places to get hot dogs!
Ok, so how important can hot dog joints be in the scheme of things? I’m not even crazy about hot dogs, but, to me, it’s all about choices, and the fact that we have two GREAT places to buy hot dogs speaks to the choices we have in this town albeit on a bit of a silly level.
Super Duper Weenie is great. It’s clean, there’s variety (as in not just hot dogs), and they will bring a truck to a party and serve you wherever you are if you have a jones for a dog or anything else they serve. They have about as creative a list of different hot dogs that you can taste. I went there once and didn’t know what to order. One of the owners was there. I told him my dilemma. He told me he’d make me his favorite. I don’t remember the details. There was saurkraut and relish and mustard and a few other things. I do remember this, though. The guy took care of me and it was absolutely delicious.
Here’s my only complaint about Super Duper Weenie, and it’s really an off handed compliment. It’s always so clean! When I think of hot dog stands, I think of dried up spots of ketchup and mustard. I think of a thick smell of grease. I think of an ocassional gust of smoke that can even make my eye sting just a little bit. It’s all part of the experience, to me, but what Super Duper Weenie doesn’t have in this it more than makes up for in outstanding food and an atmosphere where just about anybody can feel at home. About a month or so ago, I turned on the TV. On one of the cable channels, there was something about great places to get ‘road food’ hosted by one of the latest celebrity chefs. Who was featured? Super Duper Weenie!
If you like a more classic place for your ‘dogs,’ there’s Rawleys. Rawleys is right on the Post Road on the outskirts of town toward Westport. The place looks like it was built years ago. It has been an institution for years. It has most of the atmospheric nuances that I seek and the hot dogs rock!
Rawley’s boasts a thumbs up endorsement from, of all people, Martha Stewart. If I had to pick a last meal, their bacon cheese hotdog would be on my top ten list followed by a few Tums. When I go to Rawleys, I feel like I”m going back in time. When people ask me how I’m doing when I’m there, I want to say words like ‘swell.’ If I turned around on a spring day while munching a hot dog in the parking lot, I don’t think I’d be too surprised if I saw Richy Cunningham or Fonzi pull in. It’s that kind of place.
Which reminds me of something that I love about Fairfield that’s tough to actually articulate but I’m going to try. Places like Rawleys and Super Duper Weenie give Fairfield a feeling, or a hint of, well, innocence. Ok, I felt a bit odd writing about socioeconomic diversity in my last post. This one is a bit funny, too, but I believe it. People come here for the small town feel. And nothing gives a town a small town feel like a hot dog joint.
Or two!
Tomorrow…Number 8!
Tony,
Fantastic post! I thought much the same when I watched the recent Food Network “Diners, Dives and Drive-In” episode all about Super Duper… I said to myself: “Hey, wait don’t they know about Rawley’s, too?”
For sure, Fairfield is a two-dog town and it is a perfect example of the variety– the spice of life– that all of us lucky enough to live here enjoy!
David Cullen
RTM, District 7
There’s a recent book out called the 500 Dishes you have to Eat before you die (or something like that). It lists both Rawley’s and Super Duper, but gives the nod to Rawley’s as they deep fry their dogs. Super Duper cooks them on the grill. As with everything else, the better it is, the worse it is for you.
Beyond the dogs, Rawley’s burgers and Milkshakes are awesome. A few weeks ago, I stopped by for a burger, fries and a drink. It’s about the same price as any of the fast food joints, but the food is better and the experience can’t be beat. If you are going to blow calories or your fat grams for the day, why not eat somewhere that’s worth it? This applies to Super Duper Weenie as well.
One other thing about Rawley’s is the legacy. If I am out of town, and bump into someone who lived in Fairfield years ago, they always ask “Is Rawley’s still open?”