Restaurateur Profile: Adam and Josh Dragotta
Co-Owner: The Greasy Weiner
Anywhere (it’s a truck)
http://www.thegreasyweiner.com
Yelp: Not Yet!
Interview Date: Saturday, April 24, 2010
In my quest to get “behind the food,” I couldn’t possibly leave out food trucks, which have exploded in popularity throughout Los Angeles over the past 12 months. Curious to find out who is behind the wheel of those trucks, I walked up to the Greasy Weiner truck after talking to Dominic Lau of Don Chow Tacos at the Silverlake Flea Market, where about six food trucks gathered to feed shoppers and passerby.
The Greasy Weiner just opened six weeks ago, so partners and brothers Adam and Josh Dragotta are full of excitement and ideas about their new business venture. Adam has been working a hot dog cart in Tuscon and, more recently, San Diego, and after a lease fell through for a restaurant location in San Diego, he came up to Los Angeles to join the food truck movement.
The Greasy Weiner rocks a custom truck that allows Adam to achieve the quality hot dogs that the brothers grew up with in New Jersey. In fact, the custom hot dog recipe was developed by friend and CIA Chef Eric Macko, and are made by a local butcher. Then they are fried, which Josh and Adam assure me is the way that hot dogs should be cooked. “We grew up working at Sammys in Phillpsburg, New Jersey,” says Adam. “That’s where we learned about all good things fried, and we’ve now brought that to our truck.”
In addition to the unique hot dogs, The Greasy Weiner is building a brand based on the concept of “entertainment.” “We have Weiner Girls outside the truck, and we show videos, play music, and are adding a webcam soon. This is all about entertainment, and Web 2.0,” says Josh.
I’ll check back in with The Greasy Weiner later in the year to see how they’re doing!
Tags: adam dragotta, food truck, greasy weiner, josh dragotta, los angeles, restaurant, yelp
