Post #2 – Women’s Memoirs, ScrapMoir – Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett
By Tracy Kauffman Wood
My grandmother, Ida Kravitz, was one of the early hot dog vendors in Philadelphia. During the Great Depression, she was known as Mom, selling hot dogs with the works-mustard, onions, sauerkraut and her own recipe of pepper hash (she couldn’t afford the pickle relish) from a pushcart on the corner of Fourth and South Streets. She charged five cents and included a complimentary orange soda. Mom supported a family of thirteen through her efforts.
In the late forties, Ida handed the business down to her son Lenny, who created a chain of hot dog stands lasting through the seventies in Philadelphia and Margate.
My much adored Aunt Jean, shown in the photo in the black vest, often worked for Uncle Lenny. She stuffed hot dogs, fish cakes, mustard, chopped onions, sauerkraut and homemade pepper hash into warm buns, handed them over the counter to customers she addressed as “Baby” and “Doll.”
The economy has changed. It’s harder now for mom and pop to succeed in the free market. Hot dogs have changed for better or worse depending on whom you talk to. One thing remains the same. The recipe for life that Mom carried across an ocean from Mother Russia is still contained in a forkful of pepper hash. Life can be sweet as well as sour. If you respect, honor and make something beautiful of it, while it may bite, it will never lose its appeal.
Chose life. If it turns sour, make hot dogs with pepper hash. My mom* still does. She serves them to her friends and family while the spirit of her mother looks on. Here is her mother’s recipe:
Mom’s Pepper Hash
One head of cabbage, minced
Two large green peppers, minced
Two large carrots, minced
One cup sugar
One cup distilled white vinegar
One half cup water -or more if vinegar taste is strong
Salt to taste
Prepare vegetables. Add dry and liquid ingredients. Mix and taste as you go. Smother your hot dogs with this and the other toppings.
* My mother has died since I wrote this vignette and to my knowledge no longer cooks hot dogs. But I do, while the spirit of my grandmother looks on.
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Oh,I love this post. Reminds me of hot dog stands in NYC as a kid. I love the metaphor in this post–the making lemonade out of lemons is so cliche.
karen
Hi Karen:
Yes, Tracy’s story evokes memories of a way of life that while long gone still provides us with life lessons. Thanks for stopping by.
-Matilda
What a “yummy” post! Brought back memories of things like pushcarts and everything made with love!
Hi Karen,
Thanks for your comments. This is the immigrant’s story, of making do with what you have. It’s a lesson to keep in mind in these times. Enjoy Mom’s pepper hash.
Thanks Mary,
Yes, love is the final ingredient. You can never add too much of it.
I am so excited. My husband, who grew up in Marlton, NJ, a few miles east of Philadelphia, has always raved about the Pepper Hash they had at fish fry fundraisers when he was a kid. I’ve never been able to find a recipe. Hooray! I can’t wait to make some.
Aunt Ida’s life sounds much like conditions Hubby’s maternal grandparents and relatives experienced as first and second generation immigrants in that area, and her philosophy mirrors their outlook on life.
Thanks for your read, Sharon. This is the authentic Lenny’s Hot Dogs recipe that your husband may have enjoyed in Margate NJ in the ’70s and ’80s. There is more about it on my blog entry, ‘Aunt Jean.’
Enjoy!
I just googled “Lenny’s Hotdog Pepper Hash recipe” for my Labor Day Bar-B-Q and your post came up. I enjoyed reading the story and just made and tasted the pepper hash, which brought back a slew of memories.
I used to take the 59 bus on Castor Avenue, when I was in 7th grade, to Lenny’s Hotdogs on Castor and Magee just to get the pepper hash. I would have eaten a hotdog roll of just that.
Thanks for your recipe Sharon. It will be a taste treat for my NE friends coming over tonight.
Arlene
Sorry, I meant Tracy.
Thanks for your comment Arlene. Glad to share some local history with you. Thanks for your read. Enjoy your pepper hash with fond memories.
I googled pepper hash remembering it from Lenny’s in Margate, next to Lucy. I didn’t know there was one in Philadephia. I really miss the pepper hash and the combo! I tell people about the combo and they say “that’s disgusting”. If they only knew! Fish cake, hot dog & pepper hash. It’s the best…and even better at 3:00 AM in the morning after a night of drinking. Now, I can make my own pepper hash. Thanks for the recipe
A houseguest brought me down a container of Lenny’s Pepper Hash last weekend and my mouth is already watering for more!!! We talked on the phone last night about Googling the recipe, and here it is. I used to live at Unruh & the Boulevard in NE Philly and have been in SD, MN, and now FL. Still adore Wawa coffee, hoagies, steak sandwiches, Tastycakes (and yes, all visitors must bring these!) and Lenny’s Pepper Hash…and I don’t care that you need to drive to Street Road to get it. None of my family live in Philly anymore but I still go & visit friends. Man I could really go for a soft pretzel and a water ice right now! Sam in FL
Thank you so much Tracy for sharing this great story and this gem of a recipe for the pepper hash that I remember so well. Once a week, as a child my parents would take my brother and I to “Lenny’s” in Philly. To me…it was the pepper hash that made the hot dog. I’ve missed it so much since it’s closing, but found a vendor on 24th and Passyunk who has the same pepper hash!! His hot cart is identified by the very long line of patrons waiting patiently to enjoy a hot dog or hot sausage with “the works”…..
so yummy!!! And a special “Thank You” to your Grandmom Ida, who’s home made pepper hash turned an ordinary hot dog into an unforgettable treat
Went to Lincoln Hi in Phila. Grad ‘52. I remember on Mondays we were served hot dogs and pepper hash for lunch. Just made some in my own kitchen —-first time since high school! Can’t wait to try it.
Hi Mary,
Thanks for remembering. My brother went to Lincoln. I went to Northeast. Enjoy your pepper hash and I’m glad the traditon continues.
I worked the night shift at Lenny’s in Margate from ‘81-85. Four nights/week, 10 pm – 8 am. What a riot to see the old photo of Lenny. Those were fun times! Thanks!
We lived at Castor and Magee after moving from Hellerman St. We always scraped our coins together to go to Lenny’s over at Fanshawe. I have to say I’ve taken my kids to the Street Road Lenny’s Hot Dogs and we still enjoy the fishcakes and hot dogs and pepper hash! Thank you to the Kravitz’s for some great memories.
I was talking on the boardwalk this morning about the Pepper Hash.
I used to own Levis the other Great Place in Philly.
Maybe we should take and team up,k and give them a chance to share their memories.
Marc
sorry There is a correction
Maybe we should talk, and team up and give them a chance to share their memories
I was a young kid when Lenny’s was in Margate, but man was that a fun place. Playing video games, eating hot dog combos….that was a great place. Thanks so much for posting this. I do have a question….what kind of fish cake was used? I’d REALLY like to replicate a hot dog/fish cake combo soon!!!!