Windmill-Shaped Hot Dog Stand
Long Branch, New Jersey
This fake Dutch windmill tops a hot dog stand, a Jersey shore landmark since it first opened in 1964. The current owners bought the business in 1976, then franchised in other NJ locations. The offshoots serve up the same menu, though the buildings don't include the design of the mother ship.
The WindMill offers delish fast food, served at a counter or as take-out (there's limited fair weather seating on the upper outdoor deck). The WindMill offers its signature kosher-style hot dogs, chili and cheese dogs, burgers, cheese fries....yum.
Just up the road is a competing beach food stronghold: Max's Famous Hot Dogs (25 Matilda Tr, Long Branch), a much older establishment serving wieners since 1928. Max's used to sit right on the boardwalk, and moved decades ago to a more bland building a block inland (where it attracts year-round patrons). The wieners are served with accompanying buckets of relish and sauerkraut. A worthy stop for lunch, or at least to peruse its wall of signed celebrity photos.
On Dec. 28, 2015, the entire windmill blade array fell off the building. This was actually a new set of blades, with colored lights that change seasonally. The owners plan to repair it.