Before the birth of Frank Sinatra, Hoboken, New Jersey was famous for its shipping port, freight trains, fabulous view of the Manhattan skyline, and hobos.

“Hobo” was a term used for migratory workers around the end of the 1900’s and beyond. Often the only possessions the hobo owned were a knife and a coffee pot. Unlike tramps, who worked only when they were forced to, and bums, who didn’t work at all, hobos were simply workers who rode the freight trains to find work (remember this was at a time before the automobile was invented). Italian hobos were called dagos. Like hobos, dagos might “work a day and go”, and became known as dago workers.

Hobos often camped near the railroad yards on the outskirts of the towns they visited. In the mornings they made their thick black coffee and at night, in the same coffee pot, they made their infamous stew. Hobo Stew was simply a thick soup that included meat, potatoes, vegetables, and whatever else that could have been begged, scavenged, found or stolen.

My Italian heritage includes a century old “Hobo Stew” recipe that has been refined and perfected–and ultimately handed down to me from my ancestors. I’m proud to share this delicious family recipe with the world, both in the legendary cookbook by Mary Chamberlin, ‘The Traveling Soup Pot” and by adding it to the menu at Little Napoli Bistro Italiano in beautiful Carmel-by-the-Sea.

You can buy this terrific cookbook online at PepeShop.com, or come on in to Little Napoli, try it out and purchase the book while you’re here.

Also, for a limited time, as an exclusive Little Napoli special, you can save $10 on the book and pay only $25.

Want the “Hobo Stew” recipe? Click here!

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