It was a drop dead gorgeous day July 17, the 17th day of my quest to eat a hot dog a day for National Hot Dog Month. We had some serious decision making to do about how and when I was going to get my daily hot dog and still grab a full day at the beach. Luckily, a friend told me about Gary's Best on 958 Ashley Boulevard (route 18) in New Bedford. Not only are they open Sundays- they are open from 9 AM to 9PM! Hot dogs for brunch anyone?
The dining room is HUGE at Gary's Best: there are 17 picnic tables!
Mrs. Hotdogman, Little Miss and I ambled up to the window at ten past ten and were greeted by two of the cutest and friendliest hot dog vendors we've come across in our journeys: Fabulous Felicia and Amazing Amy. We were greeted like old friends and they were eager to share the story of Gary's Best.
The menu offers hot dogs with standard condiments, quahogs, linguica, tuna salad, chicken salad, and pork butt sandwiches. They serve up Old Neighborhood Franks here and their signature dog is a hot dog topped with the house specialty linguica sauce. The sauce is a tomato based meat sauce that uses chopped linguica instead of ground beef as the meat.
There's loads of choices on the drinks and chips side of things.
I couldn't believe there was a line at quarter past ten on a Sunday morning- these dogs must be good!
We spied owner Joe Franco chatting up some neighborhood gals- he wasn't working today, but he was hanging around chatting with the regulars. You can tell by talking to Joe he loves his business and his customers.
Joe started Gary's Best back in 1984 when he was laid off from a local plant. The day after he was laid off, he was on a plane for a previously planned trip to Hawaii with his wife. While sitting on the beach, Mrs. Franco asked him what he was going to do for work when they got home. He had an epiphany- he'd had a part time job at a hot dog stand in the past, so he decided to open Gary's Best. That's just what he did when he got back from Hawaii! The hot dog joint is named after Joe's son and has been open for 27 years. Joe thinks he owes his success to the fact that he likes to treat his customers right and keep them happy.
With Awesome Amy flashing that pretty smile, she could probably kick me in the throat and I'd be happy!
Mrs. HDM and I ordered up two dogs with the signature linguica sauce, onions under and squeeze cheese. Little Miss got one with mustard.
Little Miss is loving it.
Mrs. Hotdogman has reverted to her camera shy ways...
I
CHOWED DOWN
(I won't lie- I had two!!!)
Gary's Best is a great little hot dog stand- the kind you'd want to have in your home town. The have good people, good hot dogs and the Linguica Sauce is out of this world. I see eight thumbs up in this picture- there should be more!
The next time you're in New Bedford (or even close by), stop in at Gary's Best and try a hot dog with the linguica sauce. Make sure you tell who ever is working, "the Hotdogman sent me."
HAPPY NATIONAL HOT DOG MONTH!
Check out the video of our visit to Gary's Best on Hot Dog Stories.
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