Snappy Dogs Goes Mobile

In a move sure to get Theresa of Snappy Dogs palms all sweaty, the gals are finally taking their show on the road!

Snappy Dogs has been added to the roster at the Framingham Food Truck Festival on October 9th. They have never moved their little trailer, other than to put it in the barn for the winter.

I will be on hand with my trusty camera- it will be a fun day and the gals are sure to be good for a few laughs.

Boston Speed's Famous Hot Dog Wagon

The other day, I headed into Boston to Newmarket Square. Newmarket Square is an industrial area set away from downtown Boston that's home to many shipping concerns and the area houses a lot of wholesale food businesses.

It's also the home of a Boston Hot Dog icon: Boston Speed's Famous Hot Dog Wagon.

The "Original" Speed is now 92 and enjoying retirement after serving up Boston's most celebrated hot dogs for over thirty years.

The business is now run by Gregg Gale, a classically trained chef who has known Speed since he was eight years old. When Gregg was looking to get into something a little simpler than being a head chef at area restaurants and country clubs, he decided to take over Speed's Hot Dog Wagon. Gregg must have gone to the finest culinary school in the land: there is no ketchup on the trailer!

The dining room is probably a tad less fancy than some of the fancy joints Chef Gregg has cooked in! Apparently the spartan surroundings don't scare people off. Warren Buffet visited the wagon back in July and asked Gregg if he was interested in selling the business. Gregg, who was unaware of who he was speaking to at the time, said "You don’t have enough money." Methinks Mr. Buffet could buy out every business in Newmarket Square and not even dent his wallet. When asked by a Boston Globe reporter about the incident, Gregg said he "likes his music." It's a funny story.

Chef Gregg kept Speed's concept of "southern style" barbecued hot dogs, but he decided to use a hot dog that he himself "produces."

He has the Boston Brisket Company make his hot dogs according to his exact culinary specifications. Chef Gregg cares about quality and he believes his dogs are the best. He's not the only one, The Wall Street Journal called Boston Speed Dogs "the best hot dogs in America" a few years back! Besides being of very high quality, the Boston Brisket hot dogs are convenient- the trailer is parked in their parking lot.

Chef Gregg grills his dogs on an "oil drum" style, charcoal grill over hardwood, lump charcoal. As the dogs cook, he constantly bastes them with his marinade and barbecue sauce. When they split, they're done.

I was offered a sample of the newest addition to the menu: wood grilled pastrami. You can now get a pastrami dog at Speed's; that's some wood grilled pastrami and a hot dog. The pastrami was delish.

Chef makes all his own sauces and toppings. He has his home made barbecue sauce and cranberry relish on sale at the wagon. he also has tee-shirts and sweatshirts and promises to have hats next year. You can buy these goodies at the trailer and they will soon be available on the Boston Speed Website. You can even give a Speed's Gift Certificate (hey Christmas is coming).

First timers are REQUIRED by Chef Gregg to order a dog with EVERYTHING. That has his custom made mustard, barbecue sauce, cranberry relish, chopped onions, and a beanless chili sauce. I had one at the SoWa market a few weeks ago- it's guaranteed to ruin your dinner and it's out of this world good.

I got one "lightly loaded" with mustard, cranberry relish and onions and

CHOWED DOWN!

This is one fine hot dog- it is definitely one of a kind. Boston Speed's Famous hot Dog Wagon gets

TWO THUMBS WAY UP!

If you are in the area, it is a must eat hot dog establishment and ought to be on any hot dog aficionado's "bucket list." Speed's also can be found at the SoWa Open Market on Sundays through October. He occaisionally travels and you can keep tabs on the wagon's hours and whereabouts on Gregg's Facebook Page. When you stop by, grab some extra wet naps and tell Chef Gregg "the Hotdogman sent me."

Check out the Video of my visit to Boston Speed's on Hot Dog Stories

Framingham Food Truck Festival

Food trucks are coming to Framingham!!!!

Here's the press release. The Hotdogman will be in attendance with camera in hand!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE/ September 22, 2011
THE WZLX MONSTER FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL COMING TO FRAMINGHAM Sunday, October 9th 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM at Shoppers World

What: For foodies of all ages! The food truck phenomenon sweeping the nation comes to the Greater Boston/MetroWest region with a festival featuring trucks from all over New England. With cuisine ranging from southern barbeque to grilled cheese, lobster rolls and clam chowder to cupcakes and coffee to top it off. For a snack, a meal, desserts and even a bit of fashion, you can find it all at The WZLX MONSTER FOOD TRUCK FESTIVAL on Sunday, October 9th in the Shoppers World Plaza parking lot. Live music will be performed by local Jazz/Blues troupe “Good Question”.

Captain’s Coffee Brewers – A café on wheels, serving up high quality cappuccino, lattes, coffee, pastries and the now famous Captain’s Cold Brew.

The Cupcakory – Boston's original cupcake truck creating tasty treats using locally sourced and organic ingredients.

The Fashion Truck – Boston's 1st boutique on wheels housing a well-curated mix of chic women's apparel and accessories.

Go Fish! – The first food truck by Brother Trucker boasts an array of New England seafood favorites plus American and International classics.

Grilled Cheese Nation – Boston’s Original Gourmet Grilled Cheese Truck serves up 8 of New England’s most delicious, chef-inspired grilled cheese sandwiches with "shots" of hot tomato soup!

Jake's Sweet Meat BBQ – Specializing in out of this world BBQ with a menu that includes Mac-n-cheese, baked beans, smoked meats and pulled pork.

Lobsta Love – Boston's 1st & Best Lobster Truck serves THE freshest lobster rolls and award-winning clam chowder so you can savor the sweet taste of summer all year long!

Mobile Home – Mobile Home is a Boston-based food truck offering a selection of thoughtfully prepared dishes inspired by classic home cooking and comfort-style cuisine.

Spoon Truck – With a menu that includes ribs, Apple wood smoked chicken and hush puppies, this is uncomplicatedly good Southern BBQ.

Woodman’s of Essex – Since 1914 the Woodman family has served up hearty portions of seafood and memories and now they are taking their award winning restaurant on the road.

When: Sunday, October 9th 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Where: Shoppers World Plaza
1 Worcester Road, Framingham, MA 01701

Cost: Entrance is FREE. The price of food varies.

For more information please visit http://wzlx.radio.com/zlx-events/.
Visit us on Facebook, facebook.com/FoodTruckFestivalsofNE and on Twitter, twitter.com/foodtruckfestNE
For public information, please contact 800-886-8390.
Media inquiries and, please contact Aigner/Prensky Marketing Group at 617-254-9500.

Additional photos are available upon request.

Devo's Dogs Wing Contest POSTPONED

With 2 inches of rain forecast for tomorrow, Devo's Dogs has decided to postpone their Charity Chicken Wing Eating Contest.

Since it was slated to be an outdoor event, this is a good call on Chris' part!

Stay tuned for the new date!

The SoWa Market Scene

One of the cool things about the SoWa Open Market is the plethora of food trucks on hand every Sunday. The finest food trucks in Boston are on hand every week- there's something for everyone!

The Go Fish Truck satisfies seafood lovers.

The Bon Me Truck offers unique Vietnamese cuisine.

The Clover Food Truck serves up simple, healthy fare.

Little Miss' favorite, The Original Boston Frosty was on hand too.

Lefty's Silver Cart offers an outrageous grilled peanut butter and banana sandwich with a side of marshmallow fluff!

The Lincoln Street Coffee Truck will satisfy the need for caffeine.

The Cupcakery Truck serves mobile cupcakes.

Boston Speed's hot dog wagon was on my radar- more on Speed's in another post....

Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese caught our eye- they serve grilled cheese and Mrs. HDM's favorite: POUTINE! We shot a video featuring Roxy's- more on them later too.

I plan to return to the SoWa Open Market to do some Christmas shopping. I will probably sample the food too- there's lots of good stuff.

Chicken Wing Contest at Devo Dogs

Chris at Devo Dogs in Marlboro is hosting a charity chicken wing eating contest this Saturday, September 24. There will be an adult division that will have escalating heat on the chicken wings and a kids division with mild wings. Sounds like fun!

Here's the info:

September 24th 2:30 pm
Devo’s Dogs Ultimate Wings Challenge

In Memory of Marie Shaughnessy & Cheryl Campbell

$10 Entry Fee that will be donated to Dana Faber Cancer Research

Adult Division (Heat)
Childrens Division (Amount eaten)

Prizes, Food and Fun
Please Pre-Register

(ask for details)

655 Farm Rd. Marlborough, MA 01752 508.688.5109

Sunday at the SoWa Open Market

Sunday, before the Patriot's game, Little Miss, Mrs.HDM and I headed into Boston to the SoWa Open Market. "SoWa" is a shortened version of a Boston neighborhood named for the area "south of Washington (street)." That's an up and coming, former industrial area in the South End. It's also home to a vibrant, outdoor market that features local produce, local crafters, and tons of food trucks.

It was a crisp, late summer day and the place was packed.

There were tons of artists and artisans.

The food trucks lined the perimeter.

Our old friends from the Original Boston Frosty were on hand.

Two lovely young Boston University journalism students were shooting film too.

They were shooting a piece for class on the food truck scene and the SoWa Market and they interviewed me for the video.

I stopped by Boston Speed Dogs to chat with Gregg about an upcoming Hot Dog Story. I had a dog, but I will be revisiting him soon for the "full work-up."

We also stopped by Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese where Little Miss and Mrs. HDM got some grilled cheese and POUTINE!

The guys in the truck wouldn't say who wins the Food Truck Race (they were eliminated Sunday night), BUT they did pay extra attention to Mrs. HDM's poutine. Apparently her reputation as a poutine connoisseur precedes her!

We shot a bunch of video and I have several posts designed around our visit, so stay tuned to The Hot Dog Truck and Hot Dog Stories to find out more!

Fred's Franks: In Search of the Shnurble

To celebrate the last day of training for my new job, the boss sprung for lunch at Fred's Franks! My new co-workers had never been there and they were curious about the Shnurble.

These guys were curious too!

Fred's Franks is owned by Carl Gallasso, a former high tech type who spent 25+ years in the semi conductor business before taking an early retirement (he got laid off) a few years ago. He met former trailer owner, Fred, and bought the business. Carl has the market cornered on cool- just check out those shades!

Carl was grilling up Shnurbles today, as he does every day.

Carl grills on the Big Green Egg grill, "the Original American Designed Ceramic Cooker. Derived from an ancient clay cooker called a "kamado," the modern Big Green Egg has undergone many improvements since it was introduced in 1974. Especially significant is replacement of the clay used in early models with durable space-age ceramics developed specifically for Big Green Egg to make the EGG® virtually indestructible under ordinary cooking conditions."

Carl uses Wicked Good Charcoal, a five hardwood blend of lump charcoal made in Maine. He also throws apple wood into the mix. Good Stuff!

I had to admonish one of my new, young co-workers about putting ketchup on her hot dog...

Soone enough, my Shnurble was done! A Shnurble is a half link of chourico split down the middle, and a quarter pound, Pearl, all beef frank. The meats sits on a bed of sweet cabbage, mayonnaise, Carl's Sharasababa sauce, and Cholula hot Sauce. This is one serious sandwich!

Time to

CHOW DOWN!

It's a serious sandwich that's seriously AWESOME!

Head on up to Wakefield when you get a chance. Fred's is just off the rotary of exit 40 on route 128. Get yourself a Shnurble and make sure you tell Carl "the Hotdogman sent me." Wear your shades too.

Check out the Shnurble on video over at Hot Dog Stories.

Coming Attractions

In the next week or so, I have a couple of visits planned. My new co-workers and I are headed back to Fred's Franks today for lunch and a Hot Dog Story. It will be a fun trip- there will be a couple of Fred's "newbies" in the crowd, so I should get some good reactions.

The family and I intend on hitting the SoWa Open Market down in Boston on Sunday. We plan on doing some early Christmas shopping, but the real attraction is the plethora of food trucks that are present each Sunday. The list includes:

BBQ Smith
Bon Me Foods
Boston Frosty
Boston Speed Dog
C-Cups Cupcakes & More
Clover
Eat
Go Fish
Grilled Cheese Nation
Grillos Pickles
Lefty’s Silver Cart
Lincoln Street Coffee
M&M Ribs
Rhode Illin Ice Cream
Roxy’s Gourmet Grilled Cheese
Silk Road BBQ
Staff Meal
The Cupcakory
The Dining Car
The Froyo Truck
Trolley Dogs

I am hoping Boston Speed Dogs is there (they post attending trucks on the SoWa Facebook page each Saturday). I haven't been to Speed's since Speed was running the joint! Speaking of Speed, my good friend Larry Joe of New England Firepit fame, is attempting to get me an interview with Speed (I will certainly keep Hot Dog Nation posted). I'd also like to talk to the Roxy's Gourmet Grilled Cheese guys- they are on The Food Truck Race and I'd just like to stop and say "hi."

It should be a fun couple of trips. Now that the summer is over, I will be toning down Hot Dog Stories to one per week or so through the fall. I have also begun to plan next summer's National Hot Dog Month Tour!

What's Up With the Hotdogman?

It was quite an eventful summer for me. I ate a Hot Dog a Day in July to celebrate National Hot Dog Month. The frantic pace of visiting a new venue everyday and producing a video AND a written post was hectic, but a ton of fun. I garnered national attention with appearances in The Metrowest Daily News, The Boston Globe, WCVB Channel 5, NECN, UPI, WZLX- Boston's Classic Rock, NPR and a whole bunch of other places.

My wife and I combined a vacation in Maine with a mini hot dog tour and a trip to Montreal with the first Hot Dog Story done entirely in French.

My lovely wife has a great sense of humor, but she can't quite understand how writing and filming videos about hot dogs and hot dog joints can generate income. While I am not getting rich, I am earning money with my "new found fame" from advertising revenue, affiliate links and Adsense.

Writing about (one of ) my passions is genuine and fun. I have found an audience!

The whole stunt about eating a hot dog a day has opened up some interesting opportunities for me. I will be producing at least two hot dog documentaries about Boston area icons. These will have far better production values than my current portfolio of videos, but they will still have the same reverence for the hot dog and sense of fun that has made this whole series successful.

Other opportunities have presented themselves as a result of my quest and led to an interesting new job for the Hotdogman. I am getting into the infomercial business! I won't say too much about it right now, other than training started yesterday. Our training was up in Wakefield, MA- right near Fred's Franks. Naturally, everyone in training wanted to go for hot dogs.

I only had one taker today, so we rolled over to Fred's Franks (curiously owned by a guy named Carl) for a Shnurble. A Shnurble is an interesting "sandwich." It's a quarter pound Pearl, all beef frank, served on a large sub roll with a half a link of Chourico, sweet cabbage, mayonnaise, cholula hot sauce and Carl's own Sharasababa sauce. It is, quite possibly, the single most unique, regularly available hot dog in greater Boston.

My coworker, Dave, gave the Shnurble "two thumbs up!"

I had my flip cam with me and I shot this short video.

Winning Football Picks

For the fourth season, my little bro and I are putting our weekly football wagering choices on Winning Football Picks. Last season, we posted a very good PLUS 14.1 UNIT "profit" on our wagers. Yesterday, I went 4-0 on my plays, Laz went 0-1; that's 4-1 on the day!

Every week, we each pick every game in "pool play;" an "office pool" style set of picks. On game day, we put out our winning picks for the world to see for free. While we don't offer a lot of in depth analysis (there are plenty of places for that), we do give solid picks based on our years of experience in playing the oddsmaker's game. Overall, we have been collectively successful and we want to share our picks with you.

So if you want to get an edge up on your football "punting," check out Winning Football Picks.

Never Forget

Naughty Dogs Out

I was kinda sad this past weekend when I read about a place I visited on my National Hot Dog Month Tour. Naughty Dogs, a joint in Fairhaven I visited on July 24, is being evicted from their location. Their landlord gave them 30 days notice! The owners of Naughty Dogs received a thirty day notice to quit at the beginning of the month. Apparently local fans of the place are feeling sad about this great little place having to leave.

Not for nothing, but if they lawyer up, they can stay until after Christmas! That would get them through the busy Christmas shopping season (it's right near a busy mall) and give them time to find a suitable new location.

I went through the same thing with my hot dog truck. While it wasn't pleasant, I was able to get through the season. Whatever they decide to do, I wish them well. I will keep Hot Dog Nation abreast of these developments.