Hot Doggin' in Maine at Hoss and Mary's in Old Orchard Beach

Our fourth and final stop while Hot Doggin' in Maine was Hoss and Mary's in Old Orchard Beach. Hoss and Mary's is literally right next to Palace Playland in the heart of Old Orchard Beach- the last true "honky tonk" beach in New England.

Owner Mary, and her husband Hoss, form the culinary and management team at Hoss and Mary's. They were wicked busy when we stopped in and they stay open year-round due to a strong local following.

They have a wide variety of menu items, but of course I was here for a hot dog. Mrs. HDM LOVES Old Orchard Beach (aka The Canadian Riviera) because she can get one of her favorite foods here: POUTINE! She is a World Renowned Expert on the Québécois delicacy.

I got a grilled hot dog: an all beef Pearl, with mustard, onions and relish. The real focus of this visit, however, was Mrs. HDM's poutine.

See how she liked it and get the whole story on our visit to Hoss and Mary's on Hot Dog Stories.

Hot Doggin' in Maine at Wasses in Belfast

The third stop while hot doggin in Maine was Wasses in Belfast, Maine. Wasses has two locations, plus a mobile trailer. The original Wasses is located in Rockland and has been in business over 40 years. The Belfast location, further up Penobscot Bay, has been around half as long.

Jackie, sister of Wasses' part owner Denise Fuller, was minding the stand today along with her mom and other sister who hid from my camera for nearly the entire visit. It appears that at Wasses, the hot dog business is a family affair!

Wasses cooks up an Old Neighborhood frank on a flat top grill with peanut oil! They also saute their onions in the oil. What this does is give the ot dogs a little extra snap and a load of extra flavor.

Both Mrs. HDM and I thought these hot dogs were excellent.

You can get the whole story on our trip to Wasses on Hot Dog Stories.

Hot Doggin' in Maine at Nui's Delicious Dogs in Winter Harbor

The second stop on our little Hot Doggin' in Maine tour was the achingly scenic community of Winter Harbor, Maine. This little Down East Maine village of 500 or so people is breathtakingly beautiful; I didn't want to leave!

Winter Harbor, known for its annual Lobster Fest, is also the home of Nui's Delicious Dogs, a spiffy little hot dog cart in the parking lot of the Fisherman's Inn. Husband and wife Matt and Nui Johnson run the hot dog business, selling Maine Red Snappers, Pearl Franks, and Lobster Rolls.

I opted for a chili dog with cheese and Onion Crunch.

I chowed down!

Here's Matt and Nui with Matt's father, Carl, a two time Maine Chef of the year and owner of the Fisherman's Inn.

Get the full story on our visit to Nui's Delicious Dogs on Hot Dog Stories.

Hot Doggin' in Maine at WIENERS in Portland

Our first stop Hot Doggin' in Maine was at WIENERS, a little hot dog cart on the corner of Dana and Commercial Streets in downtown Portland.

Cart owner Jess Cady left the corporate world to sling Maine Red Snappers, burgers and "regular" hot dogs 8 years ago and has been firmly entrenched in the same location, just across from the harbor, since then.

Maine Red Snappers are pork and beef, natural casing franks that have been injected with dye to give them their garish color. Jess explained they are popular because they're the same color as lobster. They were originally dyed red to differentiate them from other purveyors' product "back in the day."

Mrs. HDM and I did our thing and chowed down! The food, atmosphere, owner and clientelle were all fantastic.

Get the rest of the story on our visit to WIENERS in Portland, Maine on Hot Dog Stories.

Back from Hot Doggin' in Maine!

Our annual trip to Maine to revel in a week sans children is complete. We always let out a cheer when we cross into Vacationland!

When you go to Maine, it's important to know where you're going! Mrs. HDM and I headed up the Maine Coast for our annual vacation and our now new tradition of combining business with pleasure by Hot Doggin' in Maine along the way. We spent five glorious days in Vacationland, site seeing, swimming, biking, eating, and drinking.

Our first stop was at a cute little cart in downtown Portland called, very simply, Wieners. The specialty of the house was Maine Red Snapper franks.

Next up was our primary destination for the week "Down East" in Winter Harbor (pronounced Wintah Hahbah). We were guests of renowned Maine chef Carl Johnson and family, owners of the Fisherman's Inn Restaurant, Sunset House Bed and Breakfast and Grindstone Neck Smokehouse.

No trip to Maine would be complete without Lobster. Carl and his staff did not disappoint.

Carl had a few tricks up his sleeve. The photo above is a "Lobster Dog;" that's a baked, stuffed lobster stuffed with Maine Red Snapper franks and served on a hot dog bun!

Carl didn't stop there, he made a "Hot Dog Roulade." This is a quarter pound, Pearl frank, stuffed with Brie, wrapped in bacon, and served on a bed of home made chili!

The reason Carl is so into hot dogs is instead of opening the restaurant for lunch, his son and daughter in law operate a hot dog cart in front of the restaurant. They serve Pearl Franks, Maine Red Snappers, and lobster rolls.

We also had dogs at Wasses' Belfast, Maine location for some yummy fried dogs.

Last up was Hoss and Mary's in Old Orchard Beach, Maine for a grilled Pearl and Mrs. HDM's favorite: POUTINE!

I shot a bunch of video and will have five or six stories in the coming week (Mrs. HDM only lets me film and download on vacation- no writing or editing), so 

STAY TUNED!!!!!

Hot Doggin' in Maine 2012

Every summer, Mrs. HDM and I cruise up the coast of Maine, WITHOUT children in tow and have ourselves some fun. The past few years, we have gone Hot Doggin' in Maine while on our journey. We stop at little Hot Dog Stands, lobster joints, and B&B's along the way.

We usually head up to the Kennebunks and to Scarborough. This year, we are going further up the coast, all the way to Winter Harbor. Carl Johnson, owner of the Fisherman's Inn Restaurant in Winter Harbor invited me up to check out his restaurant which operates a full dinner service AND as a hot dog cart for lunch! We will be staying at the Sunset House Bed and Breakfast in nearby Gouldsboro, Maine while in  the Winter Harbor Region.

Johnson, a Culinary Institute of America Alumni, was recently voted "Maine Chef of the Year." The hot dogs ought to be out of this world. There was a nice write up on Johnson's Delicious Dogs in the Bangor paper. We can't wait to get up there and try the fare!

On our way up to Winter Harbor, we'll be stopping in Portland at the White Cap Grille for lunch. Our old pals from Wicked Good Weiners are helping to run the place this season and promised Mrs. HDM and I the first Red Snappers of the season!

Those are our only two planned stops, but there are sure to be plenty of other impromptu stops along the way. If you know a neat hot dog joint in Maine, let me know- we'll pay them a visit if it's on the way!

National Hot Dog Month Day 12

July 12th features The National Hot Dog month Tour stop in Wells, Maine at the recntly crowned home of the "Best Hot Dog in New England," Yank's Franks. Owners George and Janice Yankowski are very proud of their achievement. They switched over to Pearl Franks this season- maybe that's why they won!

Yank's Franks is a cute little shop on Route 1 in Wells, Maine. This is a popular vacation spot and if you could get up there on a day like today, you'd see why. I love Maine- I just wish the water was a bit warmer!

This was my second trip to Yank's Franks. Mrs HDM and I popped in there last summer while Hot Doggin' in Maine.

Tour photographer Andrew Bennett took a bunch of pictures which will be up on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story of my visit to Yank's Franks on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 10

Artwork by Hawkrall

July 10th brought the National Hot Dog Month 2012 tour to Cape Neddick, Maine and an iconic little joint out on Route One called Flo's Hot Dogs. Flo's has been owned by the same family for three generations- 53 years to be exact.

Current matriarch Gail Stacey's daughter, Kim, was working in the tiny, wood framed shack today. Gail is rumored to have quite a bit of "personality," but she and I share an aversion to a certain tomato based condiment, so I'm sure we would have gotten along just fine.

Kim was a real sweetheart and shared a bit of Flo's history with us as she served up steaming hot Old Neighborhood Franks to locals and summer folk alike.

I ordered up one dog with Flo's special relish and mayonnaise and Drew got one with the works.

 Andrew Bennett, official National Hot Dog Month Tour photographer, took a bunch of pictures which are posted on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

 You can read the full write up about the visit to Flo's on Hot Dog Stories.

Hot Doggin' in Maine: Bloopers and Out-takes

Here is the latest blooper reel from our recent Hot Dog Tour of Maine.

Click HERE for Video on Hot Dog Stories

Watch for Mrs. HDM's "cheese rant." There's some funny stuff!

Hot Doggin in Maine: Wicked Good Wieners in Old Orchard Beach

On our second day in Maine, after eating lobster and hot dogs and drinking our fair share of beer, Mrs. HDM and I headed to Old Orchard beach for our next (and what proved to be final) Hot Dog Story of the weekend. This is a shot of the beach from the end of the pier- we like to soak up the honky tonk atmosphere before heading up to Scarborough.

After grabbing a beeyah at the peeyah, we decided to go in search of hot dogs for lunch.

Even at noon, the pier is packed.

This place had a good looking deal- hot dog and a Coke for only 99 cents. After peeking in the stand, I was so skeeved out, I kept going.

These corn dogs looked good, but I wanted a REAL Maine hot dog.

Deep fried Kool Aid? REALLY?!?!?!

There were several hot dog choices here, but...

..."Elvis" steered us to a new joint, right at the entry of the pier....

...Wicked Good Weiners! Wicked Good Weiners is open 11AM - 11PM, 7 days a week from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Wicked Good Weiners is owned by Brian Volz, a relocated Winthrop, Massachusetts native who has an entrepreneurial spirit and a love of cooking. He starts culinary school this fall.

His partner, Michaela McVetty, is a Maine native, walking comedy show, and business management major. The two got together on Wicked Good Weiners when Michaela overheard Brian talking about his new project and wanted in. Brian said there were a lot of people interested in partnering up with him, so he picked the partner who came up with the best name for the cart. How a kid from Winthrop COULDN'T come up with the "Wicked Good" tagline is beyond me! I PROMISED Brian and Michaela I would emphasize: THEY ARE BUSINESS PARTNERS-THEY ARE NOT A COUPLE!

The actual cart is a standard looking hot dog cart with five steam wells and storage. Brian was unsure of the manufacturer- he picked it up used on Craigslist.

One of the cool things about Wicked Good Weiners is, in addition to Oscar Meyer and Ball Park franks, they serve Jordan's Red Dogs (sometimes called Red Snappers). Jordan's is an old Maine brand of franks that went into business in 1927 and acquired the Joseph Kirschner Company in 1992. Tyson Foods had bought out Kirschner's and sells the Jordan brand out of their Augusta, Maine location known as Tyson Retail Deli. Maine Red Snappers taste like a regular natural casing dog, they just have some red dyes numbers 3 and 40 to give them the signature hue. The Red Snapper originated out of Jordans' desire to differentiate their dogs from others way back when. They have become a staple in many Maine eateries and have spawned other imitators.

A Hot Doggin' in Maine tour wouldn't be complete without some Red Snappers, so that's what we decided to have one. Each Red Snapper is cooked to order (I have NEVER seen dogs cooked to order from a simple hot dog cart) and individually checked for temperature with a digital thermometer. These were the freshest hot dog cart dogs I have ever encountered.

Mrs. HDM ordered up a chili dog with brie (she can't stand the "squeeze cheese") and...

CHOWED DOWN! The beeyah at the peeyah must have lowered her usual aversion to having her photo snapped while eating a hot dog.

I had the house specialty "Maine Dog." That's a Red Snapper with chili, cheese and bacon!

TIME TO

CHOW DOWN!

The dogs were great- nice and hot and the condiments were fresh. By far the best hot dogs on the Pier! Definitely

TWO THUMBS UP!

If you are looking for a fresh, cheap lunch in Old Orchard Beach, skip the grungy fry shops that have hot dogs as an "add on item" and go to the end of the Pier to Wicked Good Weiners for a genuine Maine Red Snapper! Tell Brian and Michaela "the Hotdogman sent me."

Check out the video of our visit to Wicked Good Weiners on Hot Dog Stories- you won't be sorry, Brian and Michaela were VERY funny.