Showing posts with label Natick. Show all posts

100 Different Hot Dog Joints

For the past few years, I have been traveling around to different hot dog joints and doing Hot Dog Stories. My travels have taken me to 8 states and Canada. A milestone was looming on the horizon: my 100th different hot dog joint!

When the Roadfood.com Massachusetts group decided to have a meetup in my hometown, I couldn't resist. I had been meaning to get to this place for a while.

I'm talking about Spalla's Chicago Dogs in Natick, MA!

I went there and met the Roadfood.com crowd and the owners.

Chicago hot dogs were on the agenda!

For the whole story, head on over to Hot Dog Stories.

100th Different Hot Dog Joint: Spalla's

Hot Dog Stories is my website where I post photos and videos of my trips to hot dog joints all over the place. The tag line for the site is "eating hot dogs wherever I am."

I have had hot dogs in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, Montreal, New Jersey, New York, Florida, and Nevada. In the coming year, I plan on expanding my geographic reach.

Today marks a milestone for Hot Dog Stories; I will be visiting my 100th different hot dog establishment! I thought long and hard about where I wanted to go.

I have been meaning to go to a local deli called Spalla's in Natick for a while now. They recently added Chicago Hot dogs to their menu and a full line of Vienna Beef products (including Italian Roast Beef). It was definitely on my "short list" of places in consideration for visit number 100.

When the RoadFood.com crowd announced their monthly Boston meet-up was going to be held at Spalla's, that sealed the deal! I enjoy meeting up with other foodies and hot dog aficionados. Chicago Hot Dogs are also one of my favorite topping styles.

At approximately 6 PM tonight, I will down a Chicago Hot Dog at Spalla's, completing my first 100 different hot dog joint visit close to home.

After this visit, I only have one more planned for 2012 (of course plans sometimes change). In 2013, I'd like to get closer to 200- maybe even get there! There are several "tours" in the works, but nothing is etched in stone.

Until then, happy 100th!

Framingham Food Truck Festival Tomorrow

The Second Annual Framingham Food Truck Festival is happening on Saturday, October 6 at Shopper's World in Framingham. The event was such a success last year, they're doing it again.

This year, a mobile food trailer known as Trolley Dogs from my hometown is making an appearance!

I will be cruising the grounds with my trusty camera and I'll be visiting my 99th different hot dog joint (the aforementioned Trolley Dogs- no relation to Zippity Do Dogs which used to be called Trolley Dogs) for Hot Dog Stories!

Hot Dog Stories' 100th venue will be featured next week! Details will follow, but it is going to be a special, communal type of event.

Stay up to date with Hot Dog Stories on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page- head on over and give it a "like."

National Hot Dog Month Day 31

National Hot Dog Month 2012 officially ended (for me) at Casey's Diner in Natick, MA. Casey's is the first place I remember getting a hot dog with my grandfather when I was four years old back in 1969. I have had hundreds of Casey's hot dogs since then. It was appropriate that this year's journey ended there.

There were other folks on hand today to provide commentary for the documentary style film I am putting together. Larry Cultrera from the Diner Hotline blog and author of Classic Diners of Massachusetts (The History Press) was on hand to provide an historical perspective. Aaron Socrat, guest dogger on July 3, 2012 and former Natick Historical Commission member was there to provide insight into the process of Casey's being placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Drew Bennett came by today and took a ton of great photos which will be posted on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story of the final visit of National Hot Dog Month 2012 to Casey's Diner on Hot Dog Stories.

A Hot Dog a Day Number 29: Casey's Diner in Natick, MA

On the 29th day of my quest to eat a hot dog a day at a different venue in honor of National Hot Dog Month, I stayed real close to home. I could have walked to the oldest continuously run hot dog joint in the state: Casey's Diner in downtown Natick, Massachusetts. The Casey family has been in the hot dog business since 1890. The fourth generation of the family is currently manning the copper kettle steamer that pumps out 800 hot dogs a day (and some 400 burgers too) inside one of the oldest existing Worcester Lunch Car Company diners in existence..

Casey's was placed on the National Register of Historic Places back in 1977.

Fourth generation hot dog man Pat Casey takes it all in with an easy going attitude and nearly constant smile.

Pat works the hot dog steamer and the take out window while two helpers work the counter and grill.

There are twelve seats at Casey's and a small shelf for the standing room crowd. Intimate would describe the place accurately.

Today's visit attracted some local media and this kid: Hot Dog Boy!

If you aren't in the mood for a hot dog, Casey's has the best burgers around! I will often get a burger with a hot dog for an "appetizer."

I was here for a hot dog a day, so I ordered up one all around and

CHOWED DOWN!

Happy National Hot Dog Month!!!

I will be returning to Casey's in the next month or two to do a full on video documentary. Pat promises to break out "the old guys" for the shoot. I will keep Hot Dog Nation posted.

In the mean time, stop by Casey's for a couple of dogs all around and tell Pat "the Hotdogman sent me."

Check out the video of my visit to Casey's on Hot Dog Stories.

A Hot Dog a Day Number 23: Wareham Gatemen Game at Spillane Field in Wareham, MA

For July 23rd's hot dog, I waited until dinner time. The 23rd day of my mission to eat a hot dog a day in honor of National Hot Dog Month was a hot one- best spent at the beach. That's just what I did too. The evening brought other diversions, like a Cape Cod Baseball League game at Spillane Field in Wareham, Massachusetts. Wareham is the home of the Gatemen; they were playing the Harwich Mariners. I was looking for a hot dog.

This dog looked pretty hot- it was around 90 degrees at game time!

I had a few words with Terry Thompson, pitching coach of the Gatemen.

We had a brief chat while the Gatemen players groomed the field. No prima donnas in this league!

The concession stand menu has everything you'd expect at a baseball game: candy, chips, nachos, meatball subs and HOT DOGS!

The gals in the concession stand were having fun- I think they thought this was a Hollywood movie.

They serve Kayems at Spillane Field- you can get a "regular" or "jumbo." I got the jumbo: a quarter pounder! They serve it to you plain and you dress it up yourself.

I dressed mine all around and...

CHOWED DOWN!

HAPPY NATIONAL HOT DOG MONTH!

View the video of my visit to Spillane Field on Hot Dog Stories.

A Hot Dog a Day Number Nine: The James "Cy" Belmore Field House Snack Bar

Baseball and hot dogs go together like white and rice, so I drove down to Hunnewell Fields, where the Natick Little League plays its games, today to check things out. In the summer time, Natick hosts the Baystate Baseball League's 9-10 year old games on Saturdays.

The fields are very nice, there are cool scoreboards, and- most importantly- there is a snack bar. All the proceeds from the snack bar go to the James Belmore Little League Scholarship Fund.

Last fall, we lost a very dear and long time friend of the league, James "Cy" Belmore. Cy gave over 50 years of service to the league, serving as a member of the Board of Directors, a coach, League President, and, in recent years, as the guy who ran the snack bar.

To honor his contributions to the community, the current Natick Little League Board of Directors named the field house after him. The snack bar is located in the field house.