Guest Doggin' at Snappy Dogs

I will be working the grill at Snappy Dogs today while Theresa goes off to Maine for a wedding. Stop by Snappy Dogs in Hopkinton Center for a delicious grilled Pearl All Beef Frank. Friday's special will be a Snappy Chicago Dog!

After I get done at Snappy Dogs, I am going south to New Jersey for the 9th Annual New Jersey Hot Dog Tour!

Texas Tommies

We had a rare treat at home this past Saturday night; so rare, in fact, we've never had these before! Wait, you're probably thinking, "Hotdogman, you've had hot dogs at home before;" and you're right- I have.

That's not just a hot dog though, it's a Texas Tommy. I have my Texas Tommy topped with Colman's Mustard, Onion Crunch, and yellow mustard.

What's a Texas Tommy? Mosey on over to Hot Dog Stories to find out!

Snappy Dogs Friday Special

My wife's cousin from England, Geoffrey, has been visiting for the past three weeks. I have been promising to take him over to Snappy Dogs for a Friday special. He's been "pretty keen" on the Pearl Franks while visiting, so today was the day! Lisa and Theresa were serving up "The Candidate," a grilled Snappy Dog with roasted peppers, crisp red onion, feta cheese, black olives, and parsley pesto.

Lisa has done it again- it was DELICIOUS!

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.

Larry Joe has had a Tough Year

Frequent readers will know, I am a big fan of Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit. This hot dog trailer has that rare combination of excellent hot dogs and what I will just call "atmosphere." Last December, Larry Joe suffered a devastating fire. A cigarette butt smoldered in a trash can for hours, finally igniting some wax paper while the trailer was parked in Larry's driveway. The trailer blew up.

It was a total loss.

Luckily, Larry Joe had insurance for his hot dog business, so he was able to rebuild. Because of the exacting design specifications Larry had for his trailer and the fact that his first manufacturer couldn't complete the job, it took 26 weeks for The Fire Pit to reopen. 

Sure enough, near the beginning of July, Larry Joe was once again parked in the parking lot of Larry's Package Store (no relation).

Fanatic Fans of Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit were once again secure in the knowledge they could lay their hands on Larry Joe's delicately smoked, half pound, Pearl franks.

BUT (could you feel it coming), once again, Larry Joe faced a setback. Larry's Package Store was sold and the new owners didn't want the Fire Pit in their parking lot! Never mind that Larry's presence increased sales at the store, they politely asked Larry to leave and, rather than make a big stink, he politely left.

Once again, the sight of Larry Joe handing out his Pit Dogs and Fire Dogs seemed in jeopardy. Poor Larry, if it wasn't for bad luck, he'd have no luck at all (I can almost hear him playing the tune now).

Larry is a survivor though. He promptly found a new location about a mile away in Mendon, MA. He'll be in the parking lot of  Westwood Lumber at 23 Cape Road (route 140) in Mendon. Larry found the spot and got all his permits in order at one Board of Selectman's meeting; he must have fed the local politicians for them to move so fast!

I am told the owners at the new location are DELIGHTED that the Fire Pit is on their property. I'm glad he landed on his feet too. Larry not only serves some of the most outrageous franks I have ever had, he's also a good guy and a good ambassador to Hot Dog Nation. I am going to swing by the Fire Pit for lunch tomorrow to check out the new digs.

Here's hoping Murphy's Law is done with Larry Joe for a LOOOONG TIME!

Slawsa at Snappy Dogs

One of the benefits of being The Hotdogman is people send me stuff! I recently received some Slawsa from the nice folks at Nicole Foods. Co-owner Judson Odom of Chattanooga, TN has been whipping up batches of Slawsa for decades. He recently partnered up with Julie Busha and Julie took Slawsa nationwide. The condiment, which is a mix of slaw, mustard, and other goodies is billed as a hot dog topping. Basically, it's a cross between cole slaw and salsa. I hadn't tried it- until today.

I decided to see what the local "Queens of Condiments," Lisa and Teresa, the wacky and lovable Snappy Dogs gals, thought of Slawsa, so I headed out to Hopkinton with a jar of the Spicy Slawsa. The Snappy Dogs ladies have more than a dozen home made condiments on their trailer, so I wanted their expert opinion. 

Slawsa fits right in with what they're doing at Snappy Dogs. Both Slawsa and Snappy Dogs use down home style recipes and both businesses believe in giving back to their communities.

Here's Lisa taking an order for some Snappy Dogs.

That's Teresa, being a bit silly- as usual!

Big Tony- Lisa's dad- tried the Slawsa.

So did this gal. I detected a southern accent while chatting with her, so I thought it might go over well with her.

Quite a few Snappy Dogs got loaded up with the Slawsa. The jar was GONE when I left! I had a Slawsa Dog before it got emptied out. I had it with Dr. Pepper Barbecue Sauce and Onion Crunch.

I couldn't resist the Snappy Dogs Friday Special. Today's special was the Senor Beefy - a grilled Snappy Dog topped with marinated and grilled steak, avocado, and a bright pico de gallo. Snappy Dogs is AWESOME!

Mrs. HDM and I will be taking Slawsa on the road with us later this month when we go Hot Doggin' in Maine, so we'll get more reactions then.

Here's a little video I shot of my visit. I have it posted up as the featured video on Hot Dog Stories too.

National Hot Dog Month Day 29

Stop 29 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour found me and my girls in Dartmouth , MA at Naughty Dawgs Express. I visited Naughty Dawgs last year in Faihaven, but they lost their lease in that location last fall. Owner Ken Raposa landed on his feet and replaced the Fairhaven location with two new spots: one in New Bedford and one in Dartmouth.

Since the Dartmouth location is open on Sundays, that's where we headed. Little Miss, The Photo Bomber, Miss Camera Shy and I rolled on down the highway to Dartmouth for lunch. The ride was accompanied by teenybopper music and some classic teen girl silliness that I PROMISED my daughters I wouldn't film.

Drew Bennett wasn't on this outing, but still make sure you check out the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page for some photos.

Get the full story on our visit to Naughty Dawgs Express on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 28

Day 28 of the National Hot Dog Month Tour brought me and Little Miss to Donna's Dawgs in Middleboro, MA. Donna Vickery treated Little Miss and I like old friends. She was quite possibly the most kind and welcoming host in two years of the National Hot Dog Month Tour. She had Little Miss wearing ketchup and mustard costumes and even let her help out behind the counter serving customers!

Donna's Dawgs is located on route 28 in Middleboro. The two year old business is one of the most adorable little hot dog joints I have encountered in my travels. We arrived early on a dreary, grey Saturday. Things were a tad slow at first, but before long, Donna's Dawgs was slammed.

Drew Bennett was working today, but I still managed to post some pictures on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page!

Get the full story on our visit to Donna's Dawgs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 26

Stop number 26 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour was Harbor Dogs in Scituate, MA. This is probably the coolest location for a hot dog cart we have seen all month: right on Scituate Harbor. There's lots of boat traffic, especially on weekends, and Harbor Dogs is on Scituate's "main drag," so there's good foot and vehicle traffic too.

Harbor Dogs owner, Mike Healy is a life long Scituate resident and a local fire fighter. He started in the hot dog business this spring and hopes to grow into a strong catering operation. When Mike has to be at the station, he has "his man Will" taking care of business.

Drew Bennett was back, with his camera and artful eye. You can see all his photos on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story on our visit to Harbor Dogs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 21

For day 21 of the National Hot Dog Month Tour, all I had to do was step outside. Saturday July 21 had me grilling Pearl All Beef Franks on the grill for a summer cookout with family and friends.

We do this party every year around this time and it's a lot of fun. Beach, boating, water slides and hot dogs!

 Drew Bennett won't be taking any pictures for the Hot Dog Stories Facebook page- he's working this weekend.

Get the full story on our summer cookout on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 20

That's My Dog was stop number 20 on The National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. The picture you see is what I had for lunch today. That's a grilled, quarter pound, Pearl All Beef Frank served "All Around Crunchy." That's mustard, relish, onions, and Onion Crunch on that big dog.

Owner Mike Hogan recently moved to a new spot, right across from the Wrentham Village Premium Outlets. It's a great location for a hot dog business, Mike's self built cart is in a lot with plenty of parking and it's right next door to a new, 30 store annex to the Outlet Mall.

Mike had a decent lunch crowd today. His family stopped by; it's a good thing too- his 9 year old daughter needs to teach him a thing or two about condiment choices!

Drew Bennett took his usual batch of excellent photos, which can be seen at the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page. 

Get the full story about the tour stop at That's My Dog on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Day 13

Snappy Dogs was the Friday the 13th stop on the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour. Teresa and Lisa, those wild and wacky Snappy Dog gals, were in rare form today. Friday is the day Snappy Dogs puts Lisa's Cordon Bleu chef training to the test because that's the day Snappy Dogs has their special, gourmet dog of the week! I challenged Lisa to come up with an extra special Friday special and she did not disappoint.

If you didn't know, Snappy Dogs is located in the parking lot of Colella's Market, at the intersection of route 85 and 135, in downtown Hopkinton, Massachusetts. The ladies are in their fourth season of grilling up Pearl all beef franks with delicious, gourmet style, home-made toppings.

I have worked on their trailer in the past, and as it turns out, it's a good thing I was there today. Lisa had an emergency- her daughter needed a tow- so I was pressed into service in the middle of the lunch rush for about an hour. I went there to film a Hot Dog Story, and I got put to work!

Drew Bennett took the usual pile of really good pictures (as opposed to the blurry, low resolution ones I shoot) and they will be up on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

I am still catching up on the videos after last weekend's computer disaster, I hope to be caught up by the end of this weekend.

Get the full story of our visit to Snappy Dogs on Hot Dog Stories.

National Hot Dog Month Tour 2012 Day 2

Day 2 of the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour brought me to an old favorite with a NEW OWNER, Zippity Do Dog in Framingham, MA.

Zippity Do Dog serves 1/4 pound Pearl Franks and other brands as well. I opted for a Pearl with Coney sauce, onions, Onion Crunch, and mustard. You know what comes next.....

The crew was rocking out the hot dogs on a busy day!

Get the rest of the story on Hot Dog Stories! 

National Hot Dog Month Developments

July will be upon us soon, and with July comes the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour! I have been planning for a few months now, but preparations will kick into high gear over the next few weeks.

I am preparing my list of places to visit, and when it is finalized, I will publish it. Don't forget to vote for your favorite hot dog joint that you'd like to see included on the tour HERE. I can't guarantee I will get to every place, but I do a lot of Hot Dog Stories from now through November, so even if a place isn't visited in July, I still may get there. Don't forget, we go Hot Doggin' in Maine, Montreal, Florida, and all over New England. I also plan to attend the new Jersey Hot Dog Tour in the fall!

Kodak has provided us with cameras, Onion Crunch is going to provide some product for the tour too.

We will be doing a "warm up" visit to Holman Stadium in Nashua, NH on Tuesday June 26 for their $1000 Hot Dog Night. The hot dog wrappers are stuffed with $1, $5, $10, $20, and $50 bills so each patron has a chance to win some  money with their purchase. That night, the Nashua Silver Knights will be playing the Wachusett Dirt Dogs and The Hotdogman will be throwing out the first pitch and eating the ceremonial first hot dog! I might referee a hot dog eating contest too.

I am also pleased to announce that Pearl Franks are the OFFICIAL National Hot Dog Month Hot Dog! We will be kicking off the month of July with a visit to their plant in Randolph, MA. Buddy Lazaro has promised us some franks, including their new Jalapeno Franks, to bring around to vendors and patrons alike while on the tour. We'll get the nickel tour of the plant to kick off the month and we'll go from there!

Thanks Pearl!

Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit Returns from the Ashes

I just got a call from Sir Lawrence Joe of Frankfurter, the owner and operator of Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit. Larry is a bit late getting out there this season due to a fire in his trailer toward the end of last season. Larry originally thought an electrical short caused the fire, but the insurance inspector said the fire originated in his trash can and the most likely cause was a discarded cigarette butt. The inspector said wax paper is a low level accelerant and most likely smoldered for several hours before igniting the rest of the trailer.

Larry had gone home for the day and was in his house when he heard an explosion. He rushed outside and his trailer was engulfed in flames!

The fire department put out the fire...

...but the trailer was a total loss.

Luckily, The Fire Pit was fully insured and will be replaced with a new and improved rig very soon.

Larry hoped to have had his new trailer by the end of March, but his new trailer manufacturer went out of business and he had to start over again with a new company. This backed him up about six weeks. He wanted to set up a kiosk in his usual spot, but permitting would have been a nightmare and he "didn't want any trouble with the town over a few weeks."

The new rig is scheduled to arrive the first week in May. It will take him a week or so to set things up and get provisioned, so he's planning on a "soft opening" the second or third week of May to "work out the kinks." Larry is planning a gala Grand Opening the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend.

Since he lost so much time this season so far, Larry will have an expanded schedule from Memorial Day through Labor Day. For the Fanatic Fans of Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit, this will mean longer hours every day!

While dealing with building out the new trailer, Larry has cultivated the more entrepreneurial side of his business. He has partnered up with some students at The Northeastern University Entrepreneurship Immersion Program to conduct a case study on expanding his business. He calls the students his "administrative team;" they're working on various ways to market both the business and the business opportunity of Larry Joe's New England Fire Pit. This sounds interesting. Maybe Larry could take his proposal to The Shark Tank!

Larry and I chatted for twenty minutes or so. I will be at his soft opening for sure for a Hot Dog Story. We also talked a bit about the National Hot Dog Month 2012 tour. Larry will be one of the stops for sure.

The one question burning (no pun intended) in my mind about the new trailer was whether or not Larry would have a new keyboard on-board. The answer is YES! Gone is the old Casio. Larry has replaced it with a brand new Williams Allegro 88-Key Digital Piano! He will have speakers mounted in the trailer too. Ever the showman, Larry treated me to a few choruses of his new theme song "Woke Up this Morning," by Alabama3. This is more commonly known as the Soprano's Theme Song. Only Larry Joe could jam out on an electric piano over the phone and make it sound good.

I am looking forward to seeing Larry's new rig- and chowing down on some Pit Dogs!

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.