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.

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: Yank's Franks in Wells, Maine

The sight of the Piscataqua River Bridge in August brings joy to mine and Mrs. HDM's hearts- it means we are headed up to Maine for our annual long weekend get away. Every year, we leave the kids with grandparents and head north for three days of fun and sun.

This year, we combined "business" with pleasure and went on a little Hot Dog Tour of Maine. We began on the southern stretch of route 1. Our first stop was Yank's Franks in Wells, Maine.

Yank's is a cute little stand right on route 1. They're open from 11-3 every day from mid May until Labor Day then they are open weekends only through Columbus Day. Just like everything else in Maine, Yank's has a short season.

I wonder whose car this is?

It belongs to George Yankowski; he owns and runs the stand with his wife, "Hot Diggity" who had the day off. George spent a big chunk of his life in the world of corporate finance and his wife was a math teacher. A few years back, they became innkeepers at The Maine Stay Inn in Kennebunkport. They got out of the B&B business and started up their hot dog business on August 9, 2010. Even though they have only been in business for a year, they gave Casey's Diner a run for their money in the NECN Best Hot Dog in New England Poll.

There is a nice al fresco dining area next to Noel's Antiques.

Yank's serves up Hummel Brothers franks. They're made in New Haven, CT (the Yankowskis lived down that way for a spell) and they are delicious. They put Raye's mustard on their dogs. Raye's is the only stone ground mustard mill in the USA and the flavor is rich and sharp.

Mrs. Hotdogman was hungry, so she ordered up a Yank's Frank. This is one of the signature dogs- it's a "Chicago style" dog served with Sweet Relish, Yellow Downeast Mustard, Chopped Onions, Slice of Fresh Tomato, Dill Pickle Slice and finished with Celery Salt on a grilled New England split top roll. George will add jalapeno peppers if you like. 

After she ranted about cheese, Mrs. HDM 

CHOWED DOWN!

I ordered up a chili cheese dog with some Raye's mustard and onions- also served on a grilled roll and....

CHOWED DOWN!

This was one yummy dog! The Hummel franks were juicy and HOT, the chili was spicy without overpowering the mix of ingredients and the Raye's mustard added an earthy, rich dimension. To Mrs. HDM's approval, the cheese was real shredded cheese- not my guilty pleasure favorite "squeeze cheese."

Definitely 

TWO THUMBS UP!

When you're looking for a place to eat along route 1 in Wells, try Yank's Franks- it's delicious and it won't break the bank! Tell George or Hot Diggity "the Hotdogman sent me."

Check out the rest of the story on Hot Dog Stories.

Hot Doggin in Maine

Every summer, Mrs. HDM and I take a long weekend and head up to Maine. This year, we got in the car on Friday morning with no reservations for a place to stay and a mission to eat hot dogs, eat lobster, drink beer and hit the beach. 

We motored up route 1 with the top down. Our first stop was at Yank's Franks in Wells for a hot dog and a Hot Dog Story.

Further up route 1, we stopped at Shields Meats and Produce. They make Shields hot dogs and I wasn't able to get "the full story" this day, but I snapped some pictures of their Red Frankfurters (it's a Maine thing). I will be interviewing one of the owners later this week.

The next stop was in Kennebunk to visit an old favorite- Hot Diggity Dog- for another hot dog and another Hot Dog Story.

We headed up route 1 some more in search of accommodations and checked in at one of the most flea bag dumps I have ever had the misfortune to stay at. One local friend thought this place only charged by the hour.

Next we tooled down route 9 and took a cruise through Biddeford Pool before heading into Kennebunkport for some browsing and strolling.

This is a cool old Studebaker parked in downtown Kennebunkport.

After meeting an old friend for a drink, we headed out to Nunan's Lobster Hut for dinner. Nunan's is THE BEST PLACE TO GET LOBSTER ON THE PLANET!

Steamers...

...and lobster were the meal of choice.

I think this one needs more time in the pot!

After dinner, we hit a place out on route 1 in Arundel called Bentley's Saloon. They hang Harleys from the rafters- this one is a 1934 Harley.

They also play good music. Friday's band was The Ride and they rocked out some classics all night long.

Bentley's encourages patrons to dance on the tables and "ride the Hog." 

They discourage "support wear."

We got a much better motel room Saturday morning up in Old Orchard Beach and hit the pier.

We had a beeyah at the peeyah.

Then we had some Wicked Good Weiners and did another Hot Dog Story.

I don't think this guy is really Elvis...

After lunch we biked up to Scarborough Beach and spent the day there.

There were tons of kite surfers-this looks like fun!

Mrs. HDM was proudly rockin the six pack!

Someone always has some interesting sand sculptures working. This is a giant sand shark...

...munching on a Barbie.

After the beach, we cleaned up, headed back to Nunan's for dinner and snapped this picture of an old truck in a front yard. You aren't really from Maine unless you have an old truck in the front yard.

After dinner, we had a few beers with a friend and headed back to Old Orchard. We stopped in at Jimmy the Greeks in Old Orchard for a night cap and Mrs. HDM was psyched to see they had a mechanical bull. My back won't let me ride these things, but she went on it three times!

On Sunday it was a little more  beach, a little more strolling Kennebunk and dinner in York with my aunt and uncle. 

We love Maine!

I'll be posting the Hot Dog Stories we did on our trip (there are 4 of them) over the next week or so.