Hot Doggin' in Maine Tour Makes the Local Paper

I met up with a reporter while Hot Doggin' in Maine last month! She put together a little "end of summer" piece the other day.

Click HERE to read the story!

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!!!!!

An Affiliate Summit East Album

Affiliate Summit East 2012 has come and gone. When I go to Affiliate Summit West in Las Vegas, I fly. For a trip to New York from Boston, I use somewhat more "basic" transportation.

Despite all the jokes about the company, Fung Wah Bus is the best deal around for getting to New York City. At only $30 round trip, it costs less than one night of parking in New York!

I left at 6:30 AM and promptly dozed off. When I woke up, the New York City skyline greeted me!

Here's a view of downtown.

Fung Wah Bus lands in New York's Chinatown.

The sights and smells were tempting. There was so much delicious food everywhere, I was tempted to hang around!

I made my way to Grand Street Station to grab the D train uptown.

I haven't been on the New York City Subway in 25 years! It hasn't changed much.

The endpoint for my train was Coney Island. I'll admit, I was tempted.....

I got off right out in front of the Ed Sullivan Theater. I don't think Letterman was taping today.

I snapped this picture of the iconic Carnegie Deli. Once again, I was tempted!

I fought off the urge for a corned beef on rye and made my way to The New York Hilton, where Affiliate Summit was taking place.

I checked in and cruised the exhibit hall for a few minutes.

Then it was off to the Blogger's Lounge where I met up with my friend and Shark Tank Blog partner, Kirk Taylor.

John Chow was there too, sans the "I'm John Chow, Bitch" tee shirt. A bit later, I cruised the exhibit floor with John and filmed his shenanigans for him.

I had made arrangements to meet up with Nick Loeb, founder of Onion Crunch. He was one of the sponsors of the National Hot Dog Month 2012 Tour.

I scouted a hot dog cart near the Hilton, so we headed over there for a hot dog. New York city has more people in the hot dog business per square mile than anywhere in the USA!

Of course, some CHOWING DOWN ensued!

We both liked the hot dogs, probably because they were loaded with Onion Crunch! I did a Hot Dog Story on our lunch too.

Troy Landry, King of the Swamp from the TV show Swamp People, was a guest in the exhibit hall, so I posed for a picture and made a video.

Then I conducted my round table discussion on using Mass Media to Drive Blog Traffic. Zac Johnson and Moneca Yardley were among the attendees.

After that, it was back on the Fung Wah to Boston. Next up, Mrs. Hotdogman and I go Hot Doggin' in Maine!

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!