The Great American Mid-West Hot Dog Tour

Many people were a bit disappointed that I didn't do my National Hot Dog Month Tour this year. For the past three years, I ate a hot dog a day at a different place every day in July. This year, I took a break.

To make a long story short, I ran out of places to visit close to home! Sure, I didn't hit every hot dog joint in a 50 mile radius, but I hit most of them. I also wanted to spend more time with my family during the summer. My wife usually spends a LOT of time coaching in July (including weekends), but this year, like me, she took a break.

So where does that leave the Hotdogman? Well, I still have a few surprises up my sleeve! This year, the family and I are going on a road trip to Chicago, Niagara Falls, and Montreal. On the way to Chicago, we'll stop at an iconic Hot Dog Joint.

While in Chicago, I will be guests of the good people at Vienna Beef - the makers of THE Chicago Hot Dog! I will tour their factory, attend Hot Dog University, and serve patrons at their factory hot dog shop. I also plan to hit several Chicago Hot Dog spots, ask Chicagoans "The Question," and a few other hot dog related surprises. On our way to Niagara, we're stopping for some Coney Dogs at another iconic joint in Michigan. Once we get "north of the border," Mrs. HDM will use her skills as the world's most renowned Poutine expert.

We'll be shooting video throughout the entire trip and our escapades will be featured over at Hot Dog Stories.

Stay tuned and KEEP ON DOGGIN!

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 Montreal: Lafleur's

Just after Little Miss and I went to Top Dog, the whole gang motored up to Montreal for a family barbecue. Mrs. HDM and I decided to do a Hot Dog Story while in Downtown Montreal last Saturday before the cookout. We planned to do two more on Sunday, but unbeknownst to us at the time- Irene would quash that.

We stopped at La Belle Provence, a Canadian franchise that serves very good poutine (Mrs. HDM's favorite food). Unfortunately, the manager at La Belle Provence was "un sot" and didn't want us to film in his ristorante. What a DB. He was acting like the place was a five star joint or something.

So we motored to a Lafleur near where we were staying. They have lots of hot dog fare and good poutine too- I've actually done a Hot Dog Story there before. 

This location featured a fine patio dining area- perfect for a glorious Quebec morning.

The menu features a variety of fast food options, but "la specialte' de la maison" is a Michigan Dog. Frequent readers of Hot Dog Stories will know the history of Michigan Dogs from Marlboro hot dog truck operator Alan Archibald (a greater Montreal native) of Archie's on a Roll.

Lafleur's started on Avenue Lafleur in Montreal in 1951 as a Hot Dog Truck. In 1961, owner Denis Vinet built a permanent stand at the location and named the restaurant after the street on which it was located. Since then, they have grown to over 13 locations and over 200 employees. They make their own meat products and offer franchises. Lafleur is a true success story in the Hot Dog business. 

The proprietor of this Resto Lafleur was delighted to have Hot Dog Stories there- he was very accommodating and had lots of fun with it. We shot most on the story in French!

Mrs. HDM ordered up a Michigan Dog...

...and a poutine.

I added a Michigan Dog to the mix.

Mrs. HDM CHOWED DOWN!

J'ai

  MANGEZ BAS 

aussi.

Lafleur gets

TWO THUMBS UP!

Unfortunately, we were unable to get to a couple of other HDJ's due to time constraints and Hurricane Irene. We'll hit some other places up in subsequent visits- PROMISE! 

If you're anywhere in Quebec and you're hankering for a hot dog, stop by the local Lafleur and tell them "L'Hotdogman m'a envoye'."

Get the whole story on Hot Dog Stories.

Hot Dog Cookout

If you have ever driven to Montreal from the Boston area in August, you will see corn.

Lots of corn.

There's corn growing everywhere you look.

So much that you may get dizzy! So what do you think they serve at the big family BBQ?

If you guessed corn, YOU'RE RIGHT!

But, there's other stuff on the menu too-standard party fare- veggies and dip, bread and pate, various appetizers and HOT DOGS!

The dogs get grilled until crispy...

We went a little easy on Little Miss' standard plain dog...

I dressed mine all around.

Someone ordered some poutine for delivery, so I made a poutine dog: all around with poutine on top! DELISH!

Poutine

For the uninitiated, poutine is french fries topped with gravy and cheese curd. It's most commonly found in Quebec, but you can get it in other places too. Like many regional delicacies, folks have their own "favorites."

The wife and I get poutine whenever we are in Montreal for a visit or when we stumble across a place that has poutine in the states.

We recently found some poutine at Big Bellies Deli in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.

These were very good-it was enough for lunch for both of us!

We also had some at Lafleur's in Montreal.

Also very good!

In Montreal, even McDonald's has poutine.

These pretty much sucked! 

The happy meal toy had more flavor!