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!

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!

National Hot Dog Month Day 24

Windy City Eats in Weymouth, MA was stop number 24 on the National Hot Dog Month Tour. This 4 year old little family run hot dog shop was the first Chicago Hot Dog joint in the Boston area. Now owner Grady Carlson is the New England distributor for Vienna Beef; he plans on expanding the reach of Chicago Dogs to as many places as possible.

I had a nice visit with Grady and his wife, Sen, who works in the hot dog business with her husband. Sen has a food background- she owned and ice cream shop on the west coast before moving back to Weymouth with her hubby to be closer to her family.

The couple shares a vision for their budding hot dog empire and they plan to open a second location in Norwell in September.

Drew Bennett was on hand snapping pictures and, according to one patron, "looking like a Walter, not an Andrew." You can see his photos on the Hot Dog Stories Facebook Page.

Get the full story on our visit to Windy City Eats on Hot Dog Stories.

Hey, Hey, Hey- It's Opening Day

Today is one of my favorite days of the year- Red Sox Opening Day! This year's team is poised to make a serious run for a pennant- the pitching is strong and they added two BIG BATS in Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to an already potent line-up. I look forward to watching many games as the Spring and Summer progress.

Baseball season means Hot Dogs too.

The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council projects that MLB ballparks around the country will serve 22,435,400 hot dogs this season, enough to round the bases 31,160 times and, if laid end-to-end, would stretch from AT&T Park in San Francisco to Great American Ballpark in Cincinnati. That represents 1.06 million more hot dogs than 2010, or a 5 percent increase, the first increase in three years.

That's a lot of Hot Dogs!

They serve Fenway Franks made by Kayem at Fenway Park (they also serve Kayems at Washington Nationals Park). At Wrigley Field, they serve Vienna Beef. The Cincinnati Reds have the most interesting hot dog on the roster this season: the Meat Lovers Hot Dog- a jumbo hot dog wrapped with bacon and deep fried, then topped with beef and black bean chili, shredded pepper jack cheese and crispy salami. Does that ever sound good!

No matter who you root for, the hot dog will always be a part of going to the ballpark.

As Humphrey Bogart once said, "A hot dog at the ballpark is better than steak at the Ritz."

I couldn't agree more!