Move to Wordpress

Just because I like WordPress so much, and now that they have a WordPress iPhone application, I'm moving my blogs over there. If you've enjoyed "The Hot Dog I Ate" and want to continue reading about my friends and I's hot dog excursions, please visit us at our new location: http://thehotdogblog.wordpress.com/

Top Dog

Top Dog gives out free temporary tattoos! Sam's sporting a shoddily
applied one, thanks to my attention being focused on the hot dog and
not the instructions for the tattoo.

Top Dog

The idea of a dog topped with Boston baked beans was perfect--who
hasn't, as a child or adult, enjoyed that combo? I guess the reason
most kids enjoy it is because it's a pretty tame flavor, which I found
a little underwhelming. I was tempted to add mustard but the bun split
and everything became a mess after my first bite, so I decided against
it. The dog was pretty decent but they could do with a more
substantial bun, especially since their combos involve a lot of messy
condiments.

Top Dog

Sam and I visited Rockport this past Friday and, after enjoying the
transcendant lobster at Roy Moore's, Sam reminded me that there is a
hot dog stand just further up Bear Skin Neck. It took me all of ten
seconds to decide that a hot dog after lobster wasn't a bad idea.

What surprised me about Top Dog was that they offered all sorts of
interesting dog toppings, while I was expecting a pretty standard
offering. Top Dog has won several notices for their dogs, namely their
"gourmet" toppings. Sam convinced me to try the Boston Terrier, a
natural casing dog topped with baked beans on a grilled & buttered bun.

Hot Dogs in The Onion

I couldn't stop laughing while reading this piece in the Onion titled "C.C. Sabathia, Prince Fielder Keep Imagining Each Other As Giant Talking Hot Dog, Hamburger". Classic. The best line:

"I should have noticed something was wrong weeks ago, when Prince, who has always had a certain fascination with the sausage races, expressed delight that we had 'signed Cleveland's huge chili cheese dog' and welcomed C.C. to the team by coating him liberally with celery salt and mustard," said manager Ned Yost.

Spike's Junkyard Dogs

The obligatory chow shot. I just couldn't resist getting one with Hank
and Paul, my hot dog buddies. We talked about the dearth of corn dogs
in Boston, and I promised to hunt a good place down--especially since
Paul has never had one before!

Spike's Junkyard Dogs

While Spike's is known for its hot dog bun, which is a half loaf of French bread, my favorite part of stopping at Spike's is the crazy amount of condiments. They feature all sorts of crazy dogs, which can cause a moment of indecisiveness for the uninitiated or adventerous.

Hank opted for two of Spike's specialty dogs, the top two, but I cannot recall what they were called. Paul went for a dog with mustard and sauerkraut (they call it a German Shepherd), and one of the junkyard dogs, which is a quasi-Chicago dog. It has the mustard, tomato, pickle spear, and pepperonici you find on a Chicago dog, but adds banana peppers and chopped green onions.

Spike's Junkyard Dogs

At my workplace, we've begun a monthly lunch for the library
assistants to get together and dish some dirt. This month we got
together at Spike's Junkyard Dogs, which has several locations in
Boston. Cheryl could barely contain her enthusiasm for her hot dog,
which she ordered plain (!) but later put some mustard on.

An Afternoon with the Staten Island Yankees

So i recently went to see the Staten Island Yankees, a minor league team, play an early afternoon game at Richmond County Bank Ballpark. That day also happened to be "All You Can Eat" day. They had a buffet in which you could get one free hot dog and one free soda per trip. So that means EVERYBODY was on line for free food, and you stood on line for 10 minutes. The dogs were from Nathan's so at least there was some quality. However, the stadium sits right on the waterfront, with great views of lower Manhattan and Brooklyn. I also got a free hat. Support local minor league teams!

Speed's Hot Dog Wagon

After returning from the honeymoon, I went with my friend Hank to
Speed's. I thought this picture gives a good idea of just how big a
Speed's famous hot dog is.

The downside of the trip to Speed's was that the temp was in the 90's
and it was a pretty muggy day. I was already pretty tired that day
from the jet lag so the heat just made it worse. Add that to eating a
half-pound dog and it was instant nap time the moment I got home.

It was still a delicious dog though, one of the best in America, hands
down.

Sadie, The Marinated Carrot Dog

So my friend Evan came down to visit from Waltham, MA this weekend, and I managed to talk him into going to Willie's Dawgs in Park Slope, Brooklyn. I love this place, but I had no appetite by the time we got there. Evan, on the other hand, realized he had a 4 hour drive back to Boston and would probably need food. So what does a vegetarian get at a hot dog spot? A Sadie! The sandwiches are all named after dogs that are put up for adoption. So the Sadie is a grilled marinated carrot, with cheddar cheese and avocado on a multigrain roll. The guy who runs the spot said that this sandwich has a cult following. He said that they marinate the carrots in hot dog spices, which makes the carrot actually taste like a hot dog. Definitely give this a try when you're in Brooklyn. Get the onion rings also.

Hot Dogs in the News

I've recently had a few hot dog-related newspaper articles forwarded to me by friends, and have caught a few on my own, so I wanted to take a break from writing about my own experiences and highlight these articles. And, because hot dogs and baseball are synonymous with summertime in America, all of these articles are about the two pieces of Americana.

The New York Times has been a great source for a few hot dog articles of note. The first article I had been turned on to (thanks to my friend Paul) was about the new ballpark foods trying to compete with the almighty hot dog. This hilarious story (thanks Hank!) about ballpark vendors in another era relates the dangers and misfires of the author as a young hot dog salesman at Ebbets Field.

The Boston Globe, not to be outdone, has three recent pieces about franks; unsurprisingly enough, most deal with the fabled Fenway Park. The first was a blurb piece about how there are automated hot dog vending machines that dispense kosher dogs. Expect to see a post on this blog about the machine after I next visit the park. Next up is an article with an overview of Fenway's frank offerings. I'm a little surprised at the choice of names for one of their hot dogs--what seems to be their Cadillac of offerings, the "Gourmet Dog". This seems to be little more than a natural casing frank. Really, is that gourmet? I guess innards are back in vogue among gastronomists now--look out kobe beef dog, it's all about guts now! The last article is about the traveling "Baseball as America" exhibit at the Boston Museum of Science. Apparently when I go to the exhibit next week I'll be greeted with a fine selection of encased meats to choose from. If I were Homer Simpson, this is the moment I would shout an expectant "Woo Hoo!"

Last, but certainly not least, is this rather droll New Yorker cartoon about the fine art of hot dogs. Now this cartoon from the New Yorker I actually understand!

Holy shit!

Wowie! I'm now a married man and loving every part of it.

Karl's Sausage Kitchen pt. 2

Here's a wonderful selelction of encased meats that we feasted on the
weekend prior to our wedding. I picked up some brauenwursts (the
little fat ones) and some smoked polish sausages to compliment the
burgers for my last cookout as a bachelor.

The brauenwursts were a mixture of veal and pork, finely ground with
heavy spices. The smoked sausages were half cooked rough ground
sausages with plenty of smoky flavor. A fine way to dine if you're not
worried about living tomorrow.

Karl's Sausage Kitchen

Karl's Sausage Kitchen on Route 1 in Saugus is one of my favorite
summertime stops. Thanks to my friend Tim for giving me an excuse to
pick up some of their fine encased meats, as we had a post-
comstruction cookout. I bought some of their frankfurters, weisswurst,
and bratwurst. The franks had a wonderfully light and smoky flavor,
the weisswurst were melt-in-your-mouth, and the bratwurst were only
missing some sauerkraut to achieve perfection.

Old Neighborhood

Because I had told Tiffany about my blog, she went off and bought me
one of the locally-made hot dogs, an Old Neighborhood. Not the most
appealing name for a hot dog but it was a mighty tasty footlong. Next
time I go back I'll have to get an idea of what it's made of--tasted
like a pork hot dog without a natural casing, steamed. Thanks Tiffany!

Old Neighborhood

Sam and I went to a North Shore Navigators game this past Saturday
night with my co-worker Rex and his wife Tiffany. You know what a
baseball game means: hot dogs!

The Weiners Circle

One last parting shot of the Weiners Circle before picking up a cab
back to the airport. The cabbie that took us back was just as full of
sexy words as the ladies serving us hot dogs, but he was a little more
austere in using them. Gotta love Chicago!

The Weiners Circle

And here's a couple of weiners stuffing their face at the Weiner's
Circle. James was looking a little faded after eight long island iced
teas. I probably looked worse but thankfully no photos were taken of
me at this point.

The Weiners Circle

Tim was pretty excited with his char dog and cheese fries.
Fortunately, the copious amounts of beer we imbibed did not damage his
heightened culinary sense of taste as he deemed the cheese fries "not
very good" but gave the char dog a big thumbs up.

The Weiners Circle

That amazing char dog from The Weiners Circle. Love that neon green
relish!

The Weiners Circle

The nice ladies behind the counter are the ones who dispense the abuse
and the hot dogs. I suggest a char dog with an extra helping of
vulgarity--delish!

Update: I talked with James last night and he told me that he was waiting
patiently while these ladies were hollering out "Who's gonna tip us? Come
to the front of the line if you're gonna tip us!" After a couple of minutes
of being ignored, James said "You know, I may not say a lot, but I do tip
well," after which they took his order.

The Weiners Circle

After our eight hour sojourn at Resi's, the gang was good and drunk
and ready for an adventure. My brother-in-law, Kent, had heard tell of
an amazing hot dog stand where the staff strings together a set of
filthy words the likes of which you've never heard nor ever will
again. After stumbling around in the general direction of the area, we
finally found our El Dorado--The Weiners Circle. Please fogive the
poor quality of the ensuing pictures; I might have had too much to
drink at this point. Or perhaps not enough, I don't properly remember.

Resi's Bierstube

After the game at Wrigley, the boys and I stopped by a German beer hall that I had found recommended on Beer Advocate and CitySearch. I can't say enough about this place, it was just amazing. The weather was wonderful, about 74 degrees, the food was amazing, the beers were big and refreshing, and I don't think I've ever enjoyed myself more on a night out with the guys.


As I said, the food was awesome. This was the pork chop my father ordered. More like a ham steak. Hank got the blood and liver sausages (above and to the right of the pork chop) but they were a little much for him. Tim had the schnitzel, while Larry and I had some amazing bratwursts--probably the best I've ever had. Larry also ordered some potato pancakes; sorry Sam, but these were better than anything you and I'll ever make. The food comes out of a kitchen that's no bigger than a half-kitchen in a Manhattan apartment and the two cooks working in it never stop. I came across one of the two cooks in the bathroom and, after seeing he washed his hands, told him the food was delicious. In heavily-accented English, he told me it might be delicious, but two people weren't enough to cook for all the people eating!


And the beer kept on flowing. They featured about 12 beers on tap and another 12 or so in the bottle. It was eight hours well spent.

Cheers to you, hoping to make another visit soon.

Wrigley Field

Nothing's better after along night of drinking than coming into
Wrigley for a day game, sipping a tall glass of Budweiser and having a
steamed dog from the roaming vendors. I'll have mine with mustard and
relish.

Wrigley Field

What a beautiful day we had, and what a great game! Cubs win 5 - 4,
beating the Rockies and making their 6th straight win as the team with
the best record in the majors.

Hot Doug's

Here's the dogs I selected: the ever-present Chicago dog at the top
(grilled) and the Atomic Bomb on the bottom. The Chicago dog was
amazing with it's poppy seed bun and neon green relish. The Atomic
Bomb lived up to its name, a hot pork sausage with a citrus mojito
mayo with habanero-jack cheese. It ended up being a little too much
for me and I wasn't able to finish it. What an amazing Chicago dog
though!

Hot Doug's

Tim was challenging his dogs to get the better of him and brawn won
over encased meats. Tim went for a grilled Chicago dog and a chilli
cheese dog.

Hot Doug's

Hank was a little intimidated by his steamed Chicago dog, a bratwurst,
and duck fat-fried french fries (which were just amazing, like fried
mashed potatoes).

Hot Doug's

After the signs advertising hot dogs, you get to their other sausages. There's a display on the wall opposite this that said: there are no two finer words in the English language than "encased meats," my friend; I heartily agree and now know what my new tattoo will say.

Hot Doug's

The long line gave us just enough time to decide what we wanted to
eat. I've never been presented with so many choices. There must have
been about twelve different hit dog combos alone, all named after
famous locals or celebrities.

Hot Doug's

It was about 3pm when we got to the restaurant, and were greeted with
a line that snaked out the door. For the next hour, the line never got
any shorter--quite a testament to the power of a great dog.

Hot Doug's

After getting off the plane, Hank, Tim, and I beelined it to Hot
Doug's, located on California Ave in northern Chicago.

We got a little bite to eat along the way, stopping at a White Castle
for a double cheeseburger to fortify ourselves. Yay cheeseburger!

Bachelor weekend, baby!

Had an amazing weekend in Chicago for my bachelor party. Took in a
Cubs game (Cubs win! Cubs win!), saw the bean, drank copious amounts
of great beer at a German beer garden, and--most important of all--ate
some tasty hot dogs. I'll be posting about the dogs after I sober up
but I wanted to take thus opportunity to thank all my great friends
and family for showing me a good time and sharing the weekend with me.

Mike

The Dog House

The obligatory chow shot. Alex didn't go for a footlong; the 3150 ft.
hike up Mt. Monadnock didn't do much for his appetite.

The Dog House

Sam likes their turkey burgers (she'll kill me for posting this).

The Dog House

The Dog House has their own special-made footlongs, produced by a
local meatpacker. I believe all-beef with a natural casing but can't
recall. Last time I spoke with the owner, a woman in her eighties,
about the dogs was a year ago. This time around it seemed like time
had caught up to her, as she was operating a little slower and her
son, who comes up from NYC on weekends to help, was not talkative this
time around.

Pictures here are the two footlongs I ordered, the top with cole slaw
and chili, the bottom with a hot pepper relish. The cole slaw was just
right but I couldn't taste the chili; the relish is my favorite with a
definite heat and a little sweet. The dogs had a snappy casing with
the light flavor you get with good pork franks.

The Dog House

Located along Route 101, about 20 minutes from Mount Monadnock, the
Dog House serves up some pretty tasty dogs with home made condiments,
buns, and sides.

Fred's Franks Redux

Alex with his second dog, the yin yang mix. Notice how he constructed
it, a la Fred's under-the-meat way.

Fred's Franks Redux

Alex with his first dog, with the habonaise mix and sweet sauerkraut.

Fred's Franks Redux

Sam and I's friend Alex decided to take a break from Brooklyn and come
visit this weekend. He's a fellow hot dog enthusiast so I took him to
Fred's Franks on Saturday. I decided to have a go at one of Fred's
creations, the shnurble--a hot dog with chorizo. It's not on the menu
but if you're in the know and ask for one, they'll make it for you.
Fred put together the condiments for me on this dog; he made my
favorite, the yin yang (explained in my last post). He put the
condiments under the meat, which I don't usually do but it worked
perfectly for this dog.

Fred's Franks

Because he uses a big green egg to grill, the dogs come out with an
extra-snappy casing and look almost burned--but that's not a bad thing
at all. I tried a regular dog but they also have a larger dog, in
addition to chorizo and linguica dogs. Condiments are set out for
customers to create their own dog and are a pretty interesting
assortment: a habanero-mayo-mustard mix (which Sam is partial to),
relishes, sweet sauerkraut, hot sauces, mayo, sweet onions, and the
ever-present ketchup. Featured here is what they call the yin-yang,
which has mayo, chohlua hot sauce, and sweet sauerkraut. I was a little
hesitant at first but it's now my standby.

Fred's Franks

Fred's Franks is just off the circle at 129 and 128 in Wakefield. I had seen his website in April but had forgotten about the stand until we ran across it on our way to REI during the first week of May. Fred's has an interesting ordering scheme--after ordering your dog, they give you a numbered ticket and the appropriate amount of hot dog buns. You wait with your bun until Fred, the man at the big green egg, calls your number and you go up to get your dog.

Speed's hot dog wagon

The Holy Grail of hot dogs, Speed's 1/2 pound smoked hot dog with all the toppings. The bun is also grilled, which helps it stand up to the 1/2 pound dog slathered in sauces. You might think that all the different condiments would lead to a sensory overload but it turns out to be a savory and sweet combination that makes for a hot dog unlike any I've ever had before. I think next time I'm at Speed's I'll try my favorite type of dog, what we call a Coney Dog back home in Indiana--a dog with mustard, onions, and chili.

Speed's hot dog wagon

Hank, with pinky raised, daintily dines on his dog

Speed's hot dog wagon

Paul digs into his dog with a poorly hidden joie de vivre.

Speed's hot dog wagon

The grill, which had a mixture of wood chips and charcoal. Notice the
aluminum pan on top of the hot dogs--Hank explained his father does
the same to keep the flame down and trap the smoke on the dogs.

Speed's Hot Dog Wagon

The list of condiments to pick from. I suggest the very messy Boston
Speed's way--"loaded"

Speed's Hot Dog Wagon

Summer's finally here and I've made my first trip to the famous Speed's. Thanks to Hank (on the left) for driving us down to New Market Square and to Paul (on the right) for putting the trip together.