Designer Dawgs, New Jersey

I'm in New Jersey attending the 2026 Atlantic APCO Conference for work and on Monday night of the conference, September 28th, we had a Monday Night Social that had a DJ, cornhole tournament and a couple food trucks, brick oven pizza and gourmet hot dogs.

The pizza was fantastic, just delicious, but we are here for the hot dogs!

Designer Dawgs was a physical store in Clinton, New Jersey, however they are now a mobile trailer that travels around to all types of events.  They have a fancy menu of gourmet hot dogs:

I went with the Cowboy: cheddar & chili, chili dogs are my jam right now.  The bun is fancier roll they split down the side, they use these to help accommodate for all the toppings.  The chili is house made from scratch and is absolutely fantastic!  They use Best Provisions natural casing hot dog that is grilled on a flat top.

A while later I got a second dog, this time a plain jane with mustard, they use a spicy brown mustard as their standard mustard.  The bread was warm and soft, and although quite delicious, it was just too much bread for me.

If you every have the chance, get that chili dog, you won't regret it!

Until Next Time!

Russ Ayres Hot Dogs, Bordentown, New Jersey

I was in New Jersey for work attending the 2026 Atlantic APCO Conference and during some downtime before the conference I went on a day trip to explore, along the way I found a hot dog joint to stop in at.

Russ Ayres Hot Dogs, located at 680 US-206, Bordentown, NJ 08505 was founded in 1942 by Russ Ayers.  Originally it was a hot dog cart he would push around town serving his dogs, now that 100 year old cart is still how the hot dogs are cooked and served it's just located inside a building.  Chatting with Joey who was working at the shop that day, his family bought the business in 1999 and it's still going strong today!

Russ served his dogs with the Works: mustard, relish, onions and sauerkraut.  Russ didn't allow ketchup, his original sign even states: ketchup is for hamburgers.  Joey's family introduced their house made chili and they do allow ketchup if you ask for it.

I ordered a chili cheese dog and it was darn good!  They use the side split bun that is steamed to perfection, and they use Hatfield skinless franks, they same company that makes the official hot dog of the Philadelphia Phillies.

If you are ever in the area you should check them out! 

If you want, you can read all about my New Jersey work adventure here.

Until Next Time!

Sam's Hot Dog Stand, Harrisonburg, Virginia

While on our annual vacation to Ocean City the boys and I took a Side Trip Adventure to Mount Crawford, Virginia to visit a Buc-ee's as this is the closest location there is to our home in Maine.  

If you want you can read all about our vacation to Ocean City and our Side Adventure on my family travel blog: 2026 Ocean City Adventure this post is being put up before the vacation blog so you many need to go back and read that one.

While researching places to see in the area of Buc-ee's I came across Sam's Hot Dog Stand so of course I had to look into it.

The first Sam's opened in 1983 in Huntington, West Virginia and there are not currently over 40 locations in Virginia, West Virginia, Kentucky, and 1 in Wilmington, North Carolina.  The location I went to had a drive thru and walk up service window, there was no inside dining. 

The two people working there were wicked nice and we had a great brief conversation.  He ran down their brief menu, all beef hot dogs, slow cooked pulled pork, that they make the chili and coleslaw daily, and cut all their onions in house, he made a point of say that.

As the boys really wanted to go to Waffle House,  I only ordered a hot dog with chili & cheese and a side of French Fries.  Waffle House is another place we do not have in Maine and the closest one is in Pennsylvania.

The hot dog was AMAZING, the side split bun was steamed to perfection, hot dog had good flavor, chili was delicious and the cheese sauce was subtle.  The fries were just ok, nothing special, I should have gotten two dogs.

I would not hesitate to go to a Sam's Hot Dog Stand again in the future, it was terrific!

Until Next Time!

Bolley's Famous Franks Waterville

I have been a supporter of Bolley's Famous Franks in Hallowell for over 25 years but this is the first time that I have been to the Bolley's Famous Franks Waterville.  They are only open Monday to Friday 10:30 to 3:30 I had just never been in the area when they are open.

Bolley's were opened by the same family in the 1950's with Hallowell being the first location and Waterville the second location.  I read that there was an Augusta location as well, not sure if that is the current Dogg House on Mount Vernon Avenue or not.

On Friday the 19th I had the day off, Kate, Wesley and I found our way to Waterville for errands and I decided today was the day to hit Bolley's Waterville.

Parking lot was packed and on the second lap around we found spot.  Unlike Hallowell they are not open for breakfast and do not have inside seating.  

The menu is basic, with dogs, burgers, French fries, onions rings, beverages and hot dog toppings.  What more do you need at a hot dog stand though.  It's Maine though, so they have lobster roll seasonally.

You order and pay at one end of the counter and head down to the other end to pick up your order.  Kate got two dogs Bolley's way which is raw onion, mustard, and relish.  I got my dog with mustard and got us small fry and small onion to share.  The dogs are cooked on the flat top and the top split New England style roll is steamed to perfection.  The onion rings are excellent!  The French fries are crinkle cut in house and were outstanding!  I gave them a heavy dose of vinegar.  

In a rookie move I forgot to take a photo of our order to share...guess we will have to go back someday. 

They have a double burger challenge, the current record is 6 in twenty minutes!  They also have a wall of shame for those who have tried and failed to beat the challenge!  

I need to go back and grab this shirt, it's pretty fantastic!

Bolley's Waterville was excellent!  While different in many ways from my Bolley's in Hallowell, they both are worth checking out.

Until Next Time!

The Bus - Houlton, Maine

Today, June 9th, I as in Houlton for work and at lunch time headed over to The Bus, a season food truck that you can find at the corner of Broadway & Military Street right at Monument Park.  I ate here last month and at that time I got the Ricker Burger, I got it because my half brother's last name is Ricker.  It was damn good.

Today though I got me a specialty hotdog of theirs, The Whistler.

It's a natural casing hot dog wrapped in bacon with Velveeta cheese in a toasted bun, I had them add mustard to it as well.  It was a solid hot dog, that's for sure!  The bacon was crispy which is a must for me, I don't care for undercooked bacon.

The French fries are hand cut and are amazing!!  I soaked them in vinegar and a touch of salt, just perfect!  They off frozen fries as well for the same price, but who would want frozen over handcut!!

I'm sure I'll sample something else on the menu next month when I'm back in town.

Until Next Time!

Hot Dog Charlie's - Rensselaer, New York

In July 2023 Kate and I spent a week traveling to Niagara Falls, Canada and back for our 10th Anniversary.  On the way back through we spent time in Albany, New York and while we were there we ate at Hot Dog Charlie's.

You can read all about your trip here: Spectacular 10th Anniversary Vacation Extravaganza!!!

Hot Dog Charlie's first opened in 1922 they specialize in mini natural casing hotdogs made by Sabrett frankfurters.  They have three locations around Albany we ate at the Rensselaer spot.

Check out their website for more: https://hotdogcharlies.com/

While the mini dogs are their specialty, they also have regular size skinless frank, but why would you order those if the mini's are what they are known for.  The rest of the menu consists of cheeseburgers, fish strips, popcorn chicken, onion rings, curly fries and more.

You order at one window and pick up at the other side.  The dinning area isn't that large at this location and consists of several booths.  If I recall they had a couple picnic tables outside as well.

We both got two mini dogs, Kate got the chili sauce, onion rings, and curly fries with a cheese sauce. 

Everything was fantastic! The buns were steamed, the onions were crispy, the cheese sauce was solid.  You can even bar jars of their chili meat sauce. 

I would stop in again at any of the locations if I was in the area. 

Later Readers!

George's Coney Island - Worcester, Massachusetts

George's Coney Island has been a Worcester institute since 1918.  You can read all about their history on their website here: Coney Island Lunch

I had been here before years ago with my buddy Jay, however Kate and I rolled through on September 15, 2025 coming back from Albany, NY after dropping her Dad off at the Amtrak station and watching Kathleen Edwards perform at Lark Hall.  

You can read about that here: Albany Adventure for Kathleen Edwards

Similar to Tony's Texas Hots their specialty dog is the Coney Dog, chili sauce, raw onion, & yellow mustard.  They use Kayem natural casing hot dogs and their chili sauce is a secret recipe.  Kate got two coney dogs, I got 1 with no onion and one with mustard. 

The ordering system is fast, get in line, quickly tell them you want and move down the line for quick service.  The meat sauce is delicious, the buns perfectly steamed, and prices very reasonable.  They serve Wachusett brand chips, based out of Fitchburg, Mass they were founded in 1937 before being bought by UTZ chips in 2011.  They also serve Polar brand soda which is also based in Worcester.

There is plentiful seating, and I'm sure at lunch time it's extremely busy.  I should have gotten both of my dogs with the coney sauce.  I will next time.

Later Readers!