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: Labbe Family Voyages 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!

Rosie's Hot Dog Stand - Eastport, Maine

Back in August 2021 Katie and I spent a weekend in Eastport just to get away.  We were still coming out of Covid and crossing the border to Canada was not an option still.  We hadn't been to this area a few years so it was time to comeback. 

Eastport is the eastern most point in the United States, which makes Rosie's the eastern most hot dog stand in the United States.  Located near the docks for over 50 years it's a walk up place with a few picnic tables.

The menu is extremely basic but really what more do you need at a hot dog stand?  Anything more than hot dog is a bonus really.

We got a couple dogs, French fries and onion rings.  The dogs were natural casing, not sure who made them, and buns were steamed which is really the sign of a top notch place.  And of course, they use Raye's Mustard located just down the road in Eastport.  Onion ring and shoestring fries were frozen, of course, but they were solid. 

Later Readers!

Tony's Texas Hot - Johnson City, New York

Saturday July 12, 2025 we were on vacation and in Binghamton, New York so we could check out Rod Serling's hometown and the memorials to him.  You can read all about those adventures here:

New York & Pennsylvania Weekend with Rod & Al

Rod Serling's Binghamton

After viewing all that Serling that Binghamton had to offer it was lunch time.  Kate had done a quick search for some hot dog joints and found Tony's Texas Hots, in Johnson City, and another joint called Pinkies.  After looking at photo's we decided on Tony's because it looked like a fantastic old hot dog place, and it was.  Turns out Pinkies was closed down, so it wouldn't have even been an option anyhow.

Texas Hots is a regional name for a pork or beef hot dog topped with a bean less meat sauce or chili, raw onions, and yellow mustard.  Even though it's called a Texas Hot, you won't find them in Texas.

Kate, Wesley, and I put our order for dogs in and some French fries. The man working the counter was a bit standoff-ish at first, but he did warm up to us by the time we left.  His wife was working there as well, and she was very friendly.  

We chatted about "Weird" Al, and going to the Woodstock grounds to watch him.  They talked about concerts they had been to there as well.

What I thought was cool was in mid conversation the mailman stuck his head in the door, they made hand signals to each other, no words at all, and the mailman left.  The guy grabbed a soda an started putting his order together.  I love stuff like this.

Everything was terrific, the prices were reasonable and the atmosphere of the old diner was very cool.  More just a stand there is counter stools and booths for people to sit in.  The meat sauce was very good!

It's well worth your time to stop in if you are in the area.

Later Readers!