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!