Photo-A-Day #2301

I’ve been waiting for this day for a long, long time. You see, I meat Rob Merlino, aka, The Hot Dog Man, back in 2008. I learned that he was on a quest for National Hot Dog Month. That quest was to eat a hot dog a day for the month of July at a different venue each day. He’s gone 29 days with no repeats and even then can’t get to all of the joints around, there are so many great places. I asked Rob if I could go with him to one place, but which one… Oh yeah and Rob wanted me to get him a Camaro for his birthday.

We discussed maybe going to Tex Barry’s, which is now up the street from us at our new home. We discussed going to New York system in Rhode Island because it is iconic but instead Rob introduced me to something very special and totally new to me, Larry Joe’s New England Firepit.

I pulled up to the parking lot of Larry’s Liquor Store in BumbleBee and waited for Rob. He showed up a few minutes later in his convertible with his daughter (and reluctant camera operator) in tow. He was ecstatic about the car and immediately wanted to get in and drive. What can you say, I came through and got him a Camaro Convertible for his birthday. We drove up the street a ways and then Rob took us on the highway to Open ‘er up a bit. Let’s just say the car can fly.

We got back to the parking lot and shot some video and photos before Larry Joe showed up. We walked inside the liquor store to find that they also sold hot dogs. Rob chatted with a guy there and they started talking about a place in Natick called Casey’s. I find that whenever you go to a good hot dog place you meet people who have been to many others and you start talking about your favorite places. Hot Dog joints tend to bring people together and break down barriers. Hot dogs are unpretentious food and attract unpretentious people.

We went back outside and that is when the real experience began. Larry Joe pulled up in his van and trailer. Larry cooks his dogs on a hickory smoker grill that is also propane powered and can pump out 20,000 BTUs. The dogs get smoked and basted and brined and all sorts of goodness happens to the dogs. Larry also has 7 different condiments, all of them he makes himself. You can get a Big Dog with everything and it is pretty damn delicious.

Larry Joe did not stop talking for one solid hour. He got out of the car talking and told us stories and jokes and history as he set up the truck for the day. He talked to everyone who came to get a dog and joked with them and taught them a thing or two. Larry Joe was one of the best story tellers that I’ve ever heard and I was hanging on every word.

Customers lined up to get their hands on the 1/2lb Pearl Hot Dogs. These are monster sized dogs and if you can eat two you’re gonna be full for the next couple of meals, they are that big. There were a few people, veterans who came up and bought the Fire Dog. This is a very hot dog that you cannot order on your first trip. Larry Joe will not allow you to have it on your first time out. It was fun watching him engage new customers who wanted to order one.

Engaging customers, putting people at ease, giving them a show and a unique dining experience, that was the magic of Larry Joe’s. Larry Joe even has a keyboard in his truck and he will sing for the crowd. Hot Dog Man got in the truck with Larry Joe and debuted the Hot Dog Man song.

Finally it was my turn to get a dog. I watched patron after patron get amazing dogs and I finally got a chance. I ordered mine with Mustard, Chili, Spicy Pepper Relish, and Onions. It was so delicious. Fresh bread, a fresh dog and great fresh condiments. It was a taste experience like no other. I appreciate that Rob took me along for this Hot Dog adventure and also appreciative to Larry Joe for such a great experience.

I took a bunch of video but haven’t had a chance to process it. A lot of work on the house. But Rob made a great video of our experience and I’m even in it quite a bit.

You can see all of rob’s videos on his Hot Dog Man YouTube channel. And You can read about his exploits on The Hot Dog Truck.

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Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Lunch at Larry Joe’s New England Fire Pit

Today I went under the assumption that if you add bacon to something it makes that something better. Add Bacon to Lettuce and Tomato and you have the simply fantastic BLT! Without the bacon you get two veggies on soggy toast. About a week ago Allison made some Chocolate Chip Cookies and I was feeling experimental so I spread a layer of JIF Chunky Peanut Butter on the cookie, it was delicious. At that point I had an epiphany.

If Peanut Butter is delicious…

And so are Chocolate Chip Cookies…

And we know that Bacon makes everything better then…

If I spread some Peanut Butter on a Chocolate Chip Cookie…

And then add some delicious bacon…

I will create the ultimate in cookie/bacon fusion… The Choco-Nutty-Bacontastic Cookie!

Now this cookie was very tasty but it could certainly be better. The cookie itself was from the Relay for Life yesterday and it was not that fresh. The peanut butter was not JIF Chunky (my all time favorite) so that is a let down. The bacon was good, nice and crispy but I think it could have been better if it was a little thicker, sort of like the bacon you get at Cracker Barrel. So, for a future experiment I think I’ll make sure I make a fresh batch of Chocolate Chip cookies using the Tollhouse recipe with extra brown sugar (makes them chewier), a big bit of JIF Chunky Peanut Butter and some well cooked thick cut bacon.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

The Choco-Nutty-Bacontastic Cookie!

Photo-A-Day #1384

Average Betty that is. I have just started getting into this great food related podcast called AverageBetty. A while back I was at Staples and I saw thing gadget called the Mi book that was basically a video viewer for Food Network recipes, a visual way to see a recipe and cook. After seeing that I thought to myself, I bet that someone had the great idea of doing a show like that as a podcast and I can download it for free on my iPod/iPod Touch. There certainly is a great show and it is called Average Betty.

The way to describe Average Betty is that it is a show with the frenetic energy of Alton Brown – the major food knowledge + great hair + edginess – measures and recipe details + sketch comedy + a cast of “Betty” Characters – long drawn out details of other shows. Betty is fast, entertaining and the food leaves you wanting more of both Betty and the food. Betty has an amazing personality on screen and plays a bunch of fun and funny characters that toss around pop culture references like a pigskin in a backyard touch football game played by overly caffeinated Chihuahuas. It is my new favorite podcast, sorry Cali and GeekBrief.tv but Betty actually tells me about stuff that won’t break the budget.

If you are upset that the videos don’t have the full recipes never fear you can go to AverageBetty.com and get the recipes for the delicious meals and snacks and desserts that Betty is cooking up. There are step by step instructions with color photos. See, save the boring instructional stuff for the written page but keep the sexy (and by that I mean the final images of the food) fun stuff for the videos.

All of these great recipes and podcasts made my BLT and Cheese from D’Angelo pale in comparison even if I did ask them to put in a little thousand island to give the meal a little kick.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

My Dinner with Betty

Ever since I put up my post Steak Sauce, Hot Sauce, What Sauce? I’ve been a bit obsessed with a sauce called Fry Sauce. Chica was the one who told me about Fry Sauce and so I started looking into it. She told me about Some Dude’s Fry Sauce which is a kicked up version of the stuff.

What is Fry Sauce. Basically Fry Sauce is Ketchup and Mayo mixed together. The traditional recipe is two parts mayo to one part ketchup. I had a buffalo chicken sandwich for lunch and got fries with it so I went and put some Hellman’s mayo into a small Solo container. I also grabbed 4 packets of Heinz ketchup and a second Solo Container.

I assembled my ingredients and started work on my first attempt at Fry Sauce. I added the ketchup to the mayo.

I then stirred the contents together and there was way too much for one of the solo cups. So I poured half into the other cup.

The consistency was very pourable. It also coated the fries very well. I took my first bite.

It was pretty tasty. The overall taste was milder than ketchup and had a very creamy consistency.

I plan to experiment with different ingredients to make a very tasty sauce. I also tried to contact Some Dude’s Fry Sauce there may or may not be some info coming soon about that.

My Fry Sauce obsession will come to a head with a contest in the next month or so. It is going to be a recipe contest and I am hoping that people will enter. I’ll mix up their recipes and have friends over for a taste test, video the whole thing and crown a winning recipe. Details like rules, times and prizes are TBA right now. I’m looking for a sponsor for the prizes. I think this will be a lot of fun, and tasty too.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Making Fry Sauce

Happy 4th of July everyone. I figure that many people will be partaking in the American Tradition that is Hot Dogs. And well, I want to make sure that you are all in formed as to the proper way to eat a hot dog. So from the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council I present

Hot Dog Etiquette

If your 4th of July Cookout is not serving Hot Dogs then leave, find some place that is having them. Honestly, what sort of holiday are you gonna have without the all American Dog.

I still haven’t gone to meet this guy and that is the plan sometime this summer. I am sure I will get an awesome hot dog at The Hot Dog Truck.

I buy a ton of stuff from Amazon.com. If you do please buy through our links and help support BenSpark.com. Thank you.

Copyright (c) 2010 Blog Consultant, Photo-A-Day Photographer & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Hot Dog Etiquette