10th Annual Hotdog Tour - Upstate New York

 

Usual consumers – Alan and Terry A. who represent the A and Tom and Beth Z. who own the Z in the A to Z Hot Dog Tour.

This was the long awaited 10^th annual hot dog tour.  Disclaimer – Due to COVID, we missed one year so technically, 2024 should have been the 10^th but hey, who cares?

This year, we were joined by Frank the Dancing Hot dog.  Quite the comical weiner!  At times, he needed a mouth filter since he recorded what he heard in his immediate area.

Again, Alan had our hot dog packets ready which included a full color itinerary, information on each of the proposed hot dog stops, a very hard hot dog trivia sheet (answers provided too), 12 ways to cook a hotdog, hot dog sunglasses, Slim Jim sticks, small roll of Tums, business card to hand out to curious onlookers complete with QR code for people to check out his blog and one very large gummy hot dog.  Dressed in our all important 10^th Annual Hotdog Tour shirts, we set out for Albany NY area. 

This past year, our scratch ticket winnings totaled $103.00.  It was a good year for scratching!  We play the card game SCAT or also referred to as  31 where we are using $1 scratch tickets instead of coins and the winnings are kept in the special box safe for the next hotdog tour.

Our first stop was in Watervaliet at Gus’s Hot Dogs which recently celebrated their 70^th year of business.  Gus’s Hot Dogs is in an older section of Watervaliet residential area in a very small building.  But don’t let that fool you.  They serve their famous “mini” hotdog with their special meat sauce.  The “mini” is about 5 inches long for $1.40 each.  The customary mini includes a small Old World Provision beef/pork mix dog in a Bellanapoli bun topped with onions, mustard and the meat sauce.  Gus’s opens early 10:00 a.m..  We strolled up to the window at 10:06 and there was already a customer ordering 10 minis! 

Terry ordered 2 minis.  At the risk of being labeled sinful but always the one to go against the grain, she o
rdered  2  minis with KETCHUP!   Some of us feel Ketchup doesn’t belong on a hotdog. Alan and Tom ordered four minis with the works while Beth staying true to her distain for raw onions ordered four minis NO ONIONS! We enjoyed our minis in a small court yard complete with picnic tables and umbrellas next to Gus’s. 

The meat sauce was very good and left you with a bit of a zing on your lips.  Alan’s palate detected cumin and hot chili powder.  The buns were fresh and the dogs dark in color with a good snap!    The minis served as a good “appetizer” to what awaited us.

Total dogs consumed 8 before 10:34 a.m.  Due to their smaller size, each mini counted has ½ a dog.

 

All aboard for stop #2 – Dog Haus in Clifton Park, NY

The Dog Haus and (Biergarten) is a franchise out of CA since 1977.  This location in Clifton Park is the only Dog Haus in NY of the franchise and has been there for 6 years.  Upon entering the Dog Haus you immediately get a good vibe.  It has a well-stocked bar, several TV’s, a Fooz Ball Machine, both high top, bar seats and table seating.  Outside under canopies, you can sit at slate tables and enjoy your meal there.  When the season calls for it, they have outdoor heaters. They offer free fresh water. I noticed a tabletop sign for a paint and sip event being held there that evening.  Despite the early hour of 11:00 and a price of $9.99 per dog, customers were waiting at the door. 

Maryellen, the Dog Haus manager, told me their hotdogs are specially made and is their own “brand” no casing hotdog.  On the wall, they list the ingredients as brown sugar, bay leaves, garlic, coriander, salt and black pepper.  Their beef are never-ever given hormones or antibiotics, certified humanely raised and genetically tested to be 100% angus.  Their pork is also not given any hormones or antibiotics and quality meats go into all their proprietary sausages.  Their chicken is all natural and has been raised without hormones or antibiotics.   Which allows them to boast – “We have a good reason to be cocky!.  I think our current director of the CDC, Robert Kennedy, would be very happy with their products since he too doesn’t use antibiotics or hormones!  Sorry for the political comment! 

I digress!  The Dog Haus uses King Hawaiian rolls.  They dogs are pretty plump and the roll plentiful but it doesn’t crowd out the hotdog or the flavor.  So we counted one dog as 2 points!  Al dogs are served on a perfectly grilled King Hawaiian roll.  The house made dogs were very flavorful with just the right snap to them.  There was no skimping on the toppings.  So the price matched the quality of the dog!

 Alan and I had the Soooo Cali.  It came with wild arugula, avocado, tomato slices, crispy onions and spicy basil aioli.  Presentation was neat and appealing.  It didn’t disappoint!  It was flavorful and plentiful.  The roll really held the dog and toppings well so nothing fell out.  Great dog! 

Terry enjoyed Chili the Kid.  This dog was lathered with white American cheese, Haus chili, crispy onions, and chipotle aioli.  No complaints here!

Tom set his eyes on the Old Town.  The Old Town was smothered with smoked bacon, caramelized onions, chipotle aioli, pickled jalapenos and cotija cheese.  This was a flaming success!

Total dogs 8.  Total as of stop #2 – 16 – not quite to the halfway point of last year’s total of 36.3!  Can we do it?

Chugging Along on the hotdog tour train!    Stop #3 – Kanes Hot Dogs on Wheels

Well, upon arriving at the Mall where Kane’s Hot Dogs on Wheels was advertised as being in the food court, we came up short.  Out of Business – BUSTED!

Although, we were a bit disappointed, we did need a bit of a reprieve to let the dogs we had consumed digest and gives us room for our next stop.

McCants Hot Dog Hut – Albany NY

McCants is owned by a husband and wife.  This is a new business at 6 months of age.  Pleasant people and very willing to answer all my questions about their dogs.  They use all beef Sabratt dogs on an ungrilled Martin’s potato bread bun. Hot dogs are served in paper-lined baskets.  Cold drinks are available from a machine.   The metal stools inside look out onto Central Ave.  Today, being Juneteenth, we did not have to pay for parking. 

Tommy Jaws, his hotdog tour nickname, decided on a dog with mustard, o

nions and sirracha sauce.  Nothing fancy but sometimes simple is best.

Terry  Two Footer (explanation below) wanted to satisfy her cheese taste buds ordered her dog with queso cheese, cheese, mustard and Fritos.

All in Alan was in need of some “hot” so he went with a nearly naked dog clothed in Chipotle mayo.

Battling Betty (Beth) kept it simple with yellow mustard and kraut.  Two great ingredients that pair well together.   The kraut was plentiful but didn’t hide the satisfying taste of yellow mustard.  Battling Betty is known as the light weight in the group.

Everyone was pleased.  We wished the owners well and feel they have a good chance of succeeding!

Count was 4 for a total of 20 dogs!  Making our way slowly to a new record?

So, Terry Two Footer!  In a previous hotdog tour which the year escapes me at the moment, we went to a place that served two foot hotdogs.  Terry, who we sometimes refer to as the Closer because she is usually the one who can put us over our record, did not cut her two footer in half like the rest of us did!  Nope, she ate it uncut.  She drew many stares from people who were there but that only encouraged her to keep going!

A newer addition to our hotdog tour in the last couple of years is to find an ice cream stop.  On our itinerary this time was  Emack and Bolio’s Ice Cream (interesting names) located just a few minutes from McCants.  We found it easily and saw one of their ice cream trucks but unfortunately after a couple of trips around the block, we were unable to find adequate parking near their location.  No scoops today!  Shucks!

Last Stop – the Kong Dog in the food court of Crossgates Mall in Albany

This is a Korean owned corn dog business.  The selection consisted of the Original Korn Dog, Potato Korn Kong Dog covered with tiny pieces of fried potato, Sweet Potato Korn Dog with small pieces of fried sweet potato, Churro Korn Dog, Rainbow Kong Dog coated with crunchy fruity rice puffs or as we say Fruity Pebbles, Ramen Korn Dog, no explanation necessary, Hot Cheeto Kong Dog sprinkled with hot Cheeto crumbs over drizzled spicy mayo, Spaghetti Kong Dog sprinkled with parmesan cheese over marinara sauce, and  the Sweet Chili Doritos Kong Dog covered in hot Dorito crumbs drizzled with sweet chili.

Beth, living up to her nickname, opted out of the Korn Dog.  I had all the confidence, Terry the Closer, would not disappoint.

Tom wasn’t feeling dangerous so he stayed with the Original Korn Dog.  Terry always the adventurous one had the Ramen Korn Dog and the Fruity Pebbles Korn Dog.  Alan went with the Ramen Korn Dog and the Hot Doritos (he enjoys his hot).  The korn dog are served in a cardboard shaped box and of course korn dogs were deep fried.  I didn’t ask about their brand of dog since being a food court, the

lines were long and I didn’t want to monopolize the business.  Terry said the Ramen dog tasted like Ramen soup on a dog. 

A “doggie” box was taken home with the Dorito Korn Dog and Fruity Pebbles Korn Dog to be enjoyed at a later time.  (Although these dogs were not eaten on the tour, we still counted them because – we can!

Tom was at a point of “pushing it”.  Terry and Alan had room for cold milkshake drinks and “working it”!

Total 5 dogs – Total after the on the road portion of the tour – 25!  We are closing in but still have 12 dogs to go to beat the record!

Well, that was our on the road portion of the tour in just about 5 hours!  Our thought was we would head home and possibly stop at Elsie’s Creamery at Randall’s Farm in Ludlow but as we neared Ludlow, MA, we felt we had to leave room for hotdogs which awaited us at the Aubin residence and we still had 12 dogs to go!

Alan had a package of 3.2 ounce Kansas City hotdogs ready to be grilled on his stove top.  Beth put together the hotdog pizza she brought.  It consisted of Pillsbury Pizza Crust layered with yellow mustard, Hormel’s Chili, Pizza Blend shredded cheese, raw onions, 4 sliced all beef Nathans hot dogs and pickled relish. 

After researching the average weight of one hotdog to be 1.5 ounces, we agreed the Kansas City dogs would count as 2.  This gave us hope (Beth’s favorite word) the record was within reach.

We each had one Kansas City hotdog = equals 8.  Now we are at 33 dogs; four needed.  Tom, Alan and I had one square piece of the hotdog pizza which constituted a total of 1.5 dogs bringing us to 34.5.  Well, we all looked at Terry, the Closer; our mascot too!  Can sh
e do it?  Her plate was not empty but her eyes were saying differently.  The Tums were at hand.  The air was thick with anticipation and dread!   She began to clear her plate and said, “no more bread”.  Drats!  The
record would not be broken!  But wait, wait, wait.  She scooped off the toppings on her pizza slices,  set the crust aside,  looked into our hopeful eyes and finished her plate  bringing us to 37 dogs!

Did we stretch the rules a bit?  Maybe, but we really don’t have rules per se.  And if we did have rules, rules like records are made to be broken!

We finished the evening with a game of Scrabble, three games of pitch and a round of SCAT where our winnings for next year was $2.00; added to the $4 we had remaining gives us a start toward the 2026 hot dog tour of $6.00! 

Thanks for reading our blog!  Now, Go eat a hotdog!