Springtime is Hot Dog Time

Published on Wednesday, March 25, 2009, by Joyce Slaton / Edit Post

“Spring has sprung; first Speed’s dog,” says enhF94 poetically about Speed’s Hotdog Wagon, the legendary food cart whose dogs the Wall Street Journal called the best in America, and Chowhounds talk about the way pious Catholics talk about the True Cross.

Wedged into a triangular parking lot in a bleakly industrial section of the Roxbury neighborhood and offering only a couple of picnic tables in the way of ambiance, Speed’s is a draw solely for its signature dog, which owner Ezra “Speed” Anderson marinates in apple cider and brown sugar before grilling it over charcoal and sliding it into a toasted bun, with everything: raw onions, mustard, no-bean beef chili, and a pungent, housemade red sauce. It’s so delicious that at lunch a line forms, with diners waiting patiently as each dog is lovingly, individually grilled. And since Speed’s is only open when the weather is nice (i.e., spring, summer, and early fall), the craving for a dog tends to build up to fever pitch during winter.

Blumie just tried Speed’s for the first time. “I was nearly quivering with excitement as I crossed the street back to my car,” Blumie relates. “What a great piece of work! A delicious dog! As far as the toppings go, I could not taste the mustard or relish at all. The ‘special sauce’ struck me more as a bbq sauce than a ketchup, which is a good thing, since I hate ketchup on a hot dog.” The dog was a little big for Blumie, but others are happy to dig in.

“Then there’s always the sound one makes while eating a Speed’s dog … om om om om,” says Bob Dobalina. “Don’t forget the noms, mister dobalina,” reminds Prav.

Speed’s Hotdog Wagon [Newmarket Square]
54 Newmarket Square, Boston
617-839-0102

Board Link: Speeds dogs

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  • Speeds is the Boston Board favorite, but I think if the Blog author was more familiar with the area and Boston Board, some shoutout to other local options would be useful:

    1) Sully's on Castle Island
    2) Fred's Franks (which hasn't opened yet) gets a lot of discussion
    3) Simco's
    4) There is always a search for Chicago style dogs and there are two or three recent openings (weymouth?, northshore,...+READ

    Speeds is the Boston Board favorite, but I think if the Blog author was more familiar with the area and Boston Board, some shoutout to other local options would be useful:

    1) Sully's on Castle Island
    2) Fred's Franks (which hasn't opened yet) gets a lot of discussion
    3) Simco's
    4) There is always a search for Chicago style dogs and there are two or three recent openings (weymouth?, northshore, one in metrowest which I believe was panned compared to the others)
    5) There are a lot of burger/dog and fried clam places near the shore and far away from it, Celebrity Pizza in Watertown, Harry's in Westborough
    6) We also have discussions of Pearl vs Boars Head vs this vs that for locally available franks

    From what I understand the blog isn't written by someone who has that local knowledge and that is cool, but ask the local board for additional new ideas. Also note the "Pampas" entry had some factual errors such as suggesting BYOB in Somerville where its illegal and could cause problems for a restaurant... Also the 'Hippie Pizza" entry quotes a thread and about half of the comments from fall 2008... which it would be useful for you to point out (especially since we have a lot of people who drag up 3-10 year old threads and debate people no longer on chowhound, etc... This thread isn't that old, but the chow.com staff should take the lead on paying attention to thread age!!)-COLLAPSE