A trip to the Boston Speed Dog

Hakim here! So it was St. Patrick’s Day Saturday and my mother had just left Boston after being in town the past week and filling up my fridge. Caitlin had driven down from Augusta the night before after not being able to get out of work early and arrived at my apartment soon after I dropped my mom off at the airport. An relaxing night in on Friday made for an excitable, energetic St. Patty’s morning. And what better way to prepare for the night of revelry ahead than with a Boston Speed Dog? We had a light breakfast, called ahead to make sure they were open (since the last 2 times we’ve been it was either raining and closing or had just closed 10 min. before we arrived), and dropped off my rental car. We drove down Mass. Ave from Central Square, listening to my Irish Planxty Pandora channel to set the mood, convinced that we could already smell the lunch that awaited us. We swerved around potholes as we made our way into the empty lots of the packing and loading docks of Newmarket Square in Roxbury…..and there it was. Open. Speed Dog!!!

Now, Caitlin had been telling me for some time now that I just had to try this hot dog, that it was absolutely out of this world. We pulled up and noticed that there were already some patrons enjoying their lunches. I decided to make a quick bathroom stop on the side of one of the loading docks so that nothing would distract me from what I hoped this hot dog lunch would be like. We walked up and the co-owner, Greg Gale, greeted us with a “Happy St. Patty’s” and a “what can I get ya?” I let Caitlin go first, of course, and she ordered her dog with everything (really the only way to go) including Speed’s special mustard, BBQ sauce, cranberry and onion sweet relish, delicious hot sauce and special chili with no beans (Caitlin does not care for beans). The massive dog is grilled and butterflied before going into a fresh sub roll. We waited for our food and listened to the Irish music blasting out of my jacket pocket while we watched the other patrons sitting on the cement bench alongside the food truck. I watched as each of them awkwardly tried to figure out how to best approach eating the huge, messy hot dog. Despite their difficulty in tackling their dogs, my hunger and excitement continued to grow in anticipation to finally try it!

When Caitlin and I both got our speed dogs (I grabbed a bag of chips), I decided this was an event we needed to genuinely prep for. We walked back to the car, took off our jackets to minimize the garments that could be potentially dragged through the chili and other sauces. Caitlin chose to sit and I chose to stand. We both decided to leave the dog in the paper it was served in and took a sideways approach to pretty much eating off the hand it was resting on. The first bite was unreal….such a good dog, brined in apple cider and brown sugar beforehand, and all the sauces complimented each bite perfectly! Once I started I decided there was no need for drinking, long breaks, or talking….this was just too good. Caitlin took the slow and steady approach as I tore right through mine. I had been worried watching the other patrons earlier because they were asking one another if they were going to finish, causing me to wonder if it’d be that hard for me.

It was not. I finished mine and began to survey the sneaky mess I had somehow created on my sleeves and jacket that I wasn’t even wearing. I then need to decide on a beverage to wash it down: whiskey (for St. Patty’s), Monster (green), or water. I went with the Monster. Poor Caitlin had to fend me off while she valiantly tried to finish her dog. I helped her with the remaining bread and sauce, which was pretty delicious by itself! More people began to arrive and their excitement was apparent. I reflected on how good it was while Caitlin just smiled and enjoyed the beautiful St. Patty’s Day morning before we embarked on the rest of the day. What a great base for drinking, what a great lunch, what a great dog!