Have you ever eaten a red hot dog? If so, it was probably in Maine!
Different states have their own favorites. In California it is the “Downtown Dog” or the “Danger Dog,” in Massachusetts there is the “Fenway Frank,” in Michigan they serve the “Coney Dog,” in Ohio you find the “Polish Boy” and the “Hungarian Dog,” Rhode Island has the “Hot Weiner” and in Maine the most popular variety is in a natural red colored casing. This red variety is sometimes called “Red Snappers.”
W.A. Bean is the only company in Maine that makes red hot dogs. This company was started in Bangor over a hundred fifty years ago by Albert Bean. He started a one man butcher shop on Ohio Street, but the business took off. Five generations and over four million hot dogs later it is a very large meat business.
On Saturday, August 13th, Dexter, Maine, hosts the annual Maine Red Hot Dog Festival. There will be a full day of fun activities including the Bun Run, Hot Dog Eating Contest, Cook-Off Contest, Music, Crafts, food and much more. Come celebrate Maine’s Red Hot Dog!
Hot Dogs in Maine and most of New England are served in a top-loading style roll with toasted buttery sides, a soft inside and a flat bottom. There is plenty of room for condiments and it will sit upright. In Maine these rolls are also used for Lobster Rolls and Fried Clam Rolls.
It was actually fried clams and not hot dogs that led to this top loaded roll. In the 1940’s Howard Johnson needed a bun that would hold their clam strips and not fall over. The bun created by J.J. Nissen filled the bill. The hinged hot dig roll did not come out until the 1050’s. 
If you are outside of New England and would like to have a red hot dog in a top loading bun, you can order them online.
Remember the Red Hot Dog Festival in Dexter, Maine, in August !
