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BOSTON SPEED’S FAMOUS HOT DOG WAGON
Last year, the Wall Street Journal called the Speed’s hot dog ($7) the best in America. I can’t speak for the country, but I will confidently call Speed’s the Weenie King of Greater Boston. In Newmarket Square, Roxbury’s dusty wholesale food warehouse district, you can find this little truck operating, now with more regular hours since former apprentice Greg Gale took over from recently retired founder Ezra “Speed” Anderson.
Gale hasn’t strayed from Anderson’s elaborate technique. He simmers the dog (a half-pound, all-beef, natural-casing behemoth from Connecticut purveyor Grote & Weigel) in cider and brown sugar, then grills it over charcoal while basting it with “Speed’s special sauce,” a ketchup-like, house-made condiment. A split-top bun of excellent quality is grilled all toasty. The dog is then topped with a house-made relish (a mix of piccalilli and cranberry chutney), a special mustard blend, a house-made beef chili (spicy and beanless), and chopped white onions. Eat it standing over the roof of your car or at the nearby plastic picnic tables. It’s gigantic, extraordinary, symphonic in its interplay of flavors. You’ll never crave a puny Fenway Frank again.
Approximate address: 42 Newmarket Square, Roxbury
Hours: Monday through Wednesday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. from March through November. Call ahead on rainy days. Monday through Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. from December through February, weather permitting. Phone: 617.839.0102
Nearby landmark: Katsiroubas Bros. Wholesale Fruit and Produce warehouse
