Flo's Hot Dogs - New shops with expanded menus
On my way back to Boston from Portland last Thursday I stopped at Flo's for a couple of dogs with sauce and mayo, and I picked up some info on their new locations. The shop in South Sanford was scheduled to open this past weekend, and the one in Moody is targeted for an April opening. Both new locations will offer an expanded menu - besides hot dogs there will be burgers, BLT sandwiches, fries, onion rings, and also some additional toppings for the dogs, such as chili and sauerkraut. It seems the new locations are rented stores, so they need to attract more than just hot dog customers in order to pay the additional overhead.
groaker
Feb 21, 2006 12:05PM
Gail must be trying to make it big all of the sudden, like she wasn't raking it in already? On a weekend she is pulling in at least $100/hour in Cape Nedick, but then she is only open for 4 hours. You will find Flo's sauce in jars in some gourmet shops in the area too. My wife bought a jar at the kitchen shop next to the Gas Light in Porstmouth, cost $9 as I recall.
Might be the same sauce, but the results just don't taste the same. Tried at home with the jarred sauce, Shield's dogs, jarred mayo - close but not the same.
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Maybe it's really the bun after all.
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After 20 years of driving by Flo's we FINALLY decided to stop and get some dogs. Now, we are not familiar with the drill at Flo's but figured out how she operates in a few minutes.
My one question is about the way the dogs are served - we listened to others ordering and copied them the best we could. What we did order was 2 with sauce and two with mustard and relish. The sauce was good, like hot dogs and beans without the beans. What we don't know is, what's the mayo for and what is a "special". Didn't dare ask as everyone else in the place was Flo-savvy.
We are big fans of Coney Island in Wo'stah, Salubrious Bob in W. Boylston and Murph's on 117 in Lancaster, MA. but they don't serve anything remotely similar to Flo.
Anyway, everything tasted great and the dog's had a nice snap and were plenty hot.
Please educate us!
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If you say "sauce", you mean Flo's trademark hot sauce. If you ask for "relish" you will be asked if you mean "green relish" (typical pickle relish), or Flo's, because some people say relish when they mean sauce. If you are going to order dogs without sauce, you might as well go someplace else, because the hot sauce is what made Flo's famous. The "Special" is what I had: sauce and mayo, and it is probably the most popular combination. The mayo combined with the hot sauce makes a kind of faux remoulade. But then, I'll put mayo on just about anything.
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Thanks for your explanation... now we won't feel like fools when we stop in again!
(I love mayo on everything too!)
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If you happen to find yourself near Natick MA, be sure to check out Casey's Diner, another estimable hot dog joint dating back several generations. Casey's doesn't have their own special sauce, but the dogs are delicious. The secret slang there is "all around", as in "Two, all around", which will get you two dogs with mustard, pickle relish, and onions.
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Have been driving by Flo's for many years and have been reading all of the messages about how great the hot dogs were so we decided to stop and treat ourselves to some. Really cannot understand what all of the favorable posts are about. We all thought it was a hot dog....nothing more. Have had much better in my backyard on the grill. Please tell me what all of the hype is about Flo's. just ordinary we think..............
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I agree with Babs that this dog is ordinary. I live in N.J. where we have quite a hot dog culture. Stopped at Flo's while on vacation in 2000. In my opinion, a milder beef and pork dog like the one at Flo's (Schultz brand, I believe) is better grilled or deep fried. I had my dogs with just mustard. The big attraction here is the homeade sauce, which I did not try because I do not like onions.
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I WAS Schultz, but they are no longer made. They were bought by a competitor a couple of years ago and promptly discontinued.
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My Dad used to take me Casey's when I was a little girl.. am from Framingham originally.
The "two all around" is very familiar even though I haven't been there in years.
I always had to have celery salt on mine with an Orange Crush!
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AS far as I am concerned, there is no reason to go to Flo's unless you are having a dog with her sauce- with the addition of either onions or mayo. Mustard and relish- forget it, don't bother.
The hot dogs are good, and served very hot in hot steamed buns. I can;t even imagine why they are expanding the menu in new locations.
PS- the bottled sauce tastes nothing like what they serve at Flos.
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Flo must be turning over in her grave!
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