Mobile UPI  |   About UPI  |   UPI en Español  |   UPI Arabic  |   UPIU  |   My Account
Search:
Go

Man eating a hot dog a day for 31 days

|
|
 
  
Playboy Playmate of the Year Jayde Nicole (L) and Playmate Joe Garcia (C) serve veggie hot dogs as part of an event put on by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) to call out against National Hot Dog Month, on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 15, 2009. (UPI Photo/Kevin Dietsch) 
Published: July 28, 2011 at 12:13 PM

NATICK, Mass., July 28 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts man said he is touring the region's hot dog eateries on his quest to eat a frankfurter a day for 31 days.

Rob Merlino, 47, of Natick, said he is celebrating July's National Hot Dog Month by having one hot dog for lunch each day during the month, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.

Merlino, who operated his own hot dog truck for six years, said he has eaten hot dogs grilled, steamed, fried, and boiled from area businesses including restaurants, carts, trucks and box car diners.

GALLERY: PETA serves vegan hot dogs on Capitol Hill

"Everybody's making a big deal out of it, 'Oh my gosh, that's a lot of hot dogs,''' Merlino said.

"But the guy who won the Nathan's contest ate twice as much as I'll eat in a month, in about 15 minutes,'' he said, referring to Nathan's Famous Fourth of July International Hot Dog Eating Contest winner Joey Chestnut, who downed 62 dogs in 10 minutes.

Merlino said his quest stemmed from his Web site, thehotdogtruck.com, which highlights locations to find hot dogs in New England.

"People say New England's not hot dog country, but there's a real rich tradition of hot dogs in New England and the Boston area,'' he said.

Recommended Stories
© 2011 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Any reproduction, republication, redistribution and/or modification of any UPI content is expressly prohibited without UPI's prior written consent.

Order reprints
  
Join the conversation
Most Popular Collections
Linsanity Cheerleaders of 2012 Mardi Gras in New Orleans
The Brit Awards in London The Most Desirable Women of 2012 The best kisses
Additional Odd News Stories
Your Daily Horoscope
The almanac
1 of 19
President And Mrs. Obama Host Music Legends For Celebration Of Blues Music in Washington
View Caption
fark
Buying potato chips? That's a shootin' (w/photos and video)
Brain disease turns 22-year-old hottie into a toddler (w/ 'you'd spank it' pics)
If you're willing to entrust your back-room boob job to Queen Divas Hair Salon and Spa, then don't...
From the "You CAN make a difference" files: Tonight a City Council in California killed a proposal...
If you shoot "your friend" in the forehead at point blank range, saying he asked you to do it generally...
London Bridge may not be falling down but the Queensboro Bridge in New York sure as hell is