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Laurie’s New York Dirty Dogs
Booth’s wieners cart moves indoors
By Lara Bricker
hamptonunion@seacoastonline.com
December 09, 2008 6:00 AM

NORTH HAMPTON — Laurie Booth remembers a hot dog cart on every corner near her childhood home in Queens, New York.
And at every cart, the street vendors were serving up boiled Sabrett hot dogs, most with a traditional red onion sauce on top. The name Sabrett is synonymous with a top quality New York dog for Booth, who recently brought the brand to the Seacoast at Laurie’s New York Dirty Dogs.

After operating a hot dog cart outside Seacoast Harley-Davidson on Lafayette Road in North Hampton, Booth recently moved indoors at the motorcycle dealership where she has a year-round hot dog operation.

She believes the Sabrett’s dogs are the best tasting product around and travels to the factory on Long Island to buy them. “They’re boiled and when you bite into them, they have a snap to them and they’re natural beef,” Booth said.

The hot dogs are actually called New York Dirty Water Dogs because they are boiled and the water looks dirty due to the juices from the dog, Booth said. She worried the description of dirty water might turn people away from trying her product, so she shortened the title to simply “dirty dogs.”

Booth, a North Hampton resident, used to help her sister-in-law who had a little hot dog truck in New York. When Booth’s job at Shaw’s supermarkets corporate headquarters was eliminated a few years back, she used her severance package to buy a hot dog cart.

“It was always something I wanted to do coming from New York,” she said.

She spent a few years outside the BMW motorcycle dealer in North Hampton before moving to Seacoast Harley-Davidson. Her cart was recognizable for the yellow and blue umbrella of all Sabrett’s hot dog carts.

“This year, coming here, was a fabulous year,” she said, adding she brought her cart to a special drive-in movie night at the motorcycle dealer. “It was a very successful summer this year.”

Booth is one of only two people in New Hampshire who offer the dogs, with the other being a man in Wolfeboro, who also hails from New York originally. Booth makes the trip to the factory on Long Island every six to eight weeks for a new supply of dogs. She has a huge freezer on site in North Hampton to store them.

“Everything here is from New York except the rolls,” she said.

Her stand features the authentic Sabrett hot dogs, homemade soups, nachos and soft pretzels. She is still working to get the word out to customers that she has moved inside for the winter and says people are usually surprised to see her in the lobby of the dealership. Many stop in for a snack at the stand while they await work to be completed on their cycle, she said.

For hot dog toppings, customers can try the traditional red onion sauce that is made with a sweet tomato sauce base and the red onions. She also has chili, cheese, sauerkraut, onions, mustard, relish, ketchup and hots.

A new homemade soup is offered each day, made fresh by her husband Jim, an avid cook. “He is an Italian who loves to cook,” she said.

While Booth loves Sabrett’s dogs, she also loves meeting her customers. “I love my job. I love people; I’m in my element here.”

DIRTY DOGS

Laurie’s New York Dirty Dogs is open Wednesday through Sunday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. and is also available for birthday parties and fund-raising events.