Scooter’s World Famous Dawg House carries on 22-year tradition of great hot dogs: Best Hot Dog in Greater Cleveland contest

MENTOR, Ohio – Summers on Lake Erie should not full for a lot of beach-going scorching canine lovers with out a cease at Scooter’s World Well-known Dawg Home.

For years, hungry of us have dusted off the sand from Mentor Headlands Seaside and headed — not house — however to Scooter’s for a canine and fries.

Located close to the doorway of Ohio’s largest seashore, Scooter’s was as soon as a filling station and auto-repair store earlier than the storage doorways have been eliminated and the service bays remodeled into a unusual eatery that has stuffed tummies, quite than fuel tanks, for the final 22 years, and there’s all the time a line.

Present proprietor Michael Blauman was a longtime buyer, who by no means let a seashore season slip away with out a number of stops at Scooter’s. In the future, an off-the-cuff dialog turned his world round.

“I’ve been coming right here for years,” he says. “I heard the house owners have been trying to retire and discover somebody who would hold their child alive.”

Now, seven years into his tenure as proprietor of the tiny eatery, Blauman has stayed true to the promise he made to Scott and Diane Hagara — to construct Scooter’s status because the “greatest scorching canine round.”

The tiny stand claimed third place within the remaining hour of voting – claiming 13.78 % of the votes forged by cleveland.com readers — in our seek for the Finest Scorching Canine in Higher Cleveland.

Blauman labored as a head-hunter for IT and medical professionals. He had no expertise within the restaurant trade when Scott Hagara revealed an curiosity in promoting.

“I used to be all the time a foodie,” stated Blauman. “I believe my calling was culinary college however I by no means received there, so after they stated they have been considering promoting it simply steamrolled from there. By the start of the following season, I used to be the proprietor – although the Hagaras stayed on most of that 12 months to show me the whole lot concerning the enterprise because it was all new to me.”

Blauman admits little has modified.

The enterprise continues to be seasonal – open March by the top of September solely — to reap the benefits of the regular circulation of sun-seekers.

The menu is basically made up of the identical scorching canine creations the Hagaras developed throughout their tenure, although Blauman has added a number of of his personal taste mixtures, rising the menu to a whopping 25 scorching canine choices that are available three sizes — the “Quick,” a 6-inch, 1/5 pound scorching canine; the “Lengthy,” a 10-inch quarter-pound wiener and the “Homewrecker,” a 14-inch half pounder.

Scooter’s sources its frankfurters — an old style mix of pork and beef, although all-beef franks can be found, from Cleveland’s 5 Star Meats.

The stand takes the unconventional route of cooking the canine in a deep-fryer, which supplies the skinless franks a pleasant pop.

The most important adjustments are that Blauman now makes use of contemporary floor beef, versus the frozen patties the Hagaras served, in addition to including salads and hen to the menu to satisfy the demand for more healthy choices.

“You may see it with the regulars. They might have are available a few instances every week for a scorching canine, now they nonetheless come, however as an alternative of getting scorching canine each time, they could go for a salad or a grilled hen sandwich. Or possibly, they’ll simply have the recent canine, however with out the bun,” Blauman stated with fun. “Regardless, we do plenty of issues moreover scorching canine very well. However then, our scorching canine are nonetheless spectacular.”

In case you are new to Scooter’s, regulars are fast to advocate the Bacon Cheese Canine or the Chicago Canine.

In case you are on the lookout for one thing a little bit extra adventurous, take a look at the Scooter’s Excessive Canine – topped with bleu cheese, scorching sauce and a beneficiant sprinkling of Blauman’s selfmade spice combination and jalapenos.

Most unusual to the menu is the Cuban Canine: a grilled sliced scorching canine atop Swiss cheese and ham, barbecue sauce and pickles and grilled inside a sourdough panini.

And if you need fries with that – know prematurely that Scooter’s “small fries” are a mountain of hand-cut crispy potatoes that can feed your entire desk.

When requested if he regrets stepping out of the company world to personal a scorching canine stand, Blauman simply smiles broadly and shakes his head.

“I imply, c’mon! It’s scorching canine. They’re enjoyable. I’m having enjoyable. What might be higher?”