We’ve got the perfect remedy for people who love hot dogs but don’t like baseball. Don’t go to a baseball game. Instead, visit the top dogs for hot dogs as recommended by Roadfood authors Jane & Michael Stern. According to the couple, hot dogs are the most varied food group in the nation so have your dog and eat it too at one of these roadside temples to clogged arteries:

• Superdawg: Chicago is known to be one of America’s fattest cities and it’s no wonder - Superdawg is the Michael Jordan of stands. This vintage drive-in features two huge anthropomorphic hot dog statues atop the roof that rumor has it can be seen from space. Firm, all-beef Superdawgs are topped with boatloads of condiments. Try the brilliant spruce-green piccalilli relish with a Supermalt, Supersoda, or Supershake and a side of crinkle-cut fries. Better book two seats on the way back. (6363 N. Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, IL)
  • Chicago Flights
  • Chicago Hotels

  

• Ted’s: Not just a city of wing nuts, Buffalo is also home to one of the country’s top hot dogs. The chefs at Ted’s beat the dogs into submission by poking, slapping and squishing the suckers to puncture the skin, allowing the dogs to suck in maximum smoke flavor. Condiments are plentiful so consult with the countermen, known as “dressers”, to select the right garnishes for you. The Sterns recommend Ted’s hot sauce, a peppery concoction laced with bits of relish. (2312 Sheridan Drive, Tonawanda (Buffalo), NY)
  • Buffalo Flights
  • Buffalo Hotels

  

• Pink’s: The line of celebrity limos outside Pink’s will tell you’ve arrived at the right place. The all-beef dogs have been served here since 1939 and have catered to more stars than a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. But don’t let Bruce Willis creep to the front of the line-even if he did propose to Demi Moore over a famous Pink dog. And don’t forget to bring your entourage. (709 N. La Brea Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA)
  • LA Flights
  • LA Hotels

  

• Otto’s Sausage Kitchen: According to Jane and Michael, this neighborhood meat market, which opened in 1927, makes hot dogs that transcend weeniehood. With so many varieties of dog to choose from–traditional beef-and-pork links to extra-large sausages made from chicken or pork-it’s worth loosening the belt and trying more than one. (4138 S. E. Woodstock Boulevard, Portland, OR)
  • Portland Flights
  • Portland Hotels

  

Get the Fare Buzz for these top dogs and six other restaurants recommended by Jane & Michael Stern’s Roadfood from your home airport.

That’s all for now folks - we’re dog tired.
Steve and Paul, Kayak.com co-founders

All photos courtsey of Jane & Michael Stern’s Roadfood.com.

Ever wonder why we named the site Kayak.com? We were inspired by the Inuit Indians who sure knew how to travel. While the rest of us were trudging around on horseback, or worse, on foot, they were row-row-rowing their kayaks gently down the stream. And where better to merrily-merrily-merrily-merrily find out about a Kayak trip than Kayak.com? A coincidence? Perhaps. Convenient? Definitely. Just paddle over to any of these recommendations from our friends at GORP.

• Swan Lake isn’t just a ballet. It’s part of Alaska’s Kenai Canoe Trails. Linked by the Moose River, the 60 mile long system connects 30 different lakes just teeming with fresh salmon. And if you like fresh salmon then join the rest of the wild life. You’ll see terns, cormorants, loons, mergansers, grebes, kingfishers, ospreys, bald eagles not to mention mammals including mink and river otter. If you see a black bear remember he’s probably more scared of you … scratch that, RUN! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!
  • Kenai Flights
  • Kenai Hotels
• Combine kayaking, tanning and margaritas and you have yourself the perfect getaway to the Baja Peninsula. Explore the Sea of Cortés, known for the number and variety of whales and porpoises that swim these waters. The Sea of Cortés hosts 600 species of fish, which in turn provide sustenance to a wide variety of seabirds. GORP recommends starting at the town of Loreto. We recommend starting with the Cuervo Gold.
  • Loreto Flights
  • Loreto Hotels
• The Inside Passage is a protected waterway that extends for 950 miles from Puget Sound to Skagway, Alaska. Unless you’re the aquatic version of Lance Armstrong, we suggest tackling the breathtaking San Juan Islands first. Protected from Pacific Ocean swells and storms, the islands have commanding views of the Olympic Mountains to the south, snow-covered Mt. Baker and the Cascade Range to the east and the British Columbia Coast Range to the north. Be on the lookout for otters, bears, a wealth of birdlife, and whales (even orcas).
  • Vancouver Flights
  • Vancouver Hotel
• Everglades National Park is the largest remaining subtropical wilderness in the US, and is home to a veritable zoo of endangered, rare, and exotic species. GORP recommends the 99-mile Wilderness Waterway which meanders through bosques of mangroves, sawgrass prairies, rivers and creeks, and coastal bays. Enjoy passing by the Roseate spoonbills and manatees but we recommend against feeding the alligators.
  • Naples Airport
  • Naples Hotel

Get the Fare Buzz for GORP’s list of Great Kayaking Destinations from your home airport.

Remember, life is but a dream,
Steve and Paul, Kayak.com co-founders

Want some face time with a Bluestriped Grunt? Or how about a little R&R with an Eastern Blue Devil? Whether you’re a diehard bubble head or a newbie looking for a hobby, there’s nothing quite like being 40 feet under the beautiful briny, shimmery, shiny sea. And Scuba Diving Magazine’s Annual Reader’s Choice issue has a dive destination for you.

• So long as you don’t watch the movie Open Water before you go, Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is a must for any SCUBA enthusiast. It’s the largest and most extensive reef system in the world. Most of the dives are shallow, so don’t be intimidated by the size of the reef. Do be intimated by the fish in some areas which include sharks the size of airplanes.
  • Port Douglas Air
  • Port Douglas Hotel
• First time strapping on the tanks? According to the Scuba Diving readers, Grand Cayman is among the best dive destinations for beginners. With fringing reefs, shallow shelves and quick shoreline drop-offs, divers have instant access to both shallow and deep reef environments. Swim on over to Grand Cayman’s North Wall, home to Stingray City and Sandbar - two of the most legendary stingray encounters in the world.
  • Grand Cayman Flights
  • Grand Cayman Hotels
• If you’re looking to get away from high-rise hotels and crowds, then Belize is your spot. Visit the famous Blue Hole, part of the Lighthouse Reef. Almost 1,000 feet in diameter and over 450 feet deep, its walls are almost perfectly vertical and fairly smooth. Once a dry cave system before an earthquake and that pesky Ice Age, the Blue Hole features enormous stalactites (hanging down), stalagmites (rising up) and columns (when stalactites meet stalagmites) dating from the Pleistocene period.
  • Belize City Air
  • Belize City Hotel
• Cozumel: It is - ow-you-say - breathtaking. Yes, ever since Jacques Cousteau revealed Cozumel’s underwater beauty to the rest of the world in his 1961 documentary, Cozumel has consistently occupied a top spot among diver’s favorite destinations. What the world saw was an underwater fairyland of swaying coral gardens, waves of countless tropical fish riding the currents, steep walls that fall deep into the ocean floor, sunken galleons and tunnels that went well inside the island’s underwater foundations. Plus, according to Scuba Diving Magazine, Cozumel has the best nightlife of the list so when you kick off the fins you can kick back in style.
  • Cozumel Air
  • Cozumel Hotel

Get the Fare Buzz for Scuba Diving Magazine’s Reader’s Choice list from your home airport.

As SCUBA divers say, tanks for the memory,
Steve and Paul, Kayak.com co-founders

Week after week, the most popular Trip Idea on Kayak.com is “Best Nude Beaches” from the Travel Channel. We assume this is because bathing suits are expensive and you can’t beat the price of your birthday suit. In honor of all you pervs, free spirits, exhibitionists etc, here is a list of clothing optional beaches and resorts.

• Hedonism Resort is the closest many of us will ever come to the Playboy mansion. As the name suggests, this beach front resort welcomes the wicked to a Spring Break atmosphere all year around. Choose from two locations in Jamaica: Hedonism II in Negril or Hedonism III in Runaway Bay. Both resorts are all-inclusive (which comes in handy when you don’t have pockets) and offer activities and amenities for the nude and clothed.
  • Montego Bay Flights
  • Negril Hotels
• Haulover Beach in Sunny Isles, Florida is one of the few government-sanctioned clothing-optional beaches in the US. Located just north of Miami, visitors to Haulover enjoy many of the amenities associated with regular beaches including lifeguards (Kayak.com encourages safety during all naked frolicking) and organized group activities-mind out of the gutter, we mean swimming and volleyball. There are a number of resorts from the bargain Best Western to the luxurious Trump International Sonesta Beach Resort.
  • Miami Flights
  • Sunny Isles, FL Hotels
• Don’t know about you, but we prefer a beach so beautiful that eyes can’t help but look elsewhere. Red Beach on Greece’s picturesque island of Crete boasts a turquoise blue sea and a sunset that creates a hue of colors not to be missed. Sick of sitting on the beach? The ancient caves of Red Beach offer more cracks and crevices than, well, a nude beach.
  • Crete Flights
  • Crete Hotels
• Couldn’t make it to the Olympics in Torino or Athens? How about the Nude Olympics on Samurai Beach in Port Stephens, Australia? While you won’t see the Today Show cast reporting from these Olympics, visitors come nevertheless to see athletes compete in events such as the nude torch relay, nude surfing and the nude beach men and women competition. Before you get judgmental, how much clothes do you think the first Olympians wore?
  • Williamtown Flights
  • Port Stephens Hotels

Get the Fare Buzz for the Travel Channel’s Best Nude Beaches list from your home airport.

Remember to pack your camera!
Steve and Paul, Kayak.com Co-founders