Hot dogs and beans are a familiar combo almost everywhere. The bean dog, which combines the two in a hot dog bun, is a specialty of weenie shops in and around Fall River, Massachusetts. Bean dogs frequently are topped with the same hot cheddar cheese used in the region’s hot cheese sandwich, and most places that sell them offer chouriço (Portuguese) sausage in place of the dog as well as a sandwich that is just beans in a bun. The latter works best when the beans are very porky and onion laced, but most beans on bean dogs are more spartan: just beans, sweet and starchy enough to balance a fatty little frank.
The Fall River bean dog: frank and beans in a bun.