Grab a Hot Dog and Great Conversation in Portland, Maine for Only $2.50

Lunch in beautiful Monument Square in Portland, Maine, for only $2.50? Yup.

I'm lucky. I work in downtown Portland and have for decades. Oh sure parking is always a bitch, but it's worth it. Portland has had growing pains like any other small city getting bigger. There are problems with the city's homeless population that need addressing, and the expense of living or working in the city. But you have to notice the little things that make Portland, Maine, great. Part of what makes it great is Lenny's Graffam's Hot Dog stand.

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Those prices are real at Graffam Hot Dog Stand in Portland, Maine

Joe runs the cart you'll find more often than not in Monument Square in Portland. I bet he does a bang-up business during the protests. Walking to FedEx one afternoon, I smiled at Joe running the cart, chatting with a handful of people around him. I was on a mission, but I could have sworn I saw $2.50 as a price. I was right.

Good grief, you can add cheese for just another .50 cents! I asked Joe (who was camera-shy) why he's so cheap. He simply said,

Lenny's has been around with me for a combined 50 years. I keep the prices cheap.

Joe's been handling the cart for 23 years. He doesn't have the red hot dogs, so if you are looking for those, you gotta go somewhere else.

He just placed a fresh batch of dogs to steam. He said if he doesn't sell them all, 'he's got dinner all set!' If you want to chat with a sweet, humble man, selling a great dog for under 3 bucks, stop by Monument Square and splurge and get the cheese.