Have you ever wondered what a picnic would be like without hot dogs? Or a baseball game? Although the origin of the hot dog is unclear (it may be related to the wiener from Vienna, Austria, or the frankfurter wurst from Frankfurt, Germany), this “fun food” is a legitimate American phenomenon. The clamor for hot dogs can be heard at sports stadiums and amusement parks from coast to coast.
Like its origin, the name “hot dog” is also shrouded in mystery. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council will suggest that “hot dog” may have been coined in 1906 by Harry Stevens, a concessionaire at the old Polo Grounds ballpark in New York City. According to the council, Stevens began calling the sandwich a hot dog rather than a “dachshund sausage” as it had been known at the time.
Regardless of how the hot dog got its name, it soon became the favorite patriotic fare of Americans, who were soon patronizing hot-dog stands and gobbling up the “dogs” just as fast as they could be placed in buns.
Of course, the best way to eat a hot dog depends on one’s location. In fact, for years a feud has been raging between Chicagoans and New Yorkers, as each group claims to know the best way to cook and “dress” a “frank.” In the Windy City, people prefer their hot dogs boiled or steamed, mixed with pork, well seasoned, and piled high with relish, tomato, pickles, and peppers. In the Big Apple, people are partial to all-beef hot dogs grilled and topped with mustard, onions, and sauerkraut.
No matter how Americans may “dress” their “dogs,” it is clear that they love this food. In all, Americans eat 20 billion hot dogs a year, which proves just how much they “relish” this dish.