(Mellow Wanderer) Allow me to indulge myself and dine on the simplistic culinary delight of a hot dog. “Make that a double!” I declared to the friendly attendant behind the counter of one my favorite eateries, where the dogs are BOGO ( Buy One Get One Free) on National Hot Dog Day.
The spirit of the day overwhelms my taste buds as I nosh on two Monterey Dogs, described on the menu as “Naturally raised/hormone/antibiotic-nitrate free all-natural grilled beef hot dog, organic bun, but with fresh haas avocado, tomato, onion, and spicy chipotle mayo.” Great gastronomic wonder! That’s one, er, two healthy dogs! Tells you a lot about the evolution of the hot dog.
America’s National Hot Dog and Sausage Council has a well documented history of this food favorite, tracing the hot dog’s origin back to 1847 in Vienna, Austria.
Just how the hot dog made it to the United States and who brought it are unclear. Seems New York was the gateway. Makes sense since Ellis Island was the entry for immigrants. One story has a German immigrant with a push cart first selling dogs in the Bowery in the 1860’s. Another tells of a German butcher opening the first Coney Island hot dog stand in 1871.
The NHDSC has a neat brochure detailing the hot dog story, complete with facts and stats and it will gladly put one in your bun, um, hands for FREE! But why wait. Here are a few fun facts you should know about our great American obsession with the hot dog:
TOP TEN HOT DOG CONSUMING CITIES
1. Los Angeles
2. New York
3. Atlanta
4. Philadelphia
5. Chicago
6. Birmingham
7. Boston
8. Detroit
9. Pittsburgh
10. San Francisco
Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport consumes SIX times more hot dogs, 725,000 more than Los Angeles International Airport and LaGuardia Airport combined.
On Independence Day, Americans will enjoy 150 million hot dogs, enough to stretch from D.C. to L.A. more than five times.
During peak hot dog season, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans typically consume 7 billion hot dogs. That’s 818 hot dogs consumed every second during that period.
Los Angeles Dodger fans consumed a record 3,077,537 in 2014. Across the major leagues, fans ate 21.4 million hot dogs in 2014.
According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, there are a lot of myths how hot dogs are made and what is actually in them. So the NHDSC set the record straight with this video.
Historic photo and place setting photos are courtesy of NHDSC.
