Can You Mind Your Hot Dog Manners In Spite of the… Hot Dog WARS

By
Claudia Strasbaugh
-

2007 was the year of Hot Dog Etiquette. How well we handle those bun wrapped puppies come July 4 of 2008, who knows?

None of our sources agree when asked who started the Hot Dog Wars now becoming to be known as the Weiner War. The only thing they do agree on is Hot Dog Etiquette rules still apply, so they’ll be once more made available to you right after your War News.

This year since January 1, Americans have consumed 956,000,000 hot dogs not counting our munch of choice at sports events, trade shows, conventions, country fairs. The battle for the bun was predictable when hot dog makers discovered we are eating a lot of dogs in 2008 but our numbers are the same as 2007, we are not eating more of them.

Hot Dog War

To get ahead of completers this Independence Day, Kraft introduces the snack-size hot dog, completely reformulating it’s Weiner recipe. They also changed their spice blend so they could lay claim to today making the juiciest hot dog they’ve ever offered up.

Not to be outdone, arch rival Ball Park came up with the Angus Beef Hot Dogs, touting they now bring you the First National Hot Dog to contain real Angus Beef. It sounds like somebody may be making Hot Dogs with faux Angus Beef but we can’t find them to ask.

So no matter the lack of civility between leading Hot Dog makers, it is every bit as important to Eat Your Hot Dog Correctly, Please.

With National Hot Dog day almost here, peak lake and sea shore barbecuing, those back yard smokers heating up, camp sites getting hot dog ready, its more important than ever that we all display our best Hot Dog Eating manners, “Eat them dogs right:,” exclaims our National Hot Dog & Sausage Council.

  • Condiments always always applied directly on top of the dog. They never ever go on under it, on the bun.
  • Dress that Dog in proper Order please: Wet condiments first, mayo, catsup, relish, chili, or sauerkraut.
  • Followed by dry goodies, chopped or sliced onions, grafted or melted cheese(s), garlic chips, then herb-salt and basil pepper last.
  • Hot Dogs must absolutely appear on real Hot Dog buns. Bread slices are permissible only during dire times such as 33 miles to Hot Dog Buns from the camp site.
  • Seasoned buns, buns with onion bits or celery seeds are acceptable.
  • It is however considered poor policy to ever place a Hot Dog on a French Roll, Russian Kaiser bun, Croissant, or Bagel.
  • Never place any cloth napkin around or under it when eating a hot dog, paper napkins are a must.
  • It is uncouth to allow a hot dog to come in contact with china, ceramic, or glass dishes.
  • If any plate comes onto the scene it must be casual dining, Hot Dog etiquette demands that. Save the planet folks are allowed reusable paper plates if they cannot sleep after tossing a throw away plate in the trash.
  • Consuming your hot dog requires exactly 5 bites since that is the most common number people use to polish off a hot or sausage dog. Six bites have been observed every so often when watching small people and large children.
  • Fresh herbs tend to over-shadow the presentation
  • Catsup covered Hot Dogs are only for those over age 18.
  • Mustard, chili, cheese are still quite proper for all ages.
  • Condiments and/or crumbs remaining on the fingers should be licked off, rather then washed away.
  • Using multicolored toothpicks to serve even tiny cocktail wieners as well as forks are in poor taste.
  • Wave, smile, and/or wink appreciation at your hot dog barbecue host. Never send a “Thank You” after attending a cook out. It is unnecessary, considered by most to be pretentious.
  • When you host such an event, serve lemonades (variety of flavors okay), iced tea, and beer. Wine, red or white, is a completely incorrect Hot Dog drink.

    Estimated number of hot dogs consumed this year at Major League stadiums, according to a poll of concessionaires by the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council will be same as last year, 26,000,000.

    If stretched end-to-end those hot dogs would create a line all the way from Camden Yards to Dodger Stadium

    Hot Dogs are traditional baseball stadium fare, Hot Dog consumption park leaders are Chavez Ravine; Dodger fans chowing down an estimated 1.61 million, silver medal winner runner up – Rockies’ Coors Field at 1.5 million, third place, Wrigley Field still with 1.47 million.

    And lastly how did the hot dog come to be? In 1904 St. Louis drew people from all over to the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition – also known as the “World’s Fair.” It reported that sausage concessionaire Anton Feuchtwanger ran short of gloves he relied on when he handed hot dogs to customers. He approached his brother-in-law, a baker, challenging him to help, and thus, the baker gave birth to what we today know as the “bun.”

    There is no question that hot dogs go back further than a hundred years. A hot Dog precursor is clearly spoken of in Homer’s Odyssey, 850 B.C.

    Frankfurt, Germany is believed to have developed the frankfurter years before Columbus set out to find the “New World.”

    Brooklyn resident Charles Feltman opened the first hot dog stand on Coney Island in 1867.

    Can any treat with such a past deserve less than Eating Etiquette?

    As was the case last year, Coney to California, come July, the Hot Dog is still and probably will remain for a long time to come, Top Dog.

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