Pretty much our speed limit:
Catching up on reading here I was puzzled at first what a hot dog with Coney Island sauce could be as I have never seen such a thing when ordering a hot dog on Coney Island. Fascinating to read on and find out it has nothing to do with CI. The recipe I saw reads more like Skyline chili which I would favor on a dog. I guess its like French and Russian dressing and other items given a place name that has nothing to do with the place.
The idea of a ‘gourmet sausage sandwich’ isn’t a complete non-starter. Chicago’s own late, lamented Hot Doug’s, is proof. He took the Chicago hot dog stand, which can be opened by almost anyone with a set list of ingredients, right down to the brand names, and be on par with any other one in the city, and zhuzhed it up. House made sausages of all types, including fancy schmancy ingredientslike truffles and fois gras.
But, pointedly, it was elevated taste with common presentation. A sausage in a bun is not, and probably shouldn’t be, a ‘fine dining’ experience or anything close to it. These are slightly messy hold-in-your-hands sorts of meals. One should not worry about getting mustard on one’s silk cravat. You can wear a cravat while you eat a hotdog, but if you’re being precious about it, you’re doing it wrong.
Also,IIRC, Hot Doug’s didn’t label their strictly non-frankfurter style sausages as hot dogs. Franks = hot dogs. The writer is correct about that. A smooth, dense meat tube, highly cured and often smoked to some degree. A bratwurst, a polish sausage, and a kurobota pork sausage with truffles and garlic are NOT hot dogs, though they may be served in the same paper-lined plastic basket, on the same poppy seed bun, with many of the same condiments.
I give the writer 4/5 dragged-through-the-garden Chicago Vienna hotdogs. No ketchup.
Not only was Mr. Sohn a culinary force, but he also was a good guy. When we once asked if BYOB were possible because he had no adult beverage license, he replied: “As long as you share with the owner.”
I’m not sure Rayner took issue with common presentation so much as substandard product and poor cooking (at least as far as I read all of that). It sounds like the sausages were poorly cooked and the buns weren’t the kind you’d expect to be the foil for a hot dog - both things that Hot Doug’s always got right. I’d be annoyed for the kind of prices being charged too.
When I worked as a sales temp in fashion jewelry at Harrods, we were located next to one of the entrances to the Food Halls. I used to like spending time during my lunch break wandering them. The food served in the employee cafeteria was pretty good, too; as I recall, they actually had an automat style sandwich dispenser, in addition to an area where you could get soups, salad, hot entrees, and dessert served from a line onto your tray (with a cashier). It seems so bizarre to me that they would have a public facing food kiosk for customers with food that might actively be bad!
This looks like a place for hot dog lovers:
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Ground chuck is the go-to of choice at Casa Meekah. Tried, true, predictable, and tasty.
“mincemeat sauce”
I detect a distinctly UK-ish (possibly Aus. or NZ) bent to this chart. I’m fairly certain it doesn’t generally apply to North America. Certainly, Chicago, NYC, Detroit, and L.A. all will have strong opinions.
But… I mean… salmon strips? What? Is this some Scandinavian concoction? Like grating katsuobushi over a Japadog?
And, yeah, hey… There’s Japadog, and the current craze of korean corn dogs, available in sausage, fish, cheese, or half-n-half.
Bourdain was probably correct: every culture eventually comes up with its own special variation of meat-in-tube-form.
He was on to something!
BITD when we were creating food ‘extrusions’ for ready to eat (think: meat pastes for space travel or MREs, squeezable yogurt for snackies) we put anything edible (barely) in a tube. We studied, at great length, consumable skins such as casings for sausages, etc. Our early concerns, other than shelf life, were the trash factor. Squeeze ‘cheese’ that we would take backpacking from the early 70’s started my interest in food extrusions.
There’s a YouTube series I plugged over in the “What are you watching?” called “Tasting History with Max Miller” where he recreates (as best as one can) historical recipes from ancient Egypt to much more recent history. He’s covered “astronaut food” in particular The recipe is Tang pie, not the most exciting thing, but the history portion is fascinating. Food in cubes, freeze drying, squeezable food, all touched upon.
A & H hot dogs. Glatt Kosher — I’ve seen the brand in a chain supermarket located in/close to a neighborhood with a substantial Orthodox population, but no where else. I got these in a Wegmans far, far removed from any Jewish neighborhood at all. Go figure.
Now for some arcana. Hebrew National hot dogs aren’t kosher enough for a lot of folks who keep kosher - they have a problem with the certifying authority that grants the hechsher (kosher logo) - it’s Triangle K. There was litigation a couple of decades ago - I’ll leave it to the curious among you to go down that rabbit hole. (A & H’s certification is from OU - Orthodox Union. )
Moving right along to more arcana. Here is the photo of a representative pack from the Instacart and Wegman’s site:
Notice it says “Kosher for Passover”. Does that elicit a hmmm? It did for me, because here is a photo of the ingredients on the label of my pack:
What’s the diff? The soy. It’s kitnyot (legumes) which Ashkenazi Jews do not consume during Passover. Notice the kosher for Passover dogs so not contain hydrolized soy protein.
I wonder if there’s any difference in taste or texture. I doubt if I will go on a mission of discovery to find out when the time comes.
Oh, the hot dog? Pretty good! Substantial. Did it in my air fryer.
And don’t forget when you’re shopping that Kosher for Passover Coke is made with real sugar, not HFCL (corn = kitnyot). So… stock up if that’s your thing.
It only seems to be available in major markets, and only in specific neighborhoods. I know seems to be widely available on the east coast, but I’ve never encountered it in the wild in Chicago or anywhere on the west coast (though I’m told it’s available in Los Angeles at some places, at least).
Well, I flout Leviticus all the time. Today I doubled down with a pan fried Hebrew National on a cheap bun with a stripe of yellow mustard, minced onion, and Wolf no beans chili. Mmmmm.
The same neighborhoods where you can still score free copies of the Maxwell House Haggadah in the grocery stores. And artisan matzo. Makes sense. But I live in an East Coast city …
Thought you lived in MN. ??
Maryland!
