Village Chronicles

Hot Dogs are so all-American. We associate those little sausage rolls with ballgames, picnics, the 4th of July, Coney Island and just one heck of an easy, quick meal that can be dressed up or dressed down.

According to the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, seven billion hot dogs are consumed by Americans between Memorial Day and Labor Day (818 every second!) and 155 million are consumed over the 4th of July weekend. That’s a lot of hot-dog-eating!

If you’re a true Chicagoan, you must NEVER use ketchup on a hot dog. Children are exempt from this rule of course, but true hot dog eaters should not use the red condiment. It is strictly against the Chicago rules. My husband went to a hot dog place once where they strictly followed the rule by banning the condiment completely. If you wanted ketchup, you were out of luck.

Cities dress their dogs differently, and here in Chicago I am skeptical about the official “Chicago” dressing. According to reports, the Chicago hot dog is layered with yellow mustard, dark green relish, sport peppers, pickle spear, tomatoes, chopped raw onion, and celery salt, all served on a poppy seed bun. I don’t understand the pickle spear and the peppers.

I think the chain hot dog stands started the peppers and pickles. I am a longtime Chicagoan, raised in Bridgeport, and the regular Chicago dog did not have the pickle or peppers.

When I was a kid, we had “Mike the hot dog man”, as he was eloquently named. His small white, wheeled cart held a bounty of wonderful food—delicious hot dogs, steamed buns and tamales. OMG— those were the best hot dogs I have ever eaten. I have never had a better one since. Mike would come and go. Sometimes after walking from my house to his corner spot, about 10 blocks away, he wouldn’t be there. Huge disappointment.

Even back then they had rules about operating a food stand, having running water and complying with all the sanitation rules of course. So, if Mike wasn’t there we knew the cops must have shooed him away. Then he would be show up again, and we would be overjoyed to get those delectable hot dogs. 25 to 30 people would be in line on a hot summer night, and it didn’t matter—that food was worth the wait. As a child, you didn’t think about the sanitation part. My parents said that he probably paid off the cops who would shoo him away. Then magically he’d return.

Maybe he balked from time to time, and they would shut him down.

He never lacked for customers. Nary a pickle or pepper in sight, just plenty of onions, dark green relish, tomatoes and mustard—so good.

You may be surprised to know that Los Angeles consumes more hot dogs than any other city. Odd fact. How can that be? California, the state of sleek, slim and healthy people, they consume the most hot dogs? New York follows in second place, with a tie for San Antonio and Corpus Christi next, a tie for fourth with Baltimore and Washington and Chicago rolls in at fifth place.

Hot dogs have been part of eating contests as well. The chain, Nathan’s Famous, at Coney Island in Brooklyn hold hot dog eating contests on the 4th of July.

It was great to see the small, skinny Takeru Kobayashi win every year—he was such an awesome competitor, winning from 2001 to 2006. Then in 2007 Joey Chestnut won. We all felt badly for Kobayashi – he was THE hot dog eating king after all. Then Chestnut won again in 2008, 2009 and 2010. We would love to see a comeback for the popular Asian super-eater. He reached an impasse with the Major League Eating (MLE) folks and didn’t even compete in 2010. Will he compete in 2011? Stay tuned.

The nitrites used as preservatives in hot dogs are not the greatest ingredients to ingest because of alleged cancer-causing properties, but like everything, eating in moderation is key. Trader Joe’s grocery store carries nitrite-free hot dogs, and they are good.

So salute July with the All-American hot dog, some baked beans, and ice cream. You’ll be celebrating with at least three of the national treasures of the month. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!