Latest news with #Frankfurters
Yahoo
04-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
How the hot dog became America's favorite sausage
No food is more American than the hot dog. This humble, ubiquitous tube of meat has been a hit for more than 150 years, on boardwalks and city streets, at backyard cookouts and Independence Day parades. Like our country itself, it's a product of immigrants that has evolved to contain multitudes, from special toppings to mysterious ingredients. Bun or no bun, it's now a part of our national DNA, a roll-up-your-sleeves alternative to those other fancy cuisines. Here's how the sausage was made. —NATALIA GALICZA Frankfurters, a beef-and-pork link brought stateside by German immigrants, went viral in the 1860s, nearly four centuries after they were invented in the old country. By 1939, hot dogs were so American that the White House served them to the king and queen of England on a picnic with the Roosevelts, bolstering the U.S.-British alliance on the verge of World War II. 'Hot dog diplomacy' became a soft-power staple, fueling relations with the former Soviet Union, Middle East and Europe. The USDA requires that hot dogs — like bologna — contain this minimum majority of meat, often trimmings and scraps. Fat is capped at 30%, water at 10% and 'binders and extenders' like milk or cereal at 3.5%. It's all ground into a paste with salt, sugar and spices like nutmeg, paprika and coriander, cured with nitrites and smushed into casings — tubes made from sheep intestines, beef collagen or cellulose. Most are sold 'skinless,' the casing removed after cooking. The average American eats nearly six hot dogs each month. That's 20 billion nationwide each year, per the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council, or at least 2 billion pounds' worth — more than 3,500 times the weight of the Statue of Liberty. By city, Los Angeles eats the most, but New York, Dallas, Chicago and Boston are not too far behind. We are not the same. New Yorkers favor sauerkraut and brown mustard. Chicago dogs come in a poppy seed bun with relish, veggies and celery salt. Other folks may add chili or fish cakes. Beef franks rule the East Coast; the West Coast leans into poultry. Americans don't distinguish between hot dogs and the stubby, beef-and-pork frankfurter or its longer, more slender relative, Vienna's 'wiener.' Industrial cheese-injected wieners are also hot dogs; but Polish dogs are not. That's the size of a Wienermobile, Oscar Mayer's 89-year-old marketing gimmick. Six such hot dog-shaped vehicles traverse the nation's highways with 12 drivers, less than 1 percent of all applicants for this coveted position. Costco, the membership wholesaler, continues another venerable campaign, selling 100 million hot dog and soda combos each year for just $1.50 each — the same price despite 40 years of inflation, at the co-founder's personal insistence. That's how fast dogs shoot from the notorious hot dog cannon, wielded by the 'Phillie Phanatic' at Philadelphia Phillies baseball games. At least four other pro sports teams have adopted the beloved contraption since its 1996 debut. Hot dogs have been sold at sports stadiums since the 1800s. Today, fans consume about 8,000 dogs at every Major League Baseball game, amounting to 20 million wieners across a six-month season. Competitive eater Joey Chestnut set this record at the Nathan's Famous International Hot Dog Eating Contest in 2021, downing almost 17 pounds of beef — like swallowing 44 billiard balls. Since 1972, contest champs have eaten more than 1,509 franks. One hot dog can shave 36 minutes off a person's healthy lifespan. High sodium can cause cardiovascular disease and high blood pressure, while nitrates and nitrites have been linked to breast and prostate cancer. 'I love hot dogs. I love 'em in buns. I love them outside of buns. I love them with baked beans. I just like hot dogs. ... May there be many, many more hot dogs served in our wonderful land.' — Mitt Romney on National Hot Dog Day, July 19, 2023 This story appears in the July/August 2025 issue of DeseretMagazine. Learn more about how to subscribe.
Axios
18-02-2025
- Business
- Axios
Good Wurst in Plaza Midwood to reopen as Clark's Snack Bar
The original owner of The Good Wurst Company is opening a new restaurant called Clark's Snack Bar in the original Plaza Midwood Good Wurst location. Why it matters: Clark's Snack Bar will essentially be Good Wurst 2.0, offering staples from the original menu and bringing back some of the magic that made the deli so popular to begin with. What they're saying:"I'm hoping to offer the neighborhood a great, fun, high quality and friendly environment," owner Lincoln Clark tells Axios. "The same as it was at Good Wurst for the first two years that I owned the restaurant." Dig in: The popular Frankfurters from Upstate New York, sausage and kielbasa, brats, homemade fries and baked beans are just some of the Good Wurst menu items making a comeback. Plus, Clark's adding several sandwiches, fried bologna and chicken salad to the menu. The vibe: Clark's Snack Bar will be a place for people to gather. The space will transform slightly, with new booth seating inside and new picnic tables outside, but the core "rock and roll vibe" of the original Good Wurst will return. The Grateful Dead décor and music videos, which were removed when Clark left the company, are some examples of things fans can expect to come back. Catch up quick: Good Wurst first opened in Plaza Midwood in 2020 and it was an instant hit. By 2022, with the help of new investors, the local brand had expanded to South End and Riverbend Village in northwest Charlotte. Earlier this year, the Plaza Midwood location permanently closed despite a sign on the door that said it's "reopening soon," CBJ first reported. Its South End and Riverbend Village locations closed in 2024. Clark sold 70% of the brand in 2021, according to CBJ, and sold his remaining stake over a year ago. What's next: Clark's Snack Bar is estimated to open by the end of March at 3001 Central Ave.
