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A new hot dog to relish
IT SEEMS inconceivable that I have somehow reached an AARP-eligible age without ever eating the world's greatest hot dog.
Worse, until Tuesday, I had never even heard of this particular kind of hot dog.
Tuesday morning, I heard Glen Gardner and Tim Morrissey talking about it on WTDY/AM 1670. I just heard pieces of their discussion, but Gardner was rhapsodizing about a particular style of hot dog bun that is split on the top rather than the side. This bun is the key to what makes the hot dog great. The bun has no crust on its sides and is buttered and grilled in the manner of a grilled cheese sandwich. It was invented and remains most popular in New England.
I thought I knew a lot about hot dogs. Not just because I have eaten thousands of them over the years, which I have. But because I grew up in Madison, the presence of Oscar Mayer meant the hot dog was rarely out of mind. We would often see the Wienermobile cruising around town. The wiener jingle rang in our ears.
Some years ago, I even tracked down the man who wrote the Oscar Mayer wiener jingle. His name is Richard Trentlage, and he lives outside Chicago. He wrote it in one night back in the 1960s, and it still brings him quarterly royalty checks.
I thought it fitting that Trentlage has spent his life in the Chicago area, because Chicago is home to what until this week I always assumed was the world's greatest hot dog.
It is called, appropriately, the Chicago hot dog.
I discovered how passionate Chicagoans are about the Chicago hot dog while researching a book I wrote about the late Chicago columnist Mike Royko.
Royko wrote often about food -- about the pierogis of his North Side youth, the barbecued ribs at the Ribfest he made famous, and especially hot dogs.
One hot dog column, written in response to a recipe submitted to a cookbook by Illinois U.S. Sen. Carol Moseley-Braun, was a classic of Royko vitriol.
The column appeared in November 1994, after the book featuring Moseley-Braun's recipe for a Chicago hot dog was published.
By general consensus, the makeup of a Chicago hot dog is not open to interpretation. It's an all-beef dog on a poppy seed bun, and it includes seven toppings applied in the following order: yellow mustard; bright green relish; fresh chopped onions; two tomato wedges; a pickle spear or slice; two sport peppers; and a dash of celery salt. (This recipe comes from the Web site www.hotdogchicagostyle.com, which, as it happens, is operated by a couple of Madison guys -- Mitch Kite and Kevin Sherfinski.)
In her published recipe, Moseley-Braun omitted the onions, tomatoes and celery salt. She also -- and this was her gravest sin -- included ketchup.
Royko was appalled. "She shames herself and the rest of us by displaying her ignorance of what makes a hot dog a true Chicago hot dog," he wrote.
After the column appeared, a reader asked, "What is wrong with putting ketchup on a hot dog?"
Royko replied: "It is wrong because it is not right."
I have eaten hundreds of Chicago style hot dogs over the years, including many here in Madison. I ate two during a book signing for the Royko book at the now-gone Dog Eat Dog Chicago hot dog joint on King Street.
I have always assumed the Chicago hot dog was king, but now I'm not so sure. On Tuesday, after listening to Gardner on the radio, I began to research the mysterious bun he spoke of so reverently.
I found a Web site -- Gardner had referenced it -- that sells what it calls a "New England Style Hot Dog Roll." It includes a photo of two dogs and notes that the roll "for the most can be purchased only in the New England States." The Web site -- be advised that 24 rolls are $19.95 -- is www.mapleandmore.com.
While the photo looked interesting, it wasn't until I read a salute to the New England style dog on www.chowhound.com that I began to think I have really been missing something.
On June 27, 2005, a woman named Anna Snell from Kansas City posted a brief ode to the New England dog, which read: "I used to work at W.T. Grant's 30 years ago, and I sold those famous grilled hot dogs with the New England style hot dog roll. We buttered it on both sides on the butter wheel, then grilled it like a grilled cheese. Then opened the top split, put in the chili, then the hot dog, with relish, mustard and onions on top. That way, the chili doesn't fall off when you eat it. 40 cents and 45 cents with chili -- I sold 100 hot dogs in three hours!"
Wow. My stomach growled just typing that. I wonder if there is anything close to that concoction for sale around Madison? In the meantime, I'm ordering some of the rolls for home experimentation. It sounds delicious and decadent, and the best thing? Still no ketchup.
Heard something Moe should know? Call 252-6446, write P.O. Box 8060, Madison, WI 53708, or e-mail dmoe@madison.com
