Let’s be frank: hot dogs and summer go hand in hand, and most Americans love their dogs.
From Memorial Day to Labor Day, Americans consume about 7 billion hot dogs.
Get ready to honor the frank this summer on National Hot Dog Day. But first, a culinary history lesson.
How the term “hot dog” originated is still up for debate.
The most popular theory is that in 1901, a New York newspaper cartoonist by the name of Tad Dorgan attended a baseball game at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan and red-hot dachshund sausages were being sold. Dorgan made a cartoon about sausages in a roll, but he didn’t know how to spell dachshund. He wrote hot dog instead and the term took off.
No matter how the term came about, there’s no question we love our dogs.
Here’s a roundup of some of our favorite places to get our fix:
Attman’s Authentic New York Delicatessen: In business since 1915, this Jewish deli serves up their world-famous jumbo Jewish hot dogs with mustard, relish, and chopped onions topped with bologna on an authentic Jewish roll.
Edmart Deli: This Pikesville deli offers delicious hot dogs with their signature challah rolls.
G & A Restaurant: G & A is the home of one of Baltimore’s best Coney Island hot dogs—a hot dog topped with chili, mustard, and diced raw onions.
Haute Dog Fabulous Franks: Indulging in one of Haute Dog’s combinations is essential to celebrate the holiday. The popular HD signature is a quarter-pound Black Angus dog finished with tomato-and-onion jam, bacon-and-onion marmalade, and Dijon mustard.
Stuggy’s: Stuggy’s is a Baltimore institution. With a brick and mortar location in Fells Point, Stuggy’s will fill your appetite with a wide variety of gourmet hot dogs. The crab mac ‘n’ cheese dog topped with Old Bay is always a favorite.