The March issue of Smithsonian Magazine had a delightful little piece on the history of the hotdog, not the full history going back to in the 7th century BCE, when Homer mentioned a sausage in The Odyssey, but a history of the dog coming to America.
What initially caught my eye was the 1956 photograph of Marilyn Monroe and husband Arthur Miller eating hotdogs on a New York city street looking ever so cool. Author Rebecca Toy notes that the hot dog’s success has always transcended class “wrapping modern history into a portable bun.”
We can thank the five million German immigrants during the Industrial Revolution for this now iconic bit of American cuisine. Always a portable feast, “frankfurters” or “wienerwursts” appeared on city streets sold from pushcarts. Where the hots really took hold was the beach at Cony Island. In 1871 Charles Feltman began selling from a stand, and later in 1916 Nathan’s Famous opened which kicked off the tradition of hot dog eating contests.
The dogs were particularly popular with youth and at the time the term “hot dog” was slang for “a swaggering young man who loitered with other flashy dandies around amusements and gobbled up sausages from vendors” (Smithsonian March 2026). The jump from consumer to the food itself makes sense.
The hot dog is the ultimate outdoor food, easy to cook at picnics and outdoor events. Even FDR chose to serve hotdogs to Goerge VI of England in a state visit in 1939. The presentation was a bit more upscale using silver platters. This was the king’s introduction to the hot dog and he very graciously are two.
I had no idea that Costco built its entire business model around the hot dog. “Its quarter pound all-beef hot dog, served with a large drink, has famously stayed inflation-proof at $1.50” (Smithsonian). The co-founders reportedly went head to head over raising the price in 2018 but managed to keep it at $1.50 by switching from Hebrew National to making their own Kirkland signature dogs.
Variations on condiments abound. The Chicago dog sports onions, mustard and relish while the New York dog comes with sauerkraut and mustard. The Sonoran has a south of the border feel with pinto beans and salsa, or you can go Korean and add puffed rice and crushed ramen. Apparently there is also something known as the Big Mac hot dog, but the recipe that is touted the best is bacon wrapped, as if there wasn’t enough pork in that bun.
The many variations on the hot dog show how versatile the food is, and how widely accepted it is across cultures. It continues to evolve yet remain an American icon.
