Similar, growing up in Michigan, as a kid we would sometimes have Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread (cooked in a coffee can). Later as an adult I met someone from Boston and asked them if they grew up eating Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread, they had never heard of them.
So, I tend to agree with your observation. Certain foods are given a place name, but the name is not used in that place. (There must be some French word to describe this phenomenon.)
I’ve lived in this state for a decade and would have put “chili dogs” well below “chili” as representative of something a Texan would have for lunch.
I’ve lived here for 50 years and have never heard the expression “Texas lunch.” Clearly made up by someone east of the Mississippi who is clueless about Texas.
Okay, now I want a hot dog with chili, cheese, mustard, and onions. Dang.
I’ve been told that once upon a time you could order a bowl of baked beans at just about any restaurant in Boston even they weren’t on the menu. Brown bread is still popular with old folks around me, about 50 miles south of Boston. I can imagine anyone under maybe 50 or 60 years old has not encountered these things.
London Broil is just about unheard of in England. It is known in London Ontario but it didn’t originate there. It’s source is unknown but believed by some to be Philadelphia, and based on a cut of meat not any particular recipe.
I’ve lived in Texas my whole life and have never heard the dish described in the OP as a Texas lunch. Unless the OP is picturing something different I think most people around here would just call that a hot dog or a chili dog.
As far as using Texas to describe food, if it is used it indicates the size of a dish rather than any particular ingredient or method of preparation. At a steakhouse, a Texas ribeye, for example, might be 72 ounces (the infamous Big Texan) when the regular ribeye is only 16, but both are otherwise prepared the same way.
Look at the words I used. They didn’t say that they didn’t eat baked beans and brown bread. Instead they said they had never heard of Boston Baked Beans and Boston Brown Bread.
How old are they?
I’ve never heard of a Texas lunch, but agree that it sounds like a chili dog.
I grew to near Boston. We just ate baked beans, and I’m not sure what “Boston baked beans” would be, maybe cooked with some molasses? I do know what “Boston brown bread” is, because it was no longer common when i was a kid.
Lived in Texas for 57 years now and have never heard the term.
Are you referring specifically to B&M brand? I loved those, growing up in Minnesota, though I don’t recall the Boston Brown Bread being all that common there.
In Toronto, you can get loaves of “malt bread,” which is basically the same but not as good as B&M Boston Brown Bread.
Or, ya know, a taco loaded with barbecue and chili. It’d still probably have a different name if you ate it in Texas, though.
Heheh, I don’t have that many years on ya, but I’ve looked older than I actually was since puberty started, and had other 16 year olds asking me if I could buy them beer when I was 16. I had to explain that yeah, I could, but we’d have to go where I didn’t work to buy it. It was only available for a couple of years while I could legally drink, but I still remember it. It was a nice, dry beer for a lager.
Yeah, Shiner Bock was the perfect beer before Gambrinus bought them and increased production. My friend and I each drank a 12 pack of it the weekend it happened. The bottles resulting from the increase in production arrived before the next weekend, and it’s never tasted the same since. Shiner Premium/Blonde is inoffensive enough (I’d pick it over Lone Star or Pearl), but any place that had it had their Bock as well.
Shiner’s Kosmos’ Reserve is excellent, but you can only get it in their assortment packs. :rolleyes: I’m never fond of their fruit seasonals, so I rarely get those.
Whatever it is, probably best not to wash it down with a glass of Texas tea.
I’m on my way. Any Sonics near you?
Sounds like a Tommy’s Chili Cheese dog to me.
Two Sonic corn dogs, an iced tea, and deep-fried sweetgum on the side. 
Forget it ‘Thelma’, I’m going with ‘kenobi’ :)
Woooohooo!
Back to the OP: I’ve never heard the term “Texas lunch,” though I’ve also never lived in Pennsylvania. Based on what’s described in the OP, it’d probably just be called a “chili dog” here in the Midwest (though splitting the hot dog might or might not be done).
As a Clevelander with western PA roots, I’d just call it a “chili dog”, too. If for some reason I wanted to specify that the hot dogs were split, then I’d say “chili dog with the hot dog split”.
Yes, Boston baked beansare flavored with molasses. I heard of them in New York. Boston brown bread is also flavored with molasses, includes cornmeal, and is steamed in a can.