This is something I miss from Boston now that I am out here on the left coast. Nothing better than a New England style bun buttered and grilled on each side til brown and served with a natural case frankfurter with picallili.
My partner, who is from New England, says the buns cut vertically are “frankfurter rolls” as opposed to the more common “hot dog buns” that are cut horizontally.
I say, what’s the difference? Regardless of whichever surface of the bun is cut, you’re going to hold it so the cut is up so stuff doesn’t rain out when you pick it up.
It’s hard to tell from the pictures, but I suspect these frankfurter rolls are more tall than wide, as opposed to hot dog buns which are the opposite. If you cut either bun on the plane of its short and long axes, as opposed to the medium and long axes for a normal cut, it won’t hold as much stuff.
Yep! That’s how we get them here. Though after posting about that last night, I went to the market, and saw the good old fashioned hot dog buns, what with the horizontal cut and round brown tops.
What’s the difference?
It depends on whether you enjoy a crusty taste over that of good grilled cholesterolly butteriness.
Over Labor Day weekend, I had a dog every day, at the best hot dog stand in the known universe. New England-style buns, natural casing dogs, a cornucopia of mustards and relishes, and nary a ketchup bottle in sight. Tonguegasm!
Oh, you can shove it in there. Yeah, some falls out, but if you don’t need to change your pants after eating a dog, how much fun can it be?
Been there, and I agree, a great dog.
And now, for something completely different… I swear that there is molasses in their relish. You wouldn’t define this as a traditional dog, but they are a tradition nevertheless. Definitely worth a try.
If you are ever in Western Mass, look around for Blue Seal franks (made in Chicopee). They should be their own food group. Alas, they don’t seem to make it to the eastern part of the state.
My first choice is the New England style, though they are not always in stock at my grocery store. The buns I end up with most often are cut horizontally, but I set them down on the plate on the hinge. If I’ve been in a rush and get the ones at the corner convenience store the hinge then promptly fails and I’m having a hot dog platter instead of a conveniently hand held meal.
Do any of you remember some U shaped hot dog buns packaged so they were interlocking? (I feel like I might have been in Jr High so early 80s) They were fairly dense and I don’t recall them tasting great. I don’t think we got them more than once.
You might want to hold off on a final conclusion in this matter until you’ve been to best hot dog stand I’ve encountered
I’ve seen three kinds of hot dog buns in local stores. There’s the “New England style” like in cher3’s picture (one large slab of bread, cut into bunly proportions). And then there’s the classic, individual bun (often held together by vestigal dough shunts); available as side-cut or top-cut.
If we don’t have this cleared up soon, I swear I’ll buy some top-cut and post pictures.
Relish? On a hot dog? […shudder…]
Please do. I have never, ever seen a top-cut hot dog bun. For some reason, it’s got me rather freaked out, much like when Subway stopped doing that wonderful V cut and switched to a single slice.
I can handle the big differences between cultures: 2 hour dinners sound great. Naps in the afternoon, perfect. Driving on the left, well, whatever gets you there. But it’s these little differences that make my brain hurt and make me whimper for my mommy.
Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggghhhh! I found one. (Scroll down about 1/4 of the way.) Yes, it appears it’s a New England thing, done so that buttering and frying is possible. That’s just so, so wrong, on so many levels.
Mommy! 
Me, neither, and I have eaten a lot of hot dogs. A lot. Never would have thought of such a thing in a million years.
There is worse.
http://fuzzz.gaulin.ca/2007/03/24/beer-battered-bacon-wrapped-cheese-injected-hotdogs-oh-my/
Psst…WhyNot, cher3 posted a picture of New England style rolls, which are vastly superior to the “other” kind. I find that the “side cut” are more likely to have the stuff fall out of them.
And Flo’s Hot Dogs on route 1 (got to go to the original red shack location,) are the best. It’s all about the sweet, slightly spicy, onion relish.
When I briefly summered in Cambridge, Mass., these were the predominant style of hot dog buns. I particularly remember my first time at Elsie’s (now gone) in Harvard Square and being served a $1 dog in exactly the same sort of bun posted in cher3’s post, much to my curiosity and confusion. I don’t recall these being toasted and buttered, though. I prefer the traditional bun, but these were fine, too. Aren’t hot dogs at Fenway part also served in the New England bun? I may be confusing it with all the other hot dogs I’ve had in the Boston area, but I seem to remember having the vertical cut at the ballpark, as well.
My nomination for best hot dog stand is Hot Doug’s.
You know, that’s about the only thing I’ve ever used pickle relish for. I jest about folks putting ketchup on their hot dogs, but I’ve never heard relish being considered weird or non-standard.
Top Dog is OK, but I prefer Top Dog.
Right, but seeing it sans dog, I couldn’t tell if the cut in the top was to separate the buns or what exactly was going on. It’s obvious, now that I’ve seen it in it’s hot dog carrying capacity, but for a Midwesterner, it looked like an odd loaf of bread someone hacked at in an epileptic fit. I couldn’t grok where the meat would go.
The best hot dog roll in the universe. Toufayan Snuggles.
It’s a totally different dough than a regular hot dog bun. Less bun-y, heavier, cakier. It doesn’t crumble no matter how much you stuff into it, although it does have tendency to split at the hinge.
It’s neither really top-cut nor side-cut. It’s baked in a U shape, with separate sides and a base. It stands up on its on own. It’s closer to the top-cut but gets more evenly baked all over.
The taste is fantastic.