As I was in the supermarket the other day buying some hot dog rolls, I wondered about something that has puzzled me for years. I had a choice of top split rolls or side split rolls. Why would anybody use a side split roll for a hot dog?
Because that’s all they sell? I’ve never seen a top-split bun on the West Coast, only side-split.
I never heard of a top split, and we call them “buns” down here in Arkansas. 
Mrs. Plant, from New England has taught me to eat them with mustard and sauerkraut, though.
Because the person is from New England and is both provincial and retarded. I am a transplanted Southerner and I have actually gotten into fights about this issue with both my wife and father in law and I started a thread about it a very long time ago. They are both gourmet foods moguls and they not only tried to feed me a hot dog on a side split roll, they also tried to feed me a hamburger sandwiched between two pieces of bread. I usually defer to their food judgement but I couldn’t take this. I literally couldn’t eat it although I would eat monkey brains if you put them in front of me. I made my wife go to the supermarket with me to learn what a hot dog bun is. Oddly enough, they did sell something that looks like and functions like a true hotdog bun but it isn’t labeled that in New England. I think it was called a potato roll or something. That is completely unacceptable. They learned their lesson and have done the right thing now for years.
Good Lord.
Am I confusing side and top here, having seen only a single kind?
Someone please tell me that these poor Northeners actually do have proper hot dog buns.
If not, I suggest we take up a collection for the poor dears.
This, I’ve only seen in acrimonious threads on the Dope. (Maybe it was Shagnasty’s thread.)
This is the only kind of hot dog bun/roll I’ve ever seen. I would call this “side split”, as it’s split through the side. Ronald C. Semone, Shag, is this what you mean by “side split”? Or it is the first pic, as it’s cut parallal to the sides and the sides are, uh, split apart?
Born and raised in Phila, PA…live in South Jersey…travelled the globe, with little travel through New England:
I’ve seen side-spilt rolls (aka buns) my whole life:
http://www.eastsidedeli.com/image/PRODUCTS/150/hot%20dog%2061251000704.jpg
Could someone show a top split bun/roll?
See carnivorousplant’s first link.
Baffling…absolutely baffling.
I have never seen a top-split hot dog bun. It looks like an abomination.
Well chaps, I too started a thread about this a year ago, and felt like a stupid Brit at first, until I realised there is no single answer.
What perturbed me most was the concept that there is no top or bottom to a hot dog bun.
Wow! I never dreamed there could be so much confusion between the meaning of “top split” and “side split.” What I meant was this: a hot dog roll (or bun) usually has a rounded, brown top, a flat bottom, and two more-or-less sides (plus the two ends). A “top sliced” roll has the slice down the length of the browned top so that it splits apart sideways. A “side sliced” roll has the slice along the length of one of the sides so that the top of the roll lifts up from the bottom. My local Safeway carries both. (For a complete discussion of the difference, see the link provided by poster #11 in this thread. )
But that’s a lobster roll.
You eastern (or are you southern? I have lost track.) type people sure are confusing.
Exactly. Lobster rolls aren’t hot dog buns! Hot dog buns are sliced from the side, only. All else is Abomination!
It weirded me out when I saw the top-split rolls in Boston (actually, the only place I’ve ever seen them), but I got over it. They’re both fine, although I feel the hot dog fits more naturally in a side-split roll that pretty much the rest of the US uses. If I had a choice, I would only buy the top-split rolls to confuse people or if I had some sort of party showcasing New England culinary traditions.
So, why is the top-split roll more natural for you?
I didn’t know until I went to Maine this summer that there was such a thing as the top split ones. I’ve only ever had or seen side split my whole life. <shrug>
I see top-split buns all the time in Akron OH. They’re usually larger than the standard hot dog bun and are mainly marketed for large sausages such as Johnsonville Brats, etc. But, I agree, never saw the standard hd bun split on top around Northern OH.
Lifelong New Englander here, I had no idea that there was any other hot dog bun other than top-split, to me, top-split buns are the One True Bun, used for hot dogs, bratwurst, lobster rolls, clam rolls, crab rolls, etc…
the nice thing about the top split rolls is that they are great off a cast-iron grill/skillet, drop in a small piece of butter, and sop it up with the roll laying on it’s side, grill to perfection and do the other side, hot buttery grilled goodness
Dammit, now I want a lobster roll!
Ahhh, the New England top-split bun! These are an awesome and rare treat, and when toasted properly on the outside with a bit of butter they make for a truly superior hot dog. I remember getting them at a diner/hot dog stand here in Ohio many moons ago, when I was a little kid. The place is gone now.
I haven’t had them in years and the new england buns are very difficult to find in our area. I believe I have only run across them twice.
It just adds extra dimensions to a good standard flat top grilled hot dog with onions, sweet relish, and mustard. The New England style is a little sweeter than a regular bun, crunchy toasty outside, soft inside. I miss them.