# How do you hold your hot dog? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 27, 2020, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612 "2020-02-27T20:25:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/21 "2020-02-28T03:37:41Z")
> [@jnglmassiv](#): > > Eat the pickle spear. > Eat the tomato(es). > Assess and evaluate the sport pepper distribution; rearrange as needed. > Eat the remainder, bun slit up. What pickles? What tomatoes? Not on my dog! I hold it U shaped with the dog up so the ketchup and mustard don’t fall out. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/22 "2020-02-28T03:47:47Z")
I just realized it depends entirely on toppings or not. When I was a kid we used to go to Orange Julius and get hot dogs with all kinds of toppings. For me, that requires having the dog up so the toppings don’t slide or squeeze off the side. I realize there is another way to dress the toppings on the side, but my point stands. However, through playing baseball (and receiving the free hot dog every game) and attending games, I learned that I really prefer the taste of a plain freshly steamed dog. And I hold it like a sandwich with the bun on top and bottom. There is nothing that can slide out. Same applies if I opt for a line of mustard (usually the most I will top it with unless I’m going all in), which I would apply to either or both bun-sides. ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/23 "2020-02-28T04:21:31Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > I’m not quite sure I understand. Are you just referring to a hinged bun? Isn’t that pretty much the standard everywhere? > > If you have yours with the top and bottom of the bun completely separated, you are definitely in the minority. Yes, I mean a hinged bun, not separated. But I still fold it over and eat the hot dog like a sandwich (top bun on top, bottom bun on bottom, bun in middle). You can stretch the bun so it’ll work without splitting it. ---
**Author:** ![MoonMoon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonmoon/32/2959_2.png) [@MoonMoon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MoonMoon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/24 "2020-02-28T14:16:23Z")
I’ve never seen anyone eat a hot dog that way, but I’ve also never seen anyone eat a hot dog plain. U-shaped is the only way to go if you don’t want mustard all over yourself. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/25 "2020-02-28T15:11:59Z")
Man we’re really reaching for the boundaries of the human experience for polls lately ain’t we? Dog up like a normal human. Here’s something humiliating that a normal person wouldn’t share: You know that new (like, it’s probably been 20 years now, but I’m getting old and the past is becoming overall more recent for me) thing where the hotdog bun people have started splitting the buns along the top? I refuse to buy 'em. I can’t keep my brain from warning, “It’s a trap!” so I look a bit further for the proper style. I’ll go without and try another store if I can’t find them. I shop alone. ---
**Author:** ![TRC4941](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trc4941/32/6792_2.png) [@TRC4941](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TRC4941)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/26 "2020-02-28T15:34:23Z")
I guess we’re in the minority OP! I eat mine like you, like a sandwich. I eat my hot dogs plain so there’s nothing to fall out. When I think of eating it like a U it seems like it would be awkward to hold the hot dog that way. Isn’t your hand in an awkward position? ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/27 "2020-02-28T15:48:13Z")
> [@TRC4941](#): > > I guess we’re in the minority OP! I eat mine like you, like a sandwich. I eat my hot dogs plain so there’s nothing to fall out. When I think of eating it like a U it seems like it would be awkward to hold the hot dog that way. Isn’t your hand in an awkward position? Exactly! To me, holding it like that always looks like that awkward way people hold soda cans in commercials, to make sure the label is clearly visible. But I recognize that it’s more convenient for those who eat hot dogs with toppings. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612/28 "2020-02-28T15:53:56Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > What pickles? What tomatoes? Not on my dog! > > I hold it U shaped with the dog up so the ketchup and mustard don’t fall out. Ketchup? Ketchup! Not on my dog! (Well, maybe sometimes if it’s the local custom … ) U-shaped, hot dog pointing up, of course. For those of us who get pickle spears with our hot dogs, I’m also one of those who takes it off and eats it on the side, along with the sandwich. Usually I save it all for last, but sometimes I’ll eat it as I’m eating the dog. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-do-you-hold-your-hot-dog/848612.md?page=1)