# Why didn't hot dogs catch on like hamburgers? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 24, 2020, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447 "2020-02-24T18:47:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![nightshadea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/7ba0ec/32.png) [@nightshadea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nightshadea)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 6:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/101 "2020-02-28T06:24:47Z")
actually Nathans and Wienerschnitzel are the only hot dog chains i know of … everywhere else just has hotdogs on the menu with the occasional “special” on coney dogs … or chili dogs ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/102 "2020-02-28T07:26:31Z")
There wasn’t much difference between the best hot dog I’ve ever had and a cheap, run-of-the-mill dog. Take a McDonald’s dollar-menu burger, and compare it to a sit-down restaurant like Denny’s - a little better meat, juicier, thicker, and the bun’s toasted and of better quality. Maybe you have some bacon and a slice of cheese, lettuce and tomato, real cut-up onions, not re-hydrated ones. Next, think of someplace like a Ruby Tuesday’s or Applebee’s or O’Charley’s - big, thick burger, juicier, with a char outside, with an even better bun. The will offer special sauces, maybe something Jack Daniels-based, a custom BBQ. . . they might have different cheeses, thick applewood-smoked bacon, sautéed onions, maybe onion straws. I cant’ talk about a better burger than that. I dont’ even want to know anyone who would go to a place better than that and order a hamburger. The burger meat itself varied in size, juiciness, some were cooked over a flame vs grilled. All of that made a difference in taste & mouthfeel, and that’s before you even get to the different buns, fancy cheeses & bacon, sauces, and unusual toppings, which can vary in a noticeable way. A bacon cheeseburger from McDonald’s is not the same as the bacon cheeseburger from the better sit-down places - everything is different: the cheese, bacon, and the meat and how it’s cooked are all different. Most, if not all, hamburger toppings complement the burger meat. Most hot dog toppings serve to obliterate the taste of the hot dog meat. With hot dogs, the hot dog is a hot dog. Even if it’s a good hot dog, it’s not going to make you say, “Wow, what a hot dog!” Even if it did, what do a lot of ppl do? Bury it in raw onions and sauerkraut and more, covering up any flavor difference the best hot dog and the worst hot dog might have. A hot dog version of McDonald’s never took off, because the hot dog itself IS McDonald’s - basically the same everywhere, as long as the traditional toppings are supplied. It’s generic. They’re popular at baseball games and cookouts because they’re cheap, easy to prepare, and easy to carry and eat while standing. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/103 "2020-02-28T10:07:32Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > IMHO, one reason that a hot dog fast food chain never really took off is the difficulty of selling them in a drive-through. This one sounds like a bit of a stretch. I mean, I get what you mean, but my local gourmet hot dog place (linked upthread) offers orders to go if you like, just like most other restaurants, and when you do you get your dogs and fries (or whatever) in to go bags essentially identical to McDonald’s or Burger King. (Here’s an [image](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewick/2062405465) I found on google showing one of their hot dogs wrapped for a to go bag, behind an unwrapped one.) Hot dogs aren’t any more difficult to wrap and put in bags than burgers are. In fact, the existence of hot dog carts and the lack of hamburger carts suggests that hot dogs would be better suited to drive thru than hamburgers. EDIT: Obviously it’s much easier to eat a (not overstuffed) burger _while driving_ than it is to eat a hot dog, but in my head, the drive thru experience is “pick up food quickly, drive to somewhere (home? office?) and eat it there.” I _could_ eat hot dogs in the car in a parking lot, but concede that burgers are probably less messy doing that, and again, burgers are the clear winner for while actively driving. ---
**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, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/104 "2020-02-28T12:52:00Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > actually Nathans and Wienerschnitzel are the only hot dog chains i know of … everywhere else just has hotdogs on the menu with the occasional “special” on coney dogs … or chili dogs Chicago’s Portillos, I think, can be counted as another one, although it’s mostly Chicagoland, though they have locations in California, Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. It’s not exclusively known for hot dogs, though. It’s also known for Italian beef. Basically, a stand that specializes in the food you would get at a local Chicago fast food joint. ---
**Author:** ![Brayne\_Ded](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Brayne\_Ded](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Brayne_Ded)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/105 "2020-02-28T18:04:14Z")
> [@That\_Don\_Guy](#): > > Here’s one possibility: not that many people like grilled (as opposed to boiled or steamed) hot dogs… In Germany you often get small stands that serve grilled sausages that are put into a bread roll - a round, crisp one, not the elongated, soft things associated with hot dogs. But grilling sausages is much more involved than heating up precooked wieners in hot water, so you don’t see any mobile carts. Hot dogs per se are not that popular in Germany, people love their _Currywurst_. ---
**Author:** ![crywalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crywalt/32/3224_2.png) [@crywalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crywalt)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/106 "2020-02-28T20:46:18Z")
> [@Jeff\_Lichtman](#): > > It’s hard to make hot dogs. You need special equipment to turn meat and fat into a smooth paste. If you get the proportions wrong, or you don’t grind it finely enough, or you don’t mix it thoroughly, the fat will separate and you’ll get a disgusting mess. It’s easy to overheat the mixture during the grinding process, so it’s common to add ice in the right amount to keep it cool without getting too much water in the product. Also, you need to mix in nitrites or nitrates, and again, this must be done thoroughly and in the right proportion. You also need to stuff the mixture into casings (even skinless franks are stuffed into casings which are removed later). The initial cooking must be done carefully to prevent the fat from melting away. > > In short, it’s so much work and so specialized that most restaurants are better off buying pre-made hot dogs than making their own. Around here I’ve seen places that contract with big hot dog companies to make batches of their own special recipe. I know of one meat store that makes their own hot dogs, smokes their own hams, and makes a bunch of German cold cuts like leberkäse. There used to be this other meat market that made the most incredible hot dogs of all time, but they closed. Too good for this world, I suppose. New Jersey has a number of Texas wiener purveyors. Evidently the Texas wiener was invented here. It’s not strictly a chili dog – it’s actually a Greek-based kind of chili-like substance. I’ve been slowly making the rounds of all the remaining Texas wiener spots as a cultural heritage thing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/107 "2020-02-28T21:24:30Z")
> [@nightshadea](#): > > actually Nathans and Wienerschnitzel are the only hot dog chains i know of … everywhere else just has hotdogs on the menu with the occasional “special” on coney dogs … or chili dogs [Wikipedia knows everything.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hot_dog_restaurants) ---
**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, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/108 "2020-02-28T21:45:46Z")
> [@Airbeck](#): > > That’s true also. Where I live I can think of 6 places within a 5 minute drive to get hot dogs. I guess Chicago is a bit of an outlier perhaps. Within a 5 minute drive of me there are around a dozen grocery stores, at least 4 McDonald’s, 2 BKs, at least 3 chain steak places, half dozen Chinese, half dozen chain coffee and tea spots, 2 Chipotles, 2 Five guys, 3 Wendys, 2 taco bells, 3 chain sub shops that aren’t Subway (plus a few Subways), 2 combination KFCs, 2 Arbys, at least 5-6 different fast casual places. I can only think of 1 place I know that has hot dogs on the menu: Steak n Shake. ---
**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, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/109 "2020-02-28T22:49:09Z")
> [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](#): > > Within a 5 minute drive of me there are around a dozen grocery stores, at least 4 McDonald’s, 2 BKs, at least 3 chain steak places, half dozen Chinese, half dozen chain coffee and tea spots, 2 Chipotles, 2 Five guys, 3 Wendys, 2 taco bells, 3 chain sub shops that aren’t Subway (plus a few Subways), 2 combination KFCs, 2 Arbys, at least 5-6 different fast casual places. > > I can only think of 1 place I know that has hot dogs on the menu: Steak n Shake. The Five Guys should have them as well. I haven’t had theirs, but they supposedly have a very good hot dog. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2020, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/110 "2020-02-28T22:57:33Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > Actually hot dogs started way ahead and hamburgers are the one that had to catch up. In the first few decades of the 20th Century, the hot dog was the favored sandwich, dominant at the ballpark (the source of the word hot dog), the boardwalk, the carnival/fair, and the corner pushcart. I heard that hot dogs at the ballpark were originally called “dachshund dogs” and described as “red hot,” which evolved into “hot dogs.” The weiners were called dachshunds before the dachshunds were called wieners. ---
**Author:** ![actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e79b87/32.png) [@actualliberalnotoneofthose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/actualliberalnotoneofthose)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/111 "2020-02-29T03:54:04Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > The Five Guys should have them as well. I haven’t had theirs, but they supposedly have a very good hot dog. I realized that after I posted but this place crashes lately whenever I post and the edit function was loading perpetually. By the time I opened a new tab and came back I forgot what I was trying to do. I think my son got the hot dogs there once. They also have a grilled cheese made with a hamburger bun. Those used to be the go-to family options for my kids but since it’s now over $20 for just me to get a burger, fries, and drink I’ve cut way back. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/112 "2020-02-29T06:31:32Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > There wasn’t much difference between the best hot dog I’ve ever had and a cheap, run-of-the-mill dog. > > With hot dogs, the hot dog is a hot dog. Even if it’s a good hot dog, it’s not going to make you say, “Wow, what a hot dog!” Even if it did, what do a lot of ppl do? Bury it in raw onions and sauerkraut and more, covering up any flavor difference the best hot dog and the worst hot dog might have. I have to agree wholeheartedly with this assessment. Surely the hot dog is the low water mark of food snobbery. People get passionate about what is put on one when the whole thing is generally just an assembly of ready made food products, one or possibly two of which have been warmed. I don’t even count making hot dogs as cooking. ---
**Author:** ![jerez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c68b51/32.png) [@jerez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerez)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/113 "2020-02-29T08:42:35Z")
> [@carrps](#): > > I heard that hot dogs at the ballpark were originally called “dachshund dogs” and **described as “red hot,”** which evolved into “hot dogs.” The weiners were called dachshunds before the dachshunds were called wieners. Tamales, too. ---
**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 29, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/114 "2020-02-29T14:35:14Z")
> [@don\_t\_ask](#): > > ]I don’t even count making hot dogs as cooking. Yeah, neither do I. I’ve never served hot dogs as, say, dinner to my family, but I do regularly serve hamburgers as dinner. That said, I like a good hot dog as much and sometimes even more than a good hamburger (depends what I’m in the mood for), but it’s pretty much always been more lunch food to me. I have had them occasionally for dinner (and even breakfast), but just for myself when I didn’t feel like cooking anything up. But I am also very particular about what hot dogs I want when I’m in the mood for a proper hot dog. Non-negotiable is it must be a natural casing hot dog (if I’m going out, not if I just want a quick at-home snack, where I usually have skinless dogs for the kids around), and in my part of Chicago, this actually means I have to drive a few miles past a lot of hot dog stands as many have switched to skinless wieners. The actual toppings don’t matter so much for me, as long as the sausage is good. ---
**Author:** ![bmoak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/9dc877/32.png) [@bmoak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bmoak)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/115 "2020-02-29T15:32:23Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > This one sounds like a bit of a stretch. I mean, I get what you mean, but my local gourmet hot dog place (linked upthread) offers orders to go if you like, just like most other restaurants, and when you do you get your dogs and fries (or whatever) in to go bags essentially identical to McDonald’s or Burger King. (Here’s an [image](https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewick/2062405465) I found on google showing one of their hot dogs wrapped for a to go bag, behind an unwrapped one.) > > Hot dogs aren’t any more difficult to wrap and put in bags than burgers are. In fact, the existence of hot dog carts and the lack of hamburger carts suggests that hot dogs would be better suited to drive thru than hamburgers. Hot dogs can certainly be wrapped and put in a bag for take-away, although I imagine that a fully-dressed hot dog, say, smothered in chili sauce, cheese, and chopped onions, would be more difficult to take away without leakage or spillage. Was thinking more about customization. People who get burgers from drive-throughs are generally willing to take them as-is if, say, ketchup and a pickle slice are already come on the burger. However, IMHO people are very specific on what condiments they want on their hot dogs and how they want them. I once say someone get white vocal about asking for their hot dog to be remade because the place put mustard under the sauerkraut, not on top. I guess a hot dog stand could put a fistful of different condiment packets into each bag, though. ---
**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 29, 2020, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/116 "2020-02-29T16:08:46Z")
> [@bmoak](#): > > Hot dogs can certainly be wrapped and put in a bag for take-away, although I imagine that a fully-dressed hot dog, say, smothered in chili sauce, cheese, and chopped onions, would be more difficult to take away without leakage or spillage. Was thinking more about customization. People who get burgers from drive-throughs are generally willing to take them as-is if, say, ketchup and a pickle slice are already come on the burger. However, IMHO people are very specific on what condiments they want on their hot dogs and how they want them. I once say someone get white vocal about asking for their hot dog to be remade because the place put mustard under the sauerkraut, not on top. I guess a hot dog stand could put a fistful of different condiment packets into each bag, though. Here, it’s pretty common to wrap hot dogs to-go. I would say standard. And there’s no issue with customization (except for the rare place that doesn’t have ketchup. Otherwise, every other place will let you pick your toppings, ketchup included. But sauerkraut is not common to find here at your average hot dog stand. And who the hell dresses the sauerkraut with mustard instead of the dog?) A chili dog or something like that would be wrapped in both a parchment sheet (or whatever the hell the material is) and a foil sheet. ---
**Author:** ![drad\_dog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/aeb1de/32.png) [@drad\_dog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drad_dog)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/117 "2020-02-29T17:51:43Z")
Mickey Rooney actually tried to start a business of disc-like hot dogs and buns. And now of course we take them for granted… ---
**Author:** ![RioRico](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f04885/32.png) [@RioRico](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RioRico)\ **Post date:** [February 29, 2020, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/118 "2020-02-29T19:37:19Z")
Aren’t ordinary hot dogs (or a Polish if you’re lucky) still the meat sandwich of choice at theatres, stadiums, CostCo and Ikea food courts, carnivals, and street fairs? They fill specific niches re: speed, convenience, and cheapness. Doggies (especially corn dogs) are street food and burgers mostly aren’t. I’ll admit to seeing very few storefront hotdog vendors beside DW. One existed next to a favored bar down in the county seat but it’s gone. I recall another near the Mexican border in Naco Arizona. Sure, various local not-fine-dining establishments serve chili dogs, or plain weenies for the kids. But they’re not dedicated to tube steaks. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Zox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Mr\_Zox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Zox)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2020, 5:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/119 "2020-03-02T05:30:45Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > Not even worth that. Hot dogs were frankfurters were authentic German cuisine introduce by German immigrants to the US. Admittedly the bun came later. [Frankfurter](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankfurter_W%C3%BCrstchen). Made out of homogenized paste of unspecified meat-substances, and dyed the same pink as prosthetics? Seriously? That article doesn’t say any such thing. ---
**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:** [March 2, 2020, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447/120 "2020-03-02T12:46:01Z")
> [@Mr\_Zox](#): > > Made out of homogenized paste of unspecified meat-substances, and dyed the same pink as prosthetics? Seriously? Seriously. You know there are many hot dogs that are nothing like that, right? Chicago Vienna Hot Dogs, for instance, do resemble German frankfurters especially if you buy the natural casing types. They were originally marketed as “Vienna sausages” in the early 1900s before the term “frankfurter” became popular. Or Sahlen’s hot dogs (supplied to Ted’s in Buffalo.) Even Sabrett’s. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-didnt-hot-dogs-catch-on-like-hamburgers/848447.md?page=5)