wot! nobody mentions the noble Chili dawg? Personally, I prefer
these with a ball game in front of them.
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I suppose these are "New Yawk" style, because around here they are referred to as "Coneys"
which is slang for Coney Island hot dawgs. I generally don't care for the glop they put on commercial
"Coneys" but prefer my hot dog with a scoop of real chili that I've seen to myself, complete with real beans,
real ground beef or venison, real onions, peppers and tomatoes. Oh yes, and I agree heartily about the necessity for good buns... Good bread in the buns makes the whole
thing much more like real food.
In Michigan where I live, there are strict rules about the making of "hot dogs" ...such that Michigan's version
are actually quite good, and quite desirable. Some of the more detestable inclusions are not permitted in Michigan
by state law. So we don't have to fight down unpleasant thoughts about what we might be eating, but
can concentrate on the batter's body language when he's got a full count.
"Here's the pitch... *whack ...and a line drive to center field: Base Hit! Second base runner scores!
It's a three/two ball game with two outs in the bottom of the fifth, with runners at first and third
and Willie Horton's on deck for the Tigers..."
But sausages have always been a way for the butcher (or der Fleischmann) to use up odd bits
of what ever creature he's cutting up. It's a way to not waste anything edible, and to conceal all these oddments
inside a neat casing, so even the kids will eat it. I remember as an adolescent when it was hot dogs for lunch in
the school cafeteria, I overheard one of the bullies saying what was in the hot dogs the girls were eating...
They told him (in unison) to f*ck right off. I was troubled to think if he was right, and cynical enough to imagine that he was,
but my young mind could not cope with it, so I backed away from the concept and told myself, "no way."
But I didn't eat hot dogs for a long time after that. Now that I'm older and wiser, I prefer Italian sweet sausage, or
Polish Kielbasa, or German Bratwurst, or Mexican Chorizo... and I don't obsess too much about what might be included.
But Michigan Hot Dogs made by Kowalski or Koegels are not bad at all, if more bland and less interesting.
They need some good chili on them, and a ball game in front of them. Then I'll eat two, with a Stroh's beer.
