There’s nothing more New York than a hot dog. But who invented them? And why did they call it a dog?

Americans eat 450 hot dogs a second. They eat them at ballfields, theaters, stadiums, parks, fast-food and fancy restaurants, sidewalk stands, in their homes, on the beach, and walking down the street. Around the world, hot dogs symbolize America. People just love that juicy “snap” of a well-seasoned frankfurter nestled in a soft, warm bun. But who started this insatiable hot dog craze?

It all began on a New York City beach. Surf bathers on Coney Island in 1871 spotted a man named Charles Feltman pushing a cart along the dunes, selling a new kind of snack he called “red hots”. These turned out to be sausages served on long buns. Beach goers enjoyed eating the hand-held treats while walking along the shore or relaxing on the sand, without the usual requirements of plates, utensils, and trash to dispose of. Voila! The portable, affordable hot dog was born! (But they weren’t called hot dogs just yet.)

Feltman was a German immigrant baker who began his pushcart career selling pies, which, apparently, were not a beachy success. He then struck upon the idea of hawking the type of sausages made in Frankfurt, Germany. Feltman had his pie cart retooled with a charcoal stove to warm his “frankfurters” and a tin-lined chest to keep the buns fresh...a set-up similar to today’s hot dog carts.

Feltman’s red hots became all the rage. He bought a lot at West 10th Street and Surf Avenue in Coney and erected his famous octagonal Ocean Pavilion, equipped with huge grills. He sold red hots by the thousands. His mini-empire expanded to a full city block, and included a beer garden, hotel, bathhouse, pavilion, Tyrolean village, a carousel and a roller coaster. 

Around the turn of the century Coney Island also became home to three great “theme parks” (before the term “theme park” was invented.) There was Steeplechase, which featured a full-size mechanical racehorse ride; Luna Park, a dazzling world of a thousand painted spires and a quarter million electric lights; and Dreamland, an elegant white city showcasing high-class entertainment and the latest scientific inventions. Coney Island had become the most famous tourist destination in the world, and Charles Feltman reaped the profits. He was soon operating the world’s largest restaurant, serving five million frankfurters a year. Coney had become “the hot dog capital of the world”. Feltman’s was a success story writ large, built upon his sausage-on-a-bun concoction. That is until one of his employees jumped ship to compete with him.

Nathan Handwerker (see BIO) was that man, and it was his name that became synonymous with Coney Island hot dogs. Opening his stand a couple of blocks from Feltman’s, Nathan’s 5-cent hot dogs gave Feltman’s 10-centers a run for the money. This, along with the arrival of the subway with its 5-cent fare, spearheaded Coney’s transition from a classy vacation venue to the everyman’s “Nickel Empire”. Today, Nathan’s is famous, but hardly anyone remembers Feltman’s (although you can now purchase a reasonable facsimile of Feltman’s franks at specialty grocery stores). (there’s another bio link at the end of this chapter)

But why the heck are they called dogs? 

A timeless question. Circumstantial evidence points to a sports cartoonist named Thomas “Tad” Aloysius Dorgan, credited with inventing such phrases as “cat’s pajamas”, “for crying out loud” and the immortal “yes, we have no bananas”. The story goes that he was covering a chilly sporting event at the Polo Grounds in April, 1905, when the famous concessionaire Harry M. Stevens, unable to sell his usual cold snacks, sent his minions out to buy up all available “dachshund sausages” (so called due to their shape). When Dorgan heard the vendors’ cries of “get your hot dachshunds,” he used it in a cartoon, coining the phrase “hot dog” because he couldn’t spell “dachshund”. This story is widely disputed, but I can’t help feeling for a cartoonist who can’t spell.

The Great Sausage Belt

So who made all these hot dogs? In 1900, there were so many sausage companies lined up on the Lower East Side and neighboring Brooklyn, the area was dubbed the “Great Sausage Belt”. By 1926, there were over five hundred sausage companies across New York. The king of kosher dogs was Isadore Pinckowitz, a Romanian butcher who bought the bankrupt Hebrew National Kosher Sausage Factory at 155 East Broadway in 1928 and transformed it into a goldmine. By 1962, Hebrew National had to expand to a massive plant in Maspeth, Queens, which churned out half a million kosher franks per day to keep up with their popular ad campaign, “We answer to a higher authority”. 

Hot dogs have always been a favorite at Jewish Delicatessens (see the Deli chapter), and many delis positioned their griddles in their front windows, enticing passers-by with rows of sizzling, neatly lined-up dogs. Katz’s Deli (see Meet the Deli Kings) on Houston Street still continues this practice today and, despite their mile-high pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, sell more frankfurters than anything else.

Lemme have one with mustard and onions 

What’s a hot dog without mustard? Leave it to 19-year old New Yorker Charles J. Gulden to figure that one out. Until he came on the scene, mustard seeds were used either whole or powdered for cooking. Gulden started mixing mustard powder with various kinds of vinegars, developing the mustard we know today. His factory was located on Elizabeth Street, close to the East River docks where he could obtain his imported ingredients. Today, Gulden’s mustard is one of the largest-selling brands. 

New Yorkers often order onions on their dog. “Onions” actually means a tomato-based onion sauce, usually prepared by individual hot dog vendors for their carts. Most recipes contain onions, chili sauce, tomato juice, paprika, oregano, and a few other ingredients which, if revealed, might hasten this writer’s demise.

Street meat

The New York City hot dog vendor is a ubiquitous sight. There are well over 4,000 of them. They seem to be on every street corner, marked by huge, colorful umbrellas and a panoply of signage. These vendors haul their mobile carts to their regular “spot” each morning, rain or shine, in the heat and the cold, and then back again at night. Vendor families pass down their “spots” to succeeding generations. Loyal customers may eat lunch at the same family’s cart every day for many years. (By the way, all of New York’s food carts are strictly licensed, regulated and inspected by the health department.) 

Besides hot dogs and cold drinks, vendors often sell soft pretzels, sometimes “smoked” on a side grill. These grills may also roast chestnuts during the holidays...folks still wax poetic about the nostalgic aroma of smoky chestnuts wafting through the city’s streets.

Hot dogs and papaya? What’s up with that?

New Yorkers are familiar with sidewalk stands that sell lots of hot dogs along with tropical drinks, especially papaya. An unusual, if not shocking combo, the idea was launched by Greek immigrant Gus Poulos, who enjoyed the fruity refreshments he tasted on a visit to Florida so much that he opened Papaya King on 86th Street and 3rd Avenue in 1939. It was America’s first juice bar. But it didn’t take off as planned, even when he recruited hula girls to dance on the sidewalk. He then met and married a German girl named Birdie, who convinced him to add hots dogs to the menu. They were a huge hit in this German-American neighborhood. Dozens of copy-cat fruit-and-dog stands opened throughout the city, especially in Times Square. Since then, a hot dog washed down with papaya juice has been an iconic New York flavor favorite...as bizarre as it sounds.

Hot dogs across America

New York’s foods have a way of being adopted by other localities, sometimes with disquieting results. In Chicago, hot dogs are layered with green relish, raw onions, a pickle spear, sport peppers (whatever they are), slices of tomato and celery salt. Sorry, hot dogs. In the South, you’ll often find hot dogs smothered with cole slaw (which, by the way, is a New York/Dutch invention, but it was never intended to sit atop a frank!) In Kansas City they melt Swiss cheese on their dogs. In the Southwest you’ll find bacon-wrapped dogs with beans, jalapenos and mayo. Yikes! Philadelphians enjoy their franks with a fish cake slipped into the bun as well. Seattle adds cream cheese, Cleveland tops theirs with french fries and barbecue sauce, and Cincinnati piles on mounds of chili and cheddar. In New Jersey they deep fry their dogs...if you want one well done, request a “cremator”.

Then there are those people who put ketchup on a hot dog. Ketchup?!?!

I’ll take mine with mustard, please.