Texas Hot Wieners (from Pittsburgh, 1918); Michigan Sauce (from Vermont)

[Bapopik at AOL.COM]

Sorry if these articles appear jumbled, but you can always check the
originals.
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Becky Mercuri has researched "Michigan sauce." "Texas Hot Wieners"
supposedly come from New Jersey (not Texas), but this 1918 Pittsburgh source is
interesting.
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No mention of "Barry Popik" this July 4th. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette was
supposed to run an article. Oh well, I only give away my work for free, and
it's  only been ten years.
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_http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05185/532738.stm_
(http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05185/532738.stm)

Altoona family's eatery has been grilling up hot dogs since 1918
Monday, July 04, 2005By Paula Reed Ward,  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ALTOONA -- Every few days, Robert Lamont is in the back kitchen of his small
restaurant here on 12th Avenue, stirring two huge, heavy-gauge aluminum
kettles.  Into each, he dumps 40 pounds of lean ground beef that has been browned
twice  and as many as 11 different spices. Then, he lets it all simmer for six
hours.

(http://www.post-gazette.com/popup.asp?img=http://www.post-gazette.com/images3/20050704vwhc76500k7l.1_450.jpg)    V.W.H. Campbell, Post-Gazette
Proprietor Robert Lamont behind the grill at Texas  Hot Wieners in Altoona.
Click photo for  larger image.

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DOG DAYS
 Americans will eat 7 billion hot dogs this summer; laid end-to-end, they
would stretch around the equator 27 times.
In  2004, consumers spent $1.8 billion on hot dogs in U.S. supermarkets.
 Americans will eat 24.2 million hot dogs in major league ballparks.
 Mustard is America's favorite hot dog topping at 32 percent, followed by
ketchup at 23 percent.
Source: National Hot Dog and Sausage Council at _www.hot-dog.org_
(http://www.hot-dog.org/)
By the end of the day, he has 80 pounds of  his famous chili sauce to top the
700-plus all-beef, specially made hot dogs the  shop sells each day.
Lamont, 49, can't make the chili in smaller quantities.
"I tried one time, and I couldn't do it," he said.
Lamont is the third generation in his family to run Texas Hot Wieners, opened
 in 1918 by his grandfather, Peter George. His uncle ran it before Lamont
finally  took it over in 1973. Though the location has changed a couple of times
since  then, the recipes and the popularity of the famous hot dogs have not.
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_http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stories/0,1413,104~8678~2950430,00.html_
(http://www.benningtonbanner.com/Stories/0,1413,104~8678~2950430,00.html)
It's Nat'l Hot Dog Month: Ketchup or mustard  for you?
By _JESSICA YORK
Staff  Writer_ (mailto:jyork at benningtonbanner.com)
BENNINGTON -- It's July. Put down your cell phone, do  something interesting
with your spare time, listen to some Blondie, take your  plant for a walk, eat
hot dogs, salad, baked beans, ice cream and blueberries  and, if you're a
woman, go for a spin on your motorcycle.
All of these activities are just the tip of the iceberg for wacky
celebrations and holidays in July. One observance that people were celebrating  plenty
of this Fourth of July weekend, unbeknownst to them, was National Hot Dog
Month.
"Hamburgers are complicated," said John Knell of Meriden, Conn., at a
Arlington Dairy Bar table Sunday. "Unless you get mustard on you, hot dogs are  easy
to eat while driving, they taste good, they're quick and easy ..."
Knell said he had planned to eat his dog on the go, but gave in to the urge
to read in the hot afternoon sun while enjoying his lunch instead. He was
definite on which condiments should go on his hot dog - mustard and sauerkraut
are great, ketchup is for the hamburgers, and keep the relish away!
Eating hot dogs, Knell said, reminded him of going to Fenway Park in Boston
years ago. On one day in particular, Knell said he remembers the Red Sox
"getting their butts kicked," horrendous traffic, and a good hot dog in hand.
"You can get up and scream without getting it all over yourself," said Knell.

Who let the dogs out?
Although 60 percent of Americans say the most likely place to have a hot dog
is grilled in their own backyard, according to the National Hot Dog and
Sausage  Council ( _www.hotdog.org_ (http://www.hotdog.org/)  ),  major league
ballpark fans will consume more than 27.5 million hot dogs.
Just this holiday weekend, about 150 million hot dogs will be eaten, compared
 to about 2 billion hot dogs in the entire month of July.
Maria Fierro, 22, of the Northside Dairy Bar in Bennington, has been taking
orders for all kinds of hot dogs for six summers now. She said the most
unusual  hot dog preparation requests have included some for mayonnaise, meat sauce
with  nacho cheese, and a foot-long dog, deep fried hot dog with sauerkraut
and  mustard.
"That's a heart attack waiting to happen," said Fierro.
Employees at the Northside Dairy Bar, Arlington Dairy Bar and two hot dog
stands in Manchester all agreed that children like their hot dogs covered in
ketchup. One hot dog stand owner suggested that ketchup requests from children
were a change from two decades ago, when mustard was the rage, and that the
sugar content may provide the reason for the switch.
"Kids will eat them every day," Scott Liell of Madison, Conn., said of hot
dogs as he ordered up about eight himself from Nan-Z's hot dog stand in
Manchester for his kids and his nieces and nephews. "You don't have to be
creative."
The condiment desires of older generations, though, are less predictable.
The Arlington Dairy Bar features a special "Michigan sauce" that their
customers crave, and 20-year Nan-Z owners Laurie McBurnie and Nancy Lemhardt  make
specialized condiment mixture suggestions to their  customers.