The hot dog, such a simple food that invokes a whole host of memories for so many of us. For some, it is hot dogs at a festival or fair. For others it is a ball game, a hot dog stand or a backyard family barbecue.
I grew up in a family of hot dog boilers with the occasional frankfurter burned lovingly on the grill. It was in this family in roughly the year 1984 that I was spending time hanging out on my brown, naugahyde bean bag following a delicious hot dog lunch. Given the below advertisement, I would say it was actually chestnut.
While minding my own business, I felt the tell-tale stomach rumble indicative of impending doom. It was seconds later that doom struck and my hot dog made a mad dash for freedom from the pits of my stomach. Ug. It was this experience - the beginning of a 2 day stomach bug tied closely to my lunch - that made me decide I would never again eat a boiled hot dog. To this day, I have stayed true to my word. I have however, enjoyed many a roller tray hot dog and even had a brief foray into the world of the microwaved hotdog. Sliced right down the middle so it wouldn’t explode in the microwave but perfect for allowing the edges along the cut to curl up and get kinda chewy, it was a short-lived foray.
Many people have hot dog memories much more pleasant than mine. Heck, even I have other hot dog memories more pleasant than that one, as a favorite food (until the bean bag incident) of my childhood, it does feature frequently.
We did not eat out a whole lot when I was a kid but one of my favorite spots in town is a root beer stand called Jiggs. Frosty glass mugs of ice cold root beer paired with a delicious hot dog served directly to your car on a tray that fit snuggly on the driver’s window. The only thing that could have been any better, to my kid way of thinking, was if the waitresses were on roller skates. Because nothing in the 80's was cooler than being able to roller skate forward AND backward! I really wanted a pair of the tennis shoe roller skates as I was pretty sure you couldn’t have a pair of them and not be a fabulous skater. Instead, I had the metal kind that clamped onto my KangaRoos and I was anything but a fabulous skater.
https://aminoapps.com/c/the-80s-90s/page/blog/80s-week-roos/Ymv1_7mfbu1jvMgWLQPe6KJVxPmdYkExqa
If a delicious meat tube wasn’t tempting enough fare for a child of the 80’s, they had options to entice those with a more discerning palette. You could get a hot dog with bits of cheese in them or the Frank and Stuff hot dog that came with chili IN the hot dog! That’s right, you didn’t have to open a can and scoop some on top, yours was heated up with the hot dog and came flooding out at scalding temperatures with your very first bite! If that still wasn’t enough for you, there was always the Pillsbury Weiner Wrap to elevate your dog. These came in 4 flavors and where before you had a hot dog, now you have a meal!
In the off chance none of this has transported you back in time, the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile is sure to. Did you ever get to see it when you were a kid? I stood proudly by posing for pictures as an adult. Some things never lose their excitement. While it is quite likely you now have the jingle, “if I were an Oscar Meyer weiner” running through your head, they were not the only dog in the game! Move on from them and join me for a rousing rendition of the hot dog, Armour Hot Dog jingle…what kinds of kids eat Armour Hot Dogs? The dogs kids love to bite!
What are your favorite hot dog memories? Can you taste the mustard, onion and relish or dream of the delights a plain dog can bring? Maybe your Mom had a favorite hot dog recipe to please the kids and adults alike (and if so, was it the Frankaroni Loaf)? Share with us your first hot dog memory that comes up…..kinda just like mine!
https://craves.everybodyshops.com/truly-horrible-vintage-hot-dog-ads-and-recipes/