Los Angeles Hot Dogs

Happy Friday! This week’s destination of Exploring New Places Podcast goes over Los Angles Hot Dogs, a staple street food that you cannot miss when visiting this amazing city. We discuss the history of sausages, hot dogs and the Mexican influence this hot dog has to this day. 

If you’ve never heard the history of hot dogs and how they came to the United States and then Los Angeles, this is your episode. The City of Angels has many good spots to eat this street food and we will inform you about where to find the best hot dogs. 

Join us today and learn more about where to travel next to create new memories! 

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Podcast Music
Track: Tropical Love — Vendredi [Audio Library Release]
Music provided by Audio Library Plus
Watch: https://youtu.be/8C-9VIKe-VQ
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Transcript

[Introduction]

Hello Everyone! This is Gabriela Batres Salinas and I’m going to be your host for this podcast called, “Exploring New Places.” 

This podcast will talk about all the places that one wonders and thinks about going to. We will explore new destinations, local, out-of-state, and foreign, where to travel to. Many of the destinations will be places that are often overlooked or not considered because people go to the usual/same places that are most popular. Here, we will explore popular and unpopular destinations.

You might ask, what exactly are you going to talk about? And, to answer that question, I will be talking about the destination’s food, culture, activities, restaurants, and people. This podcast is perfect for people that are curious and want to learn a little bit of everything. Therefore, I will try to explain everything that one may be interested in when visiting the destinations.

Let’s get right into it…

[Start of Episode]

Welcome back, everybody! Today, as you know, we have a brand-new episode. And, personally, I’m so excited for this episode because we will be going over street food that is unique to Los Angeles. By the way, if you’re celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, I hope you’re having a great day. 

 GBS: I’m sure many of you listening have tried it. If not, then, you have come to the best place to get all the info about where to go while you explore this new place and create new memories. 

GBS: Today’s destination is Los Angeles Hot Dogs or as some called it, Danger Dogs. 

GBS: Before going in-depth about this destination, let me start off by giving you a little bit of background of how and when this street food came to be in Los Angeles. I think it’s very interesting to learn about the history of this popular street food in Los Angeles. 

GBS: I would say many of us would take this food for granted; meaning that since these hot dogs have always been in Los Angeles, it’s assumed that they’ve always been there, and with this particular style of hot dogs since the beginning of times in LA. But this is not true. 

GBS: Let me start by telling you the history of hot dogs and then I’ll explain how Los Angeles Hot Dogs rose to popularity, especially with all the toppings that these hot dogs have. 

GBS: So, let’s start with the actual sausage that we eat today. It is believed by historians that the sausages alone were created in the first century CE, back when the world had emperors. And, at that time in Rome, there was a cook named Gaius who served Roman Emperor Nero. The story goes that Gaius was cooking pigs for the emperor one day and the normal ritual to cook good pigs was to have them starve for a week and then cook them by roasting them. 

GBS: On this particular day, Gaius was checking all the pigs to see if they were fully roasted to serve them, of course. He then noticed that one of the pigs was fully cooked but had not been fully cleaned. He cut the pig open and found the empty intestines still there, remember because they starved for a week. Anyway, he had a great idea to fill them up with ground beef and seasoning for flavors. And, boom, the sausage was created. 

GBS: After some time, the famous creation called sausage traveled all around Europe and the country now known as Germany adopted the sausage as its own. Germans created new versions of the ones that already existed to be enjoyed with other food and drinks of their homeland. 

GBS: Now, the exact place where it all started in Germany can be a little bit of a debate. In Germany, the city called Frankfurt allegedly invented the sausage in 1484, which is more than 500 years ago. On the other hand, Vienna in Austria also claims that they invented the sausage. 

GBS: What do you think about this? Let us know in the comments if you have ever heard this story before about how the sausages were created. 

GBS: Now, you may obviously question; so how did the hot dog travel or come to the United States of America?

GBS: Well, let me tell you that the hot dog came to the US due to German immigrants who started selling their hot dogs in the 1860s in New York City. They would sell hot dogs on the streets and on pushcarts. 

GBS: In 1871, a German immigrant man named Charles Feltman opened his own hot dogs stand in Coney Island, which became very popular. Some articles say that Feltman sold 3,600 hot dogs in a year. By 1893, hot dogs were popular and known for activities related to leisure and fun. 

GBS: Isn’t that so interesting to learn? Ok, let’s keep going. 

GBS: This is where it gets super interesting! Feltman used to have an employee named Nathan Handwerker who was a Polish immigrant man. At the time, he earned $11 a week for his work. He wanted to open up his own hot dog stand, but he needed to save $300 to do so. This man was so smart. After he had saved the money, he opened up his stand and sold his hot dogs for 5 cents compared to Feltman’s stand which charged 10 cents per hot dog. 

GBS: Obviously, he became the go-to place for hot dogs due to the price. And, Feltman had to close his stand; he went out of business. This man Nathan Handwerker was so smart that he started marketing his business on the 4th of July celebrations by opening up a contest of how many hot dogs could people eat for a set time. This contest is still a tradition that is celebrated on the 4th of July thanks to him. 

GBS: By the 1920s, Nathan’s hot dogs were known nationwide as well as his 4th of July hot dog eating contest. 

GBS: Isn’t that crazy! This is truly a story of when there is a will there’s a way. I mean what a way to make history through food. 

GBS: Now, you may be asking yourself but how did Los Angeles Hot Dogs become what they are now, with pico de gallo, avocado, roasted jalapeño, caramelized onions, mustard, mayo, ketchup, and bacon wrapped on the sausage. And, of course, the bun. 

GBS: According to Thrillist.com, after having obtained notoriety around the world, Mexico was no different from hot dogs. The city of Hermosillo in the state of Sonora began making its own version of hot dogs. By the 1950s, the Sonoran hot dog had evolved and was made with bacon wrapped on the sausage, pinto beans, a split bolillo roll (which is like the cousin of the French baguette), grilled onions, crema, mustard, tomatoes, and pepper on the side. 

GBS: States close to the Mexican border started making their own versions of what the Sonoran hot dogs are. Some newspapers dating from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s were publishing recipes of how to make bacon-wrapped sausage hot dogs. 

GBS: To make the story short, Texas was not doing that great of a job making the Sonoran hot dogs. And California started making its own version of these famous hot dogs. 

GBS: Now, it is said that California started with its hot dogs during the 1980s; however, the exact date of when it happened is not known. But it is in the 1980s that took place. 

GBS: Mexican immigrants who originated from Mexico City and Sonora started selling hot dogs as similar as they could to what they had back home. 

GBS: Due to a lack of ample resources, they creatively made a moving grill with an abandoned shopping cart and a can of Sterno beneath it. And, that’s how they started selling this famous style of LA hot dog also known as danger dogs. 

GBS: Now, you know how the Sonoran-style hot dogs came to Los Angeles. As you may know, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) had issues with this for a very long time. Now, this is a tradition and staple food that you can only find in Los Angeles. Of course, you have to know that the flavor and the hot dog as such is not exactly as the one in Sonora. But it is very similar to the original version. 

GBS: My personal experience with this famous street food has been amazing. I mean I really like our Los Angeles Hot Dogs. Very unique and I’ve traveled to other places and there is really nothing close to these hot dogs. They’re so good, haha. I love it! 

GBS: If you have never tried these hot dogs, please go try them out. Your world will change, honestly. You will see that hot dogs have so much potential than just mustard, relish, mayo and ketchup. 

GBS: They’re so good! So good! 

GBS: For those who are new to these hot dogs and this is a podcast, I will describe it for you. As I mentioned earlier, LA hot dogs have the bun, bacon wrapped on a sausage, mayo, mustard, ketchup, pico de gallo, caramelized onions, and a grilled pepper; usually is a grilled jalapeño. Altogether, it’s just a chef’s kiss kind of good. 

GBS: As one of my final points for today’s episode, is where you are able to find these fabulous and distinct hot dogs. Let me share with you that these hot dogs are available for purchase on the streets of the Fashion District in Downtown LA. I’ve tried hot dogs from other places, but I would say that these hot dogs are where you actually need to try them. 

GBS: I feel like you will get more of an experience if you go there and you walk around to find a good hot dog stand that catches your attention the most. I will not say a specific place or stand because there are so many hot dogs stands that actually sell really good hot dogs. Therefore, it is just based on your preference of where you feel most comfortable buying them from. 

GBS: Most of the vendors speak Spanish fluently and you can ask them about how long they’ve been selling hot dogs on the streets. And, they will tell you their story which is amazing to hear. There are so many stories to pay attention to and they all have similarities in how the city has welcomed them and from where people travel just to eat these amazing hot dogs. 

GBS: The last time that I went to buy hot dogs there, I was speaking to the vendor who was so kind and she was telling me that she had been selling hot dogs in downtown LA for about 18 years. Sitting next to me there was a man from Belize who had come to LA for a short family visit and to eat these unique hot dogs. 

GBS: The vendor’s name was Lupe and she was okay with me sharing where she is located for you to visit. Her hot dog stand is between Olympic Blvd and 9th Street. She charged me $5 per hot dog and $7 for a combo. 

GBS: Please do keep in mind that prices for food have gone up. So, now you may find them for at least $8 for hot dogs only. 

GBS: Other places where you can find them are in Hollywood Blvd right where the Hollywood Walk of Fame is at. When I tried the hot dogs from there, they were also great and they accepted cash and credit cards for payments. So cool! Because you don’t have to rely too much on paying with cash to them anymore. This is such a first-world thing to say, haha. But, you know, it is important because a lot of people do not carry cash anymore and it’s a good way for the vendors to sell more of their products. 

GBS: I loved this episode. And, it has gone by fast. I was craving hot dogs for two days while I was preparing for this episode. How funny! Hahahah. 

GBS: Sadly, we’re almost done with today’s episode. But, before we conclude we have our special time with three fun facts about hot dogs sourced from thehotdog.org,  

GBS: #1- did you know that there are 70 million hot dogs eaten during the 4th of July each year?

GBS: #2- Hawaii is the state that eats more hot dogs than any other state in the United States of America. 

GBS: #3- According to the Guinness World Records, the world’s most expensive hot dog is found in a restaurant called Tokyo Dog located in Seattle, Washinton for a price of $169. This was established on February 23, 2014, and it is up to date. So, nobody has been able to break that record. Would you buy this hot dog for $169? Let us know in the comments on our social media posts. 

GBS: And, with this, I leave you. But not before reminding you to please share this podcast with your family, friends, colleagues and anybody you know. Help us spread the word so that other people become part of this podcast’s community. Don’t forget to follow us on social media so you don’t miss any important updates, announcements, and hints of new episodes. Our Instagram is @exploringnewplaces_podcast and our Facebook @exploringnewplacespodcast. Following us helps us grow in every sense of the word, so kindly give us a follow. It’s free for you and it’s so easy to do. 

GBS: If you’ve liked this episode or a previous one, I invite you to review us on your favorite podcast platform where you listen from. I’d love it if you would do it, especially on Spotify and Apple Podcasts. 

GBS: New episodes are published every other Friday at 7 a.m. (PST). And, you can find us on all of your favorite podcast platforms such as Spotify, Google Podcast, Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, iHeart Radio, Pandora and Castro, to name just a few. 

GBS: Thank you so much for tuning in today and listening to the Exploring New Places Podcast where you create new memories. Now, we actually conclude. Until next time! 

[End of Episode]