Doggone Good
It’s the sound more than the smell that takes me back. Not a loud sizzle like bacon, but quieter, softer. As a kid, when I heard a low hiss from a cast-iron skillet, I knew what it meant: supper was going to be hot dogs. Hot dogs - also known as tube steaks, franks, weenies, or coneys, is a food that’s so deeply American we practically wrap them in the flag and give them a seat of honor at every Fourth of July barbecue. It’s hard to believe the hot dog, which we rank right up there with baseball and apple pie, actually came from German immigrants. Leave it to us to take another country’s wurst and make it our best. Hot dogs established themselves as street food in New York City about 150 years ago. At first, it was a quick lunch for working men. Soon, their popularity grew to Coney Island and beyond. Summer officially marks the beginning of hot dog season in America. But growing up, it was a year-round meal in our house. My dad fancied himself a coney connoisseur, so th...